Features of the new Support at Home program

Key elements of the new program

From 1 July 2025, the new Support at Home program will replace the Home Care Packages Program and the Short-Term Restorative Care (STRC) Programme. It will provide:

• upfront supports to maintain independence, such as allied health, assistive technology and home modifications,
• new classification and budget levels to better meet a person’s aged care needs,
• price caps and participant contributions set by government.

From no earlier than 1 July 2027, the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) will transition into Support at Home. Until that time, CHSP will continue to operate as a separate program for existing clients and new clients with low-level needs.

Accessing services

Single Assessment System 

When Support at Home begins 1 July 2025, the Single Assessment System for aged care will already be in place to assess older people for the program.

Home care recipients and STRC clients will transition to Support at Home at their current service levels. 

Older people on the National Priority System awaiting allocation of a Home Care Package will also transition automatically to a Support at Home classification once a place is available, Participants won’t need a new assessment unless their needs change.

When an older person is assessed into Support at Home, they will receive a notice of decision with an individual support plan to share with their provider. This will contain:

• a summary of their aged care needs and goals
• a classification with an associated ongoing quarterly budget; and/or
• an approval for short-term supports, which may include a budget for 
  • assistive technology 
  • home modifications
  • restorative care pathway (for example, intensive allied health services)
  • end of life pathway.

Older people with an ongoing quarterly budget will have access to an approved list of services. Working with the independent assessor, the older person will determine the services from that list that they wish to receive (including hours or units per month). 

Participants can change the mix of services they access from the approved list at any time with their service provider.  

Classification and budgets for ongoing services

Support at Home will have 8 classifications for ongoing services, replacing the 4 Home Care Package levels. Each classification will have a budget for participants to access services.

A new participant’s classification and budget will be determined at assessment based on their needs. 

Existing Home Care Package clients and those waiting on the National Prioritisation System will not be reassessed into one of the new classifications when the new program starts. 

They will be allocated a budget that aligns to their current Home Care Package level (or the level they have been approved for and are waiting to access). 

If their needs increase in future, they would be reassessed into a new Support at Home classification with a higher budget. 

Annual Support at Home budgets are broken into quarterly (3-monthly) budgets. 

Participants can carry over unspent funds of up to $1,000 or 10% of the quarterly budget (whichever is greater). 

The indicative budget amounts for each ongoing classification are:

The indicative budget amounts for home care recipients transitioned to Support at Home are:

The final budget amounts for all participants will be confirmed before the start of the program.

Service providers 

From 1 July 2025, each participant will have a single Support at Home service provider. This provider will be responsible for:

• ensuring the participant receives services that meet their needs within their quarterly budget
• arranging and sourcing required assistive technology and/or home modifications via purchase or loans program through the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) Scheme.  

Home Care Package providers will be deemed into the new program and will be able to continue delivering services to their existing care recipients under Support at Home. 

Self-management

Support at Home participants can self-manage to maximise choice and control over their care and services, similar to current arrangements. 

Participants will be able to source care workers directly with the agreement of their service provider. 

Ongoing services 

Service list 

Support at Home will have a defined service list, which outlines the services that participants can access under Support at Home.

Care management 

Given the fluctuating nature of care management needs, funding for care management will be combined at the service provider level. This will enable providers to meet needs for care management support as they arise. 

10% of each participant's quarterly budget will be set aside for care management delivered by their service provider. Care management involves:

• planning and coordinating services
• checking in with participants to ensure they are being well supported
• clinical advice and practical support to address any changes in need or issues that arise
• providing support and education where needed.

Providers will also receive additional funds for any participants who:

• have been supported by a care finder
• are older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• are homeless or at risk of homelessness
• are a care leaver
• are a veteran with a mental health condition that the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) accepts is related to their service. 

Providers will have:

• clear expectations about the minimum check-ins that each participant should receive
• flexibility to help participants more when they need extra support. 

Short-term supports 

Support at Home participants will have access to:

• short-term supports so they can stay independent and rely less on ongoing services
• end-of-life supports at home. 

Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) Scheme

From 1 July 2025, the AT-HM Scheme will give participants access to assistive technology and/or home modifications without needing to save up funds from their individual budgets. 

Assessors may approve participants for assistive technology and/or home modifications and assign a funding tier for this support at the point of assessment.

The funding tiers are:

The final budget amounts for all participants will be confirmed before the start of the program.

The funding will cover prescription from allied health professionals, when required, with wraparound supports to ensure the item is used safely and effectively.

Participants may access assistive technology that exceeds the maximum $15,000 with a valid prescription from a health professional. 

