What Is Support at Home? Costs, Eligibility & Changes | CBH

If you’ve heard the words “Support at Home” and wondered what happened to Home Care Packages, you’re not alone. Here’s what changed, what it costs, who’s eligible, how to apply, and what it means for you and your family. 

Aged care in Australia has been through its biggest shake-up in decades. On 1 November 2025, the Government’s new Support at Home program replaced Home Care Packages, the program that helped older Australians stay at home for more than a decade. 

For many families, the change has raised a lot of questions. How much funding will I get? What will I pay? How long will I wait? What happens to the money I’d already saved in my package? As a Support at Home provider across Melbourne, including Bayside and the Mornington Peninsula, we hear these questions every day, so we’ve answered the most common ones below. 

Support at Home is an Australian Government-funded program that helps older people stay independent and keep living safely in their own homes. Based on an assessment of your care needs, you receive funding for personalised support, such as help with personal care, household tasks, nursing, allied health and getting out into the community. 

Support at Home replaced both Home Care Packages and the Short-Term Restorative Care program. The Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP), which provides entry-level support, will join Support at Home no earlier than 1 July 2027. 

You’re generally eligible if you’re 65 or over (or 50 and over if you’re an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, or homeless or at risk of homelessness) and need coordinated services to help you stay at home.

Your journey starts with an aged care assessment through My Aged Care. You, a family member or your GP can arrange this by calling 1800 200 422 or applying online at myagedcare.gov.au 

At your assessment, an assessor will talk with you about your daily life, your health and what would help you stay safe at home. Tip: mention everything, including equipment or home changes that would help, like grab rails or a shower chair. It all goes into your approval. 

Once you’re approved and funding is assigned, you choose a provider. Not sure where to start? Call us on 1300 602 469 and we’ll walk you through each step.

	Home Care Packages (old)	Support at Home (new)
Funding levels	4 package levels	8 ongoing classifications, so funding can better match your needs
How funding is given	Annual budget, with unspent funds building up over time	Quarterly budget (every three months)
Unspent funds	Rolled over with no limit	Carry over $1,000 or 10% of your quarterly budget, whichever is higher
What you pay	Basic daily fee and income-tested care fee	A contribution that depends on the type of service and your pension status
Clinical care	Contributions could apply	Fully Government-funded, at no cost to you
Personal care	Contributions could apply	Fully Government-funded from 1 October 2026
Management fees	Varied widely between providers	Care management set at 10% of your quarterly budget
Equipment and home changes	Usually paid from your package, often meaning saving up	A separate funding scheme (AT-HM)
Short-term support	Separate programs	Built-in Restorative Care and End-of-Life pathways

Home Care Packages had four levels. Support at Home has eight ongoing classifications. With more steps in between, your funding is designed to match your needs more closely, rather than putting you in a broad band that might give you too little, or more than you need. 

If your needs change, your classification can change too. Your provider can help arrange a reassessment. 

This is the change that surprises people most. Under Home Care Packages, any unspent money stayed in your account and could build up over time. Many people saved large amounts “for later”. 

Support at Home works differently. Your budget is given every three months, and it’s designed to support your needs now, not to be saved for the future. At the end of each quarter, you can carry over $1,000 or 10% of your quarterly budget, whichever is higher. Anything above that goes back to the Government. 

Why the change? The aim is to make sure funding is used to support your health, safety and independence today. And because equipment and home modifications now have their own funding pool, you no longer need to save your everyday budget for big items like walkers or grab rails. 

Already had savings in your Home Care Package? Don’t worry, they haven’t disappeared. Unspent funds from a Home Care Package remain available to you under Support at Home, and if you change providers, they move with you. 

Under Home Care Packages, you might have paid a basic daily fee and an income-tested care fee. Support at Home replaces these with participant contributions, which depend on two things: the type of service, and your pension status. Services fall into three categories: 

• Clinical supports, like nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and podiatry. These are fully funded by the Government, so you pay nothing. 

• Independence, like social support, transport, respite and therapeutic services. A contribution may apply. 

• Everyday living, like cleaning, gardening, home maintenance and meals. A contribution may apply, usually at a higher rate. 

