Introducing the Support at Home program

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, some of the key changes are:

A quarterly budget
Your yearly home care budget will be split into quarters. You will receive four budgets throughout the year, each covering 3 months. If you don't use all of your budget in those 3 months, you can carry over some of it to the next quarter – up to $1,000 or 10% of your 3-month budget, whichever is more.

A defined service list
Under Support at Home, all available services will be specified on a service list with clear inclusions and exclusions. Most of these services will be the same as the existing services you access through the Home Care Package Program.

No separate administration charges
You won't have to pay separate package management fees anymore. These costs will be included in the Support at Home prices.

Care management funding set at 10% of all ongoing quarterly budgets
This funding will be set aside for providers to manage your Support at Home funding.

Separately funded Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) Scheme
During your assessment, you can be approved for separate funding to help with assistive technology and/or home modifications.

According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, if you are already receiving HCP funding or are on the National Priority System waiting for a HCP, you should be automatically be transitioned to Support at Home from 1 July 2025.

If you are an existing HCP recipient, you shouldn't need to be reassessed. You should receive the equivalent funding through Support at Home. If you have unspent funding, you should retain those funds under Support at Home.

If you are on the National Priority System, you should receive Support at Home funding equivalent to the Home Care Package level you have been approved for, once it becomes available.

The Department of Health and Aged Care has said that a “no worse off principle” will apply to anyone who, on 12 September 2024, had a HCP, was on the National Priority System, or had been assessed as eligible for a package. This means you should be no worse off because of Support at Home. You should make the same or lower contributions than under your Home Care Package (HCP) arrangement.

People on the National Priority System who have been approved for a HCP but have not been allocated a package yet should receive a Support at Home budget that aligns with their approved Home Care Package when it becomes available.

The Department of Health and Aged Care has said that HCP recipients will be able to keep and use their unspent Home Care Package funds until they use it all. You should not lose these on re-assessment, and they are not time-limited.

Not yet. The Commonwealth Home Support Programme won’t undergo any changes until at least 1 July 2027.