Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) reforms

Aged care reforms

In order to deliver on the intent of these reforms and following careful consideration, the Australian Government has decided to briefly defer the start of the new Aged Care Act from 1 July 2025 to 1 November 2025. 

We will use this extra time to work with you to:

• help prepare older people for the changes
• finalise key operational and digital processes
• produce implementation guidance and training.

It will also allow for Parliament to consider an amendment Bill that will set up the final details of the Aged Care Rules and enable effective operation of the new Act.

Read about the announcement:

• New Aged Care Act to start from 1 November 2025 – media release
• Open letters from the Minister for Aged Care and Seniors, Sam Rae MP:
  • to older Australians
  • to aged care providers.

The reforms will change in-home aged care, including the CHSP through:

• a new Aged Care Act, which will start from 1 November 2025
• the Support at Home program, which will replace the Home Care Packages (HCP) Program and Short-Term Restorative Care (STRC) Programme on 1 November 2025, with the CHSP transitioning no earlier than 1 July 2027
• the Single Assessment System, which helps older people more easily access aged care and adapt services as their needs change.

Changes to the CHSP

The Aged Care Act 2024 will:

• regulate CHSP providers the same way as other aged care programs
• standardise the CHSP service list which will mean new service type names and descriptions.

We will support changes to the CHSP under the new Aged Care Act 2024 on 1 November 2025 and transition to Support at Home no earlier than 1 July 2027.

We held a provider webinar on 13 March 2025 and frequently asked questions and answers are available.

We also held a survey with CHSP providers in November 2024 to seek feedback on proposed changes.

For more information about changes to CHSP, see:

• CHSP 2025-27 extension – provider update May 2025
• CHSP 2025-27 extension – provider update December 2024
• Proposed changes to CHSP service list from 1 July 2025 – Fact sheet
• CHSP 2025–27 service catalogue
• Proposed changes to CHSP Data Exchange from 1 July 2025 – Fact sheet.

Draft Aged Care Rules (Release 4b)

The draft Rules (Release 4b) were publicly released for consultation on 15 April 2025 and feedback closed on 13 May 2025.

Additional information is available on how the draft Rules for service agreements, care and services plans and the provision of information to individuals will be applied to the CHSP.

For more information, please read the CHSP provider update – Draft Aged Care Rules (Release 4b). 

Transitioning CHSP clients under the new Aged Care Act 2024

Under the new Aged Care Act 2024, CHSP clients must be assessed as eligible for the CHSP through a My Aged Care assessment to receive government-subsidised CHSP services.

The vast majority of CHSP clients will be transitioned under the new Aged Care Act 2024 because they have previously been assessed as eligible for the CHSP.

We are supporting current CHSP clients who have not had an aged care assessment to get an assessment in preparation for the Aged Care Act 2024 which commences on 1 November 2025.

CHSP providers should only be providing subsidised CHSP services to clients who have been assessed as eligible to receive those services. This includes clients who have been grandfathered under the CHSP.

As it can take time to receive an aged care assessment, please support your impacted clients to request an assessment through My Aged Care as soon as possible. Additional assessors are available to support these clients to get assessed in a timely manner. 

For more information, please read:

• The new regulatory model – Guidance for CHSP providers
• CHSP client transition letter for providers
• CHSP client transition provider fact sheet 
• Letter template for unassessed CHSP clients.

CHSP funding extension

The CHSP is being extended from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2027. 

We are sending out grant agreement offers to eligible CHSP providers and these should be signed and returned as soon as possible.

Additional grants and rollover funding

The 2025–27 extension is not an opportunity to request additional funds.

Providers will not be allowed to roll over any unspent 2024–25 funds or any other funds related to their current grant agreement into 2025–27.

We are looking at additional funding opportunities for 2025–27. We will provide more information in the coming months.

CHSP 2025–27 Manual

The CHSP 2025–27 manual will include further detail about the program changes and will be available under extension resources. 

The CHSP 2025–27 manual will be available by the end of June 2025 and we will be seeking feedback on the content via an online survey. The Manual will be further updated to align with the commencement of the Act on 1 November 2025.

DEX reporting changes – Stage 1

From 1 July 2025, Data Exchange (DEX) reporting requirements will change to ensure services align to the new CHSP service list and improve visibility of services being accessed by clients.

DEX changes will occur in 2 stages:

Stage 1: Reporting will be aligned with the new service list, commencing 1 July 2025.

Stage 2: Reporting of service type at a more granular level will occur within the 2025-26 financial year.

Refer to the DEX Stage 1 Toolkit and Data Dictionary Stage 1 to understand the changes you need to make from 1 July 2025.

Contact