Support at Home Program FAQs: What Families Need to Know

When it starts: Support at Home replaces HCP/STRC on 1 Nov 2025; CHSP continues and won’t move across before 1 Jul 2027
How it works: One assessment → a classification with a quarterly budget; extra short-term pathways (restorative care, end-of-life, assistive tech & home mods).
What you’ll pay: Government covers clinical care (0%); Independence and Everyday living have means-tested contributions (e.g., full pensioner: 5% / 17.5%). “No worse off” rules apply for current HCP cohorts.

What are the changes & updates?

The Support at Home Program is now officially underway. So, what does that mean if you already use home care services?

Australia’s new in-home aged-care system, which replaces Home Care Packages (HCP) and Short-Term Restorative Care (STRC) on 1 November 2025. It keeps CHSP running separately until at least 1 July 2027, allowing individuals to be assessed for either a Support at Home or Commonwealth Home Support Program. A key change is that there will be a single assessment process, replacing the two assessments currently required.

The good news is that older Australians should be able to access in-home support more quickly, with the first two years of the Support at Home program including additional funding to bring down home care package waitlists to an average of three months by July 2027. This is great news if your care needs change and you need additional support.

And regardless of your means, you won’t need to pay for clinical care such as nursing and physiotherapy, as this will be fully government-funded.

However, you may need to contribute more towards assessed services, particularly domestic assistance and gardening.

Key dates families should know

1 Nov 2025: Support at Home goes live (replaces HCP/STRC).
1 Nov 2025: New Aged Care Act also starts (CHSP regulated under it).
No earlier than 1 Jul 2027: CHSP transitions to Support at Home.

Who is affected by the Support at Home Program and how?

Those who are already on HCP or approved for HCP will move across with the transitional settings to the Support at Home on July 1, 2025. This will not incur any additional fees, as this program ensures they will make the same contributions for home care services or even less than their Home Care Package.

New entrants, on the other hand, will be assessed once and assigned an ongoing classification (1-8) with a quarterly budget. Short term pathways can also be added if needed.

Will I pay more? (costs & contributions)

The Government has introduced a “no worse off” principle to protect people moving from HCP to Support at Home on 1 July 2025. If you are receiving a Home Care Package, are on the National Priority System, or were assessed as eligible for a package on or before 12 September 2024, you will make the same or lower contributions than you would have under HCP.

If you have not been paying an income-tested care fee under HCP, you won’t be required to start making contributions under Support at Home. If you have been paying an income-tested care fee, you will move across with discounted contribution arrangements.

Under Support at Home, clinical care (for example, nursing and physiotherapy) is fully funded by the Government. Contributions are means-tested for other types of support (everyday living services such as gardening, cleaning and meals) and depend on your income, assets and the services you use.

People with a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card generally pay lower contributions than other self-funded retirees. There is also a $130,000 lifetime cap on contributions, which safeguards people who receive care for a longer period.

How do contributions work?

In Support at Home, contributions vary by service type and your means-test. These are what participants will contribute to services under the Support at Home Program as of July 1, 2025:

	Clinical supports	Personal care / independence services	Everyday living services (eg. Cleaning, meals and gardening)
Full pensioner	0%	5%	17.5%
Part pensioner	0%	5-50% (amount to be determined by an assessment of income and assets)	17.5%-80% (amount to be determined by an assessment of income and assets)
Self-funded retiree (with or eligible for a Commonweath Seniors Health Card	0%	5-50% (amount to be determined by an assessment of income and assets)	17.5%-80% (amount to be determined by an assessment of income and assets)
Self-funded retiree (not eligible for a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card	0%	50%	80%

What happens to my unspent funds?

You do not lose your unspent Home Care Package funds. During and after the transition, you retain access and can use them until fully depleted. Unspent funds can be used first for the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) scheme before accessing new AT-HM funding; they can also be used for additional ongoing services after your quarterly budget has been used. There are no time limits on using eligible unspent funds, and they aren’t forfeited due to reassessment.

How many levels are there, and how do budgets work?

The Support at Home Program has eight ongoing classifications for care recipients as well as two short-term classifications – the ‘Restorative Care Pathway’ and ‘End-of-life Care Pathway. This is a significant change from the Home Care Packages system, which has four classification categories.

The indicative budget amounts for each ongoing classification in the Support at Home Program are:

Classification	Quarterly budget	Annual amount
1	$2750	$11,000
2	$4000	$16,000
3	$5500	$22,000
4	$7500	$30,000
5	$10,000	$40,000
6	$12,000	$48,000
7	$14,500	$58,000
8	$19,500	$78,000

Under this new system, you will work with your providers to choose how to spend your budget for the services you’ve been approved for. You can also save up to $1000 or 10% of their quarterly budget (whichever is greater).

Through the Restorative Care Pathway, you can receive additional support to remain independent at home for longer. The End-of-life Pathway classification can be accessed if you have less than three months to live and wish to stay at home, with up to $25,000 funding for additional home care services for as long as 12 weeks.

I already have a Home Care Package — do I need a new assessment?

If you already receive a Home Care Package, or have been approved for one, you won’t be reassessed into the eight Support at Home classifications when this goes live.
Instead, you will be allocated a budget that aligns to your current (or approved) HCP level. If your needs change and you require more support, you can be reassessed for a higher Support at Home classification.

What is the 10% care management fee?

Under Support at Home, 10% of each care recipient’s quarterly budget is set aside for care management delivered by the service provider. This applies whether or not you choose to self-manage. The fee funds planning and coordination of services, regular check-ins, clinical advice and practical support, and is pooled by the provider so clients receive varying levels of care management as their needs change. You can still choose to self-manage to have more control over how services are delivered.