Understanding the New Support at Home Program: Aged Care Reforms in Focus
The Support at Home reforms are set to transform the way Australians receive aged care support at home. Launching on 1 November 2025, this new program will replace the existing Home Care Packages (HCP) and Short-Term Restorative Care Program, while running alongside the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) until 2027. For caregivers and families, understanding these reforms is essential to ensure loved ones can access the right level of care without unnecessary stress.
What Are the Support at Home Reforms?
The Support at Home reforms aim to simplify and improve in-home aged care by introducing:
A single assessment process for easier access.
Eight funding levels (compared to four under HCP).
Two new pathways: the Restorative Care Pathway and End of Life Care Pathway.
Reduced wait times, targeting just 2–3 months.
Key Funding Changes
Under the Support at Home reforms, the highest care package (Level 8) will provide up to $78,000 per year. The End of Life pathway allows up to $25,000 over 12 weeks to ensure dignity and comfort in the final months of life.
Importantly, clinical care remains fully government funded, meaning services like nursing, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy will not require client contributions.
No Worse Off Principle
For people already receiving care through the Home Care Package system before 12 September 2024, the government has introduced a “no worse off principle.” This ensures that clients will not pay more than they currently do and can even carry over unspent funds (up to $1,000 per quarter).
What Families and Carers Need to Know
A significant change under the reforms is the introduction of a unit pricing model. This means all fees—including management and travel—are rolled into a single hourly rate. While the rate may look higher, the reduced care management fees (capped at 10%) should balance out, ensuring clients receive the same amount of support hours.
For family carers, this change simplifies understanding the cost of care and makes it easier to explain to loved ones.
The Support at Home reforms mark a major shift in aged care delivery, promising simpler processes, fairer pricing, and quicker access to support. Families, carers, and providers should start preparing now to understand the changes and advocate for loved ones’ needs.
Learn more about the program or access resources to support your caregiving journey through the following links:
Department of Health and Aged Care - www.health.gov.au/our-work/support-at-home/about
My Aged Care - www.myagedcare.gov.au/support-home-program
Carer Gateway - www.carergateway.gov.au/help-and-support/getting-support-carergatewy
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Full Transcription - 08 Understanding the New Support at Home Program
Danni
Hello and welcome to a special episode of conversations with G and G. In today's episode, we're diving into an exciting and important topic. The Supports at Home program, a new initiative in Australia designed to provide comprehensive support for individuals needing in-home care. Now, this program is set to make a significant difference in how people live independently and also receive care within the comfort of their own homes.
Danni
We hope that this session is valuable to you all. Giselle, can you talk a little bit more about the new program?
Giselle
Yeah, certainly. So, the new program is called Support at Home, and it will be starting on the first of November 2025. So you may have heard previously it did have another start date, which was in July. It has been deferred. So 1st November. And as a family member or a caregiver, it's really important to understand the program because you may need to be supporting your loved one to understand what's changing for them. If anything's changing for them. So, hopefully this sessions informative enough to answer some of your questions or to maybe prompt you to ask your provider for some assistance or answer questions for you.
Giovanni
Yeah. It's important to note that it will actually replace the home care package program, as well as the, short term restorative care program. So it's not like brand new, it is brand new in a way. It's it's been, you know, really enhanced and, and, and a few changes, attached to it, but, it's been evolving from the home care package this way.
Danni
Yeah. Great.
Giselle
And, you know, just speaking about the home care package and the restorative, the short term restorative care program. In terms of the Commonwealth Home Support Program, which is also known as Chisp or CHSP. That's going to continue into 2027. So it's important just for people to know that as well.
Danni
So Giselle, what are some key improvements of the program?
Yep, certainly. So the Support at Home program is going to go into a single assessment process. So currently there's different assessors for different programs. So if it's CHSP there's a different assessment process. If it's Home Care Packages (HCP) it's different. But moving into Support At Home it's going to be a single assessment. So it makes it a little bit easier and fairer on everyone to go through that.
One of the other, important things to know is that government funding will increase. So currently for Home Care Packages there is four levels. With Support At Home it's going to go up to eight levels. And then there's also two other pathways as well, which we can talk a little bit about later. But the overall funding is going to increase.
And also a big objective is to reduce the waiting time to eventually two/three months so people won't have to wait as long as they are in the current system, they'll get their packages sooner.
Danni
Wonderful.
Giselle
Now, one of the other, important changes as well to note is that, there are some changes in terms of, contributing towards the care, but clinical care is completely government funded. So there are no contributions by the clients for clinical care. So that includes things like nursing, physio, OT