Support at Home is the Australian Government's home care program for older Australians. It replaced Home Care Packages on 1 November 2025, and if you're exploring care for yourself or a parent for the first time, it's the system you'll be dealing with.
Here's how it works, what it costs and how to get started – and how we can help along the way.
Key takeaways
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Support at Home is the government-funded program that helps older Australians stay independent in their own homes. It replaced Home Care Packages on 1 November 2025.
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Funding is set across eight classifications and paid as quarterly budgets, with services ranging from help around the home through to clinical nursing care.
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Clinical care such as nursing and allied health attracts no contribution. For everyday living and independence services, contributions are based on an income assessment.
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Government price caps planned for 1 July 2026 have been deferred. Providers set their own prices, with new consumer protections in place, including powers for the regulator to order refunds for overcharging.
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If you held a Home Care Package, your approval date matters: packages approved on or before 12 September 2024 carry no worse off protections on contributions.
What is Support at Home?
Support at Home helps older people stay independent in their own homes. It covers a range of home care services, from help with cleaning and cooking through to personal care and clinical nursing. Support with everyday tasks, delivered where you're most comfortable, so you stay in control of your routine, your visitors and your day.
Before November 2025, government-funded home care ran through two main pathways:
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the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) for entry-level help,
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and Home Care Packages (Levels 1–4) for people with more complex needs.
Support at Home replaced Home Care Packages and the Short-Term Restorative Care Programme, bringing in-home aged care together into a single, more consistent model. CHSP is still running for now and will transition no earlier than 1 July 2027.
Wesley Mission is a long-standing home care provider delivering quality care to older Australians across NSW.
We're authorised to provide Support at Home across seven aged care planning regions – Far North Coast, Mid North Coast, Nepean, South West Sydney, South East Sydney, Northern Sydney and Western Sydney – and our postcode finder can confirm whether we cover your location. We've been helping our clients navigate the new program since it launched.
Who is Support at Home for?
Support at Home is for older Australians who need help to keep living safely and independently at home.
You must be aged 65 and over, or 50 and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. If you're younger, different programs such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) may apply instead.
How to access Support at Home
Access starts with an assessment through My Aged Care. The assessment happens in your home, and you're welcome to have a support person with you. Based on your needs, you'll be assigned one of eight funding classifications – from occasional help with household tasks through to daily care with close clinical monitoring – and your approval letter outlines the aged care services included in your support plan.
We'll guide you through the application, help you prepare for the assessment and explain your funding decision when it arrives.
What home care services does Support at Home cover?
Services must appear on the official Support at Home service list, covering a range of tailored support services. The familiar ones all continue:
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Personal care. Help with showering, dressing and grooming.
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Domestic assistance. Cleaning, laundry, meal preparation and home and garden upkeep.
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Nursing and allied health. Clinical care, nursing, health therapies and nutrition support at home.
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Transport and social support. Getting out and about to appointments, shopping and social activities, plus social connection visits that reduce isolation.
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Respite care. Planned or emergency breaks for family carers.
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Equipment and home modifications. Assistive technology and home modifications through a separate, dedicated budget – so it doesn't come out of your main care funding.
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Restorative care. Up to 12 weeks of support after illness or a hospital stay (up from eight), focused on allied health to help you regain strength.
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End-of-life care. Enhanced support for higher-level care in the final months, if needed.
Chaplaincy support is also available through Wesley Home Care, if emotional and spiritual care matters to you.
Your care team adjusts services as your needs change. A typical week might include two domestic assistance visits, a personal care session, physiotherapy at home and community transport to a social group – all coordinated through one Wesley Mission care plan. Regular reviews keep your plan in step with changing needs, so reliable support arrives when you need it.
How the funding works: budgets, contributions and pricing
Home care costs can feel complex, so here's how they break down under Support at Home.
Quarterly budgets. Your funding is paid as four quarterly budgets rather than one annual amount. At the end of each quarter, you can carry over up to $1,000 or 10% of your quarterly budget, whichever is greater. If your quarterly budget is $4,000, your rollover cap is $1,000. If it's $20,000, you can carry over $2,000.
Contributions. Contributions are based on an income assessment by Services Australia and apply to everyday living and independence services. Clinical care – nursing, allied health and other clinical supports – attracts no contribution at all.
Care management. Under Support at Home there's no longer a separate package management fee – the cost of managing your overall package is included in the price of your direct care services, and the care management fee is lower than under Home Care Packages. You can see how this works in our Support at Home pricing list.
Pricing. Government price caps were originally planned for 1 July 2026, but in May 2026 the government deferred them and introduced stronger consumer protections instead. Providers continue to set their own prices, which must be reasonable and transparent, and the Aged Care
Quality and Safety Commission can now order refunds where people have been overcharged. You can compare providers' published prices through My Aged Care's Find a Provider tool – and we're always upfront about ours.
For the full program details, see the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing's Support at Home overview.
If you had a Home Care Package
If you or a loved one held a Home Care Package, your services didn't stop when the program changed – they transitioned. What matters is when your package was approved.
If your package was approved on or before 12 September 2024, you were classified into Support at Home automatically, with no reassessment, and the no worse off principle applies: your contributions stay the same or lower than under your previous arrangements. If you were approved after that date, you moved to the new model under the standard contribution rules.
Unspent funds accrued before 1 November 2025 carried over in full, held separately from your quarterly allocation.
No reassessment is needed unless your health or daily living needs change significantly. Either way, your Wesley Home Care Advisor will work with you and your family with open communication – reviewing your services, talking through changing support and keeping your care consistent. For personalised advice, visit our Support at Home program page or call 1300 086 906.
How Wesley Mission can help
We've been supporting Australians for more than 200 years. Today, more than 2,000 people trust us with their home care, and nine out of 10 clients recommend us. We're registered with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and meet the Aged Care Quality Standards across every service we deliver, with experienced support workers and a personalised care approach.
Our team provides practical help: explaining letters from My Aged Care, preparing you for your assessment, interpreting funding decisions and updating your care plan as things change. Your plan can cover health, social, emotional and spiritual needs, as well as physical comfort and overall wellbeing – whatever matters to you.
Whether you're exploring home care for the first time or reviewing the support you already have, reaching out early makes everything easier.
Call us on 1300 086 906 to talk through your care options, or visit our home care page for local contact details and service areas.
Frequently asked questions about Support at Home
Eligibility is determined through a My Aged Care assessment, based on your ageing-related care needs. You must be aged 65 and over, or 50 and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Not sure whether you or a loved one qualifies? Contact us and we can help.
Yes to both. Once you have your funding allocation, you choose a registered provider to deliver your services. You can compare published prices on My Aged Care's Find a Provider tool, but choosing a provider is about more than price – look at quality of care, staff consistency and qualifications too. If you're already with a provider and want to switch to Wesley Mission, we'll handle the paperwork and make sure there's no gap in your care – call us on 1300 086 906.
If your health or mobility changes, you can request a review through My Aged Care. This may involve a new assessment, which could lead to a different funding level or more tailored support services, including nursing or extra allied health. We can help you prepare, document the changes in your daily living and update your care plan to support everyday life, mental health and practical needs.
Some people still receive entry-level help through CHSP while it transitions to Support at Home. Once you move onto an ongoing Support at Home arrangement, most in-home services are coordinated through that single program to avoid duplication. If you're unsure, speak with us or My Aged Care about your situation.
