Support at Home Program changes
for existing clients
What changes for you with the Support at Home Program?
We want to keep you informed about some important changes the Government is making. From 1 July 2025, it’s expected that the Support at Home Program will replace the current Home Care Package (HCP) Program.
As more information becomes available, we’ll continue to keep you updated and support you through every step of the transition. Your current HCP services will continue as normal until you move across to the Support at Home Program.
All Home Care Package recipients will transition to the new program. Support at Home has been designed to give you better access to services, equipment, products, and home modifications—helping you stay healthy, active, and connected to your community for longer.
Key changes
Holiday Sale
Key changes under the new program from 1 July 2025 will include:
✔ New classification and budget levels: Eight levels of ongoing support, with funding up to $78,000 per year, plus two short-term pathways.
✔ Introduction of price caps on services in the new Support at Home program from 1 July 2026. From 1 July 2025, in-home aged care providers will continue to set their own prices for Support at Home services.
✔ Quarterly budgets: Annual budgets will be divided into four quarterly budgets.
✔ Upfront Supports: Includes allied health, assistive technology, and home modifications.
✔ A defined service list that provides clarity on what’s available under the program.
✔ Capped Care management: 10% of your quarterly budget will be pooled for Omnicare to deliver care management.
FAQs
What does this mean for me?
As an existing Home Care Package recipient your health and care services will continue to be delivered under the Support at Home Program and you won’t need to be reassessed into one of the new classification levels when the new program starts.
What's a quarterly budget?
Under the new program, you will receive a Support at Home budget that matches the same funding level as your HCP as at 30 June 2025. But your annual budget will be divided into 4 equal budgets that each cover 3 months of the year.
Your final quarterly budget amount will be confirmed before the start of the new program. It’s important to note that unlike the current HCP program where you can accumulate unspent funds and rollover your HCP annual budget, when you transition to the Support at Home program, you will only be able to carry over unspent funds from your Support at Home budget each quarter of up to $1,000 or 10% of the budget (whichever is greater). The more expensive items that you have previously had to save for over time, like home modifications, will now be covered under a separate budget.
What will happen to my unspent funds?
If you have Commonwealth unspent funds today, you will keep these funds for use under the Support at Home program. These amounts will not be subject to quarterly roll over limits.
How is the income tested care fee changing?
If you currently pay an income tested care fee, it’s important to know how the changes will affect your payments. The “no worse off principle” will apply to contribution arrangements. If the “no worse off principle” for contribution arrangements applies to you, you will still be required to pay a contribution, but this will be at an individualised discounted rate to ensure that you do not pay more than you currently do under the HCP Program. If you do not pay an income tested care fee now, you won’t be required to pay a contribution under the new system. This ensures that participants in the aged care system when the new Aged Care Act was first introduced into Parliament are not financially disadvantaged by the transition to Support at Home.
What are the classifications under Support at Home? Will I need to be reassessed?
The Support at Home classification framework improves on the current 4 Home Care Package levels, with:
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8 ongoing Support at Home funding classifications
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2 short-term care pathways (Restorative Care Pathway and End-of-Life Pathway)
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upfront funding for the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) Scheme, with 3 AT-HM Scheme funding tiers.
If your current HCP is meeting your care needs, you do not need to be reassessed. However, if your
needs have changed, please get in touch and we can organise a review of your Health plan/Care plan and refer you to be reassessed into a new Support at Home classification with a higher budget.
What is the AT-HM Scheme and how does it impact my funds?
Support at Home will introduce the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) Scheme, which gives customers access to assistive technology and home modifications without needing to save funds from their individual budgets. You can also use any unspent funds you have accrued towards the cost of assistive technology and home modifications. We will happily assist you to access this scheme when it becomes available.
Let's work together to maximise your Health Plan/Care plan.
If you have some spare funds in your budget, or if you’re not in the habit of using your budget in full each quarter, you might like to talk to us know about ways to use your budget to make it work harder for you. Home Care Packages aren’t just for cleaning and personal care and our expert team can support you to access other services such as physiotherapy.
More information?
We are committed to keeping you informed and providing regular updates so that you feel confident about the transition to the new program. In the meantime, you can learn more by visiting Department of Health and Aged Care Website.
