Support at Home Program

Support at Home – your questions answered

What ongoing home care services will I be able to access?

Support at Home will help you live comfortably and independently in your own home. Depending on your aged care assessment and eligibility, you’ll have access to a variety of services, and we’ll support you in choosing the right ones within your budget.

Supports include:

• Clinical care – including nursing, occupational therapy, and continence care.
• Independence – such as help with showering, dressing, taking medications, transport, or respite care.
• Everyday living – assistance with cleaning, gardening, shopping, or meal preparation.

As part of the Support at Home program, you can always adjust the services you’re receiving to better meet your needs. We’ll work with you to ensure everything is tailored to you.

What if my support needs change?

Support at Home will offer eight ongoing service classifications, each with an allocated budget for you to use to access services. If your needs change over time, you can ask to be re-assessed.

Short-term care pathways:

Support at Home also offers short-term support pathways that will help you maintain your independence and stay connected with your community, including:

• A Restorative Care Pathway that provides access to up to 12 weeks of care to help maintain and improve your independence, as well as funding for therapies and health services.
• An End-of-Life Pathway that provides dedicated funding for extra services in the final three months of your life, allowing you to remain at home at this time.

Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) Scheme:

The Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) Scheme will make it easier for you to access products, equipment, technology and/or home modifications that support your independence and safety at home.

Care Management:

10% of your quarterly budget will be pooled with your provider to cover the cost of care management.

Self-Management:

You can choose to self-manage your care and services if you wish. This needs to be arranged in agreement with your service provider.

What will I pay for my Support at Home services?

As with Home Care Packages, you’ll contribute based on your income and assets. There will be moderate costs for help with personal care and equipment, and higher costs for household help such as cleaning and gardening. The good news is that clinical support and care will be fully funded which means you won’t pay a cent for services such as nursing and physiotherapy.

Will I be worse off under the new system?

If you were already receiving a Home Care Package, on the National Priority System or assessed as eligible for a Home Care Package on or before 12 September 2024 you will be no worse off under Support at Home, and your financial contribution will be the same or lower than they were under the Home Care Packages program.

How do I access Support at Home?

• If you are new to aged care services, the first step is to arrange for an aged care assessment. You can do this by calling My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 or visiting My Aged Care.
• If you’re already receiving, or have been approved for a Home Care Package, you’ll automatically move to the Support at Home program on 1 November 2025 with the same level of care.
• If you’re receiving support from the Commonwealth Home Support Programme, you will move to Support at Home by 1 July 2027.

If you have any questions about Support at Home, or you want to know more about how these changes might affect you, call 1800 580 580 to speak with one of our experienced aged care team members.