Participants may be able to access Support at Home services alongside other programs or schemes. You may need to help eligible participants connect with these services.
You must continue to provide care management at least once a month if you deliver Support at Home services alongside another program (e.g. Transition Care Program).
Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP)
The CHSP provides entry-level support for older people who need some help to stay at home. It delivers similar care and services, such as cleaning, gardening, transport and allied health, but is not designed for complex or intensive care needs.
There are limited circumstances where a participant can access short-term CHSP services, which include:
- pre-existing social support group activities
- hoarding and squalor assistance
- respite services
- access to emergency services.
The CHSP will transition to Support at Home no earlier than 1 July 2027.
Transition Care Program (TCP)
The TCP supports older people to recover after a hospital stay by providing short term care for up to 12 weeks. It is separate to the Restorative Care Pathway and residential respite care.
A participant may continue accessing Support at Home services while receiving TCP services, as long as the services between the programs are not duplicative.
For example, a participant may choose to continue personal care services under Support at Home, while they receive allied health services under TCP.
You can also continue to provide care management activities, if the participant agrees, to support a smooth return home following their transition care episode.
Residential respite care
Residential respite care gives an older person or their carer a break from their usual care arrangements.
If you think a participant would benefit, you can refer them for a Support Plan Review to assess eligibility for residential respite care.
When a person is staying in respite care, the aged care home is responsible for providing all the care and services they need as an individual. For example, personal grooming, meals, nursing care and continence products.
Participants may continue accessing Support at Home services while receiving residential respite care, as long as services are not the same as what is being provided by the aged care home. For example, a participant can continue their gardening or home maintenance services, but not personal care.
Permanent residential aged care
Residential aged care services cater to older people with complex or higher care needs, who cannot live at home safely.
Participants cannot receive permanent residential aged care and Support at Home services at the same time. The only exception is their entry or exit day from permanent residential aged care.
If a participant’s care needs increase and they want to move into an aged care home, they will need an assessor’s approval to access permanent residential aged care.
- If they have been approved for residential aged care, they can give the referral code in their support plan to their preferred aged care home.
- If they have not previously received this approval, they will need to be reassessed. If they agree, you can request a Support Plan Review for them.
Multi-Purpose Service Program (MPSP)
The MPSP delivers a range of health and aged care services in rural and remote areas, including residential and in-home aged care. This means small rural towns and remote communities can offer integrated health and aged care services that meet their community’s needs.
Participants can access the MPSP and Support at Home services at the same time but cannot access the same services on the same day.
For example, a participant may have meals through Support at Home and nursing care through the MPSP on the same day, but cannot receive help with their gardening from both programs on the same day.
Specialist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged care programs
If an older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person is seeking a culturally safe aged care assessment, they can now choose to be assessed by an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander assessment organisation, if available.
They might also benefit from support to understand and navigate the aged care system through Elder Care Support, or with the help of the Older Person Advocacy Network.
Learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged care.
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care (NATSIFAC) Program
The NATSIFAC Program provides flexible, culturally safe aged care to meet the needs of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and local communities.
Participants may access both the NATSIFAC Program and Support at Home at the same time, provided the services accessed under the programs are different.
For example, a participant could access gardening with Support at Home and personal care with NATSIFAC.
For more information, refer to Chapter 17 of the Support at Home program manual.
Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) programs
DVA funds programs to support veterans and war widows and widowers, such as Veterans’ Home Care and Community Nursing.
Eligible participants can access both Support at Home services and DVA programs, as long as there is no overlap. For example, participants get transport from Support at Home and home maintenance from DVA.
If a service is available through both DVA and Support at Home, you should help participants decide which services they want to access from which programs. This will allow participants to select services that best suit their overall support needs.
Participants will be automatically checked for eligibility for the Veterans’ supplement.
Programs for older people with disability
National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
Older people with disability can receive aged care services through Support at Home or the NDIS, but not simultaneously.
An older person with disability will need to have been accepted into the NDIS before they turned 65. They can continue accessing the NDIS after they turn 65, depending on their needs. A participant will exit the NDIS when they start receiving Support at Home.
You will need to discuss a participant’s disability needs as part of care planning.
Disability Support for Older Australians (DSOA) Program
The DSOA Program supports older people with disability who received specialist disability funded supports through the former Continuity of Support (CoS) Programme.
Participants are not eligible to apply for DSOA as it is a closed program. DSOA clients are exited from the program when they start receiving Support at Home services.
DSOA clients who were already receiving a Home Care Package before 1 July 2021 can access services from both Support at Home and DSOA programs, but their DSOA funding is capped.
Read more about the interaction of aged care services with the DSOA Program.
Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme (ACVVS)
The ACVVS matches a volunteer visitor to an older person who is socially isolated or lonely. This helps provides friendship and companionship.
Participants can access ACVVS with no impact to their services. This includes older people approved for Support at Home, or on the Support at Home Priority System.
Participants can request a volunteer visitor, or you can do this on their behalf with their consent.
Find out more
Read Chapter 17 (interactions with other programs and schemes) in the Support at Home program manual.