Good news: personal care is now free. From 1 October 2026, personal care, such as help with showering, dressing and non-clinical continence support, moved into the clinical supports category. If it’s in your support plan and you have funding available, you pay nothing towards it. 

Your contribution rate is set by Services Australia based on an income and assets assessment. It isn’t negotiable, but it is means-tested, and there’s a lifetime cap on what you’ll contribute towards non-clinical care. 

Were you already on a Home Care Package? If you were receiving, or had been assessed as eligible for, a Home Care Package on or before 12 September 2024, a “no worse off” principle applies. In short, you won’t pay more under Support at Home than you would have under the old arrangements. 

Under Home Care Packages, administration and case management fees varied widely between providers, which made comparing them hard. Under Support at Home, 10% of every participant’s quarterly budget goes towards care management. This covers care planning, coordinating your services, managing your budget so it isn’t overspent, and regularly checking that your support still meets your needs. 

Prices are becoming easier to compare too. The Government now publishes a National Summary of Support at Home Prices every three months, showing the typical price and the range providers charge. 

Under Home Care Packages, buying a shower chair or installing a ramp usually meant saving up from your package. Support at Home has a separate pool of funding (think of it as a separate “bucket of money”) called Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM). 

• Assistive technology covers items like walkers, shower chairs and mobility aids. 

• Home modifications cover changes like grab rails, ramps and accessible bathrooms. 

AT-HM funding is approved through your aged care assessment, so it’s worth mentioning anything that would help you stay safe at home when you have yours. 

Support at Home also includes two short-term pathways that sit alongside ongoing support: 

• The Restorative Care Pathway offers short-term, intensive support from allied health professionals and nurses to help you regain strength and independence, for example after a fall or a hospital stay. 

• The End-of-Life Pathway provides extra support for people who wish to spend their final months at home, with funding of around $25,000 over 12 weeks. 

Coming home from hospital? Planning ahead makes all the difference. Let us know your discharge date and we’ll work with the hospital and your family so support is in place from your first day home. 

While a lot has changed, the heart of the program is the same. Support at Home is still about helping you live safely, independently and comfortably in your own home, with support built around your goals. You still choose your provider, and you can change providers if your current one isn’t right for you. 

Some things still aren’t covered, such as everyday household bills, food (except in specific circumstances), heating and cooling, entertainment and holidays. 

New rules can feel confusing, but you don’t have to work them out alone. We’re here to help our clients across Melbourne, Bayside, the Mornington Peninsula and surrounding areas – helping you make the most of your funding: 

• Familiar faces, not a revolving door. Our clients see the same support worker 80% of the time, so care feels personal and the people visiting you notice when something changes. 

• A dedicated Care Partner. Your Care Partner gets to know your goals, builds a personalised Care Plan and budget with you, and checks in at least once a month to make sure everything stays on track. 

• Nursing and clinical care, fully funded. Clinical care costs you nothing under Support at Home, and our own nursing team works alongside support workers, so your health is looked after as well as your home. 

• Help using your quarterly budget. With the “use it or lose it” rule, timing matters. Your Care Partner will help you plan ahead, whether that means booking an allied health visit, adding extra cleaning or meal preparation, or reviewing your plan if you regularly have money left over. 

• Clear monthly statements. We’ve made our statements simpler, so you can easily see your budget, what’s been spent, and what’s been paid by the Government and by you. 

• Support while you wait. Our privately funded services let you get started now, or top up where your funding doesn’t stretch. 

For us, the goal is always your independence: helping you keep doing the things you love, in a home where you feel safe.

Still have questions? We’re here to help 

Support at Home is a big change, and it’s completely normal to feel unsure about how it applies to you. Whether you want to understand your classification, make sense of your contributions, check what you can use your budget for, or simply know where to start, our team is here to help you get clear answers. 

There’s no question too small and no obligation, just a friendly conversation with someone who knows the system inside out. 

📞 Call us: 1300 602 469 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) 

✉️ Email: homecare@chrisbarnardhealth.com 

💬 Or visit: chrisbarnardhealth.com 

Natasha Prime-Stagler,

Marketing & Community Engagement Coordinator,

Chris Barnard Health