Support at Home explained: the new program that replaced Home Care Packages

If you or someone you care for gets help at home through the aged care system, the rules changed on 1 November 2025. The old Home Care Packages program is gone. In its place is Support at Home, the Australian Government's new way of funding care and support so older people can keep living in their own home.

This guide walks through what Support at Home actually is, who it is for, and the main things that are different. We have kept the jargon to a minimum and explained it where we could not avoid it.

What is Support at Home?

Support at Home is a government-funded program that pays for services that help you stay safe and independent at home as you age. That can mean a nurse, help with showering and dressing, a physiotherapist, cleaning, gardening, transport to appointments, or equipment like a shower rail.

It replaced two older programs at once: Home Care Packages and the Short-Term Restorative Care program. You can read the official overview on the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website.

The idea behind it is simple. Most people would rather grow old at home than move into a residential aged care home. Support at Home is meant to make that possible for longer, and to make the funding fairer and easier to understand than the old four-level package system was.

Who is it for?

Support at Home is for older Australians who need a hand to keep living at home. In practice that usually means people aged 65 and over (or 50 and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) who are finding everyday tasks harder than they used to.

You do not have to be unwell or frail to qualify. The system looks at what you can and cannot do day to day, not just your medical history. If you can manage most things but struggle with a few, there is a place for you. If you need daily clinical care, there is a place for you too.

If you think this might be you, or a parent or partner, the first step is an assessment. We cover that in detail in our guide to getting an aged care assessment. You can also browse providers in our home care directory.

The eight funding levels

The biggest structural change is the move from four package levels to eight classification levels. When you are assessed, you are placed on one of eight levels depending on how much help you need.

Each level comes with a yearly budget, and the amounts run from around $11,000 a year at the bottom to around $78,000 a year at the top. You can see the full table of funding classifications on the health.gov.au website, and we break it down in our guide to Support at Home funding levels.

Eight levels instead of four means the funding fits your needs more closely. Under the old system, plenty of people sat between Level 2 and Level 3 with no good option. Now there is more room to land in the right spot.

Quarterly budgets, not annual

Under Home Care Packages, your budget arrived as one yearly lump and unspent money could pile up for years. Some people had tens of thousands of dollars sitting unused.

Support at Home releases your budget quarterly, at the start of each three-month period (July, October, January and April). You can carry over a small amount of unspent funds to the next quarter, up to $1,000 or 10% of your quarterly budget, whichever is greater, but you cannot bank it indefinitely. This is confirmed on the My Aged Care guide to managing your Support at Home budget. The aim is to get help to people who need it rather than letting funds sit idle.

Three service categories

Your budget is split across three groups of services:

Category	What it covers	Examples
Clinical care	Health and medical support	Nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy
Independence	Help with daily living	Personal care, showering, transport, mobility
Everyday living	Practical home support	Cleaning, gardening, meal preparation

This split matters because it affects what you pay. Clinical care is fully funded by the government for everyone. You contribute toward independence and everyday living services, and how much depends on your income and assets. We explain the fees in how much aged care at home costs.

What does it cost you?

This is the part people worry about, and it is fair to say it depends. Clinical care costs you nothing. For the other two categories, you pay a percentage of the cost, worked out from your income and assets.

A full pensioner pays the least. A self-funded retiree pays the most. There is also a lifetime cap on what you can be asked to contribute, set at $135,318.69 as of 1 November 2025, so nobody pays endlessly. (This cap is indexed on 20 March and 20 September each year, so check the live figure; current as of the date you read this.) And from 1 October 2026, personal care will be fully government funded, so it costs you nothing regardless of your means. The official detail is on the participant contributions page.

If you were already on a Home Care Package

You did not have to do anything. Everyone on a Home Care Package on 1 November 2025 moved across automatically, with a budget that matched their old package.

There is also a "no worse off" guarantee. If you were getting a package, waiting for one, or approved for one by 12 September 2024, your contribution arrangements carry across so you are not paying more under the new rules than you would have under the old ones. See the Support at Home costs and contributions page on My Aged Care for the specifics.

What about CHSP?

The Commonwealth Home Support Programme, the entry-level program for people who need only a little help, has not moved across yet. It keeps running as it is until at least 1 July 2027. So if you get a fortnightly cleaner or Meals on Wheels through CHSP, nothing has changed for you right now. More on that from health.gov.au.

The short version

• Support at Home replaced Home Care Packages on 1 November 2025.
• There are now eight funding levels instead of four.
• Budgets come quarterly, not yearly.
• Services fall into clinical care, independence, and everyday living.
• Clinical care is free; you contribute to the other two based on income and assets, with a lifetime cap.
• Existing package holders moved across automatically and are protected by a "no worse off" guarantee.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to reapply? No. If you were on a Home Care Package you transitioned automatically. If you are new to the system, you start with an assessment through My Aged Care.

Is it more expensive than Home Care Packages? Not for clinical care, which is now free for everyone. For other services it depends on your means, but the no worse off guarantee protects people who were already in the system.

Can I choose my own provider? Yes. You pick the provider you want to deliver your services. Start with our home care directory or use search to find one near you.