Support at Home personal care contribution changes
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:
are approved to access personal care services in your support plan
have available Support at Home funds.
Personal care includes services that help you with daily tasks, such as:
showering
continence support
dressing
eating
hygiene
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?
You will keep receiving your personal care services as usual, as long as you are approved and have available funding.
What is considered personal care will stay the same. This includes support such as showering, dressing and continence support.
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.
Your provider and existing care arrangements will stay the same. You will continue receiving services through your provider as you do now.
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.
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 www.myagedcare.gov.au/news-and-updates/support-home-personal-care-contribution-changes.
Any advice in this publication is of a general nature only and has not been tailored to your personal circumstances. Please seek personal advice prior to acting on this information. The information in this document reflects our understanding of existing legislation, proposed legislation, rulings etc as at the date of issue. In some cases the information has been provided to us by third parties. While it is believed the information is accurate and reliable, this is not guaranteed in any way. Opinions constitute our judgement at the time of issue and are subject to change. Neither, the licensee or any of the Future Wealth Partners group of companies, nor their employees or directors give any warranty of accuracy, nor accept any responsibility for errors or omissions in this document. Before making a decision to acquire a financial product, you should obtain and read the product disclosure statement (pds) relating to that product. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns. The information in this document reflects our understanding of existing legislation, proposed legislation, rulings etc as at the date of issue.