We are working on a detailed list of items that the AT-HM Scheme will cover.

The AT-HM Scheme will include the ability for older people with progressive conditions to easily swap equipment as their condition progresses.

We are developing a new Assistive Technology Loans Scheme in partnership with states and territories with a trial currently running in New South Wales, before the national roll out under Support at Home. 

Restorative Care Pathway

Participants will have access to the Restorative Care Pathway, which focuses on allied health to build participants’ strengths and capabilities.

Support will be available for up to 12 weeks (with ability for a 4-week extension). This is an increase from the 8 weeks available under the STRC Programme. 

An assessment will determine access to the Restorative Care Pathway. Participants already accessing ongoing services may also be eligible the Restorative Care Pathway.

We will evaluate the Restorative Care Pathway to ensure participants are receiving appropriate support to increase their independence to remain at home and restore function.

End-of-Life Pathway

The new End-of-Life Pathway will give participants who have 3 months or less to live access to a higher level of in-home aged care services. This aims to help them stay at home for as long as possible. 

An older person can be referred to a high-priority assessment to access the End-of-Life Pathway. They don’t need to be an existing Support at Home participant to be eligible.   

Funding of up to $25,000 will be available, with 16 weeks to use the funds.

Participant contributions

Support at Home will focus government funding on care needs that will help participants to stay at home and avoid hospitalisations. In line with Aged Care Taskforce recommendations, participants will make a greater contribution towards items they have paid or provided for themselves their entire lives.

Participant contributions will be set at a rate per hour (or unit of service) at a set percentage for each service type. This means:

• a participant will pay the dollar amount set by the percentage 
• the government will pay the remainder of the price, as a subsidy to the provider. 

The rate will be based on the type of service received. Participants will make:

• no contribution for clinical support services (such as nursing and physiotherapy) – the government will fully fund aged care services classed as clinical care
• moderate contributions for independence services (such as personal care) and products and equipment under the AT-HM Scheme – many of these supports help keep participants out of hospital and residential aged care
• the highest contributions for everyday living services (such as domestic assistance and gardening) – the government does not typically fund these services for anyone at other stages of life.

The participant’s age pension status will determine individual contribution rates, with the:

• lowest contributions for full pensioners
• moderate contributions for part pensioners 
• highest contributions for self-funded retirees.

To protect self-funded retirees with lower incomes, participants eligible for a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) will have lower contributions than those who are not. This lower rate will apply regardless of whether the individual has applied for a CHSC.

There will be a $130,000 lifetime cap on contributions to protect those who receive aged care for a long time. This is a combined cap with the non-clinical care contribution in residential aged care.

Transitional arrangements will apply for:

• home care recipients
• older people already approved for a package on 12 September 2024
• older people already approved for a Home Care Package and on the National Priority System on 12 September 2024.

Provider payment arrangements

Invoice based on services provided

After delivering services, a Support at Home provider will submit an invoice to Services Australia. The invoice should outline the hours or units of each service type and/or the cost of the product delivered to that person. 

Services Australia will pay the provider from the participant’s budget either: 

• at a price per unit of service minus any applicable participant contributions, or
• the cost of the product minus any applicable participant contributions.

The government will set price caps for each service informed by advice from the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA). 

Providers must charge prices at or below these caps. These prices will cover administration costs, so there will be no separate charges for package management. 

Providers will be able to invoice up to daily to ensure regular cash flow.

Thin market grants 

We will provide grants for eligible providers that:

• operate in thin markets, such as rural and remote areas (MM3 to MM7); and/or
• specialise in particular participant groups. 

This will help cover the gap between their operational expenses and revenue from the program’s capped service prices. Grants will initially be for a 2-year term and will involve a competitive application process.

Support at Home pooled funding trial

From 1 July 2025, we will run a pooled funding trial for older people in group settings (such as a retirement village).

Trial participants will have the option to use some or all of their funding to access services on a more flexible or as needed basis (for example, a mini-bus service). 

We will invite providers to apply via an expression of interest process in the coming months. 

In-home aged care for older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

It is critical that older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can access culturally safe, trauma-aware and healing-informed aged care in or close to their community.

Support at Home will be responsive to the diverse and changing needs of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through:

• including culturally-safe care services on the service list – such as assistance to participate in cultural activities and access to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners and health workers
• providing a supplement for extra hours of care management to providers that support older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants.

We are working with older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, communities and service providers to ensure Support at Home meets their needs.

Learn more

To find out more about Support at Home:

• view our September 2024 webinar slides and recording
• read our frequently asked questions
• read the handbook.

Contact