The Support at Home program was introduced in November 2025 and replaced the Home Care Packages Program and the Short-term Restorative Care Programme. This completely changes how older Australians access in-home care.
Additional changes have been introduced since, which means that the Australian Government will fully fund personal care services if you have been assessed and approved for Support at Home funding.
You will not pay out-of-pocket costs for personal care services if you:
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are approved to access personal care services in your support plan
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have available Support at Home funds.
Personal care includes services that help you with daily tasks, such as:
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showering
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continence support
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dressing
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eating
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hygiene
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assistance with self-administration of medication.
If you are not sure if a service you receive is part of the personal care service type, speak with your provider or view the Support at Home service list.
You can also learn more about Support at Home’s costs and contributions.
What’s changing?
You will not pay contributions for any approved personal care services you receive from 1 October 2026.
You should see this change reflected in your statements and invoices after this date.
If you want to increase the amount of personal care you receive from 1 October 2026, your provider can help you update your care plan and budget.
What’s not changing?
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You will keep receiving your personal care services as usual, as long as you are approved and have available funding.
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What is considered personal care will stay the same. This includes support such as showering, dressing and continence support.
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Your eligibility for personal care services will not change. If you have been assessed and approved for personal care services, you will not need to be reassessed to access personal care services.
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Your provider and existing care arrangements will stay the same. You will continue receiving services through your provider as you do now.
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Contributions for other Support at Home services will not change. If you receive other services that have contributions, these will continue to apply as usual.
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Your level of care should not be reduced or limited by this change. You will continue to be able to determine how much personal care you want to receive based on your goals, preferences and budget.
What do you need to do?
You do not need to do anything to be eligible for this change.
Your provider may contact you to update any documents with them, such as your service agreement or care plan.
Get support
If you have any questions, feel free to speak to us.
Source: My aged care
Reproduced with permission of Care & Co Media. This article was originally published on https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/news-and-updates/support-home-personal-care-contribution-changes. Important: This provides general information and hasn’t taken your circumstances into account. It’s important to consider your particular circumstances before deciding what’s right for you. Although the information is from sources considered reliable, we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete. You should not rely upon it and should seek qualified advice before making any investment decision. Except where liability under any statute cannot be excluded, we do not accept any liability (whether under contract, tort or otherwise) for any resulting loss or damage of the reader or any other person. Any information provided by the author detailed above is separate and external to our business. Our business does not take any responsibility for any action or any service provided by the author. Any links have been provided with permission for information purposes only and will take you to external websites, which are not connected to our company in any way. Note: Our company does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy of the contents/information contained within the linked site(s) accessible from this page.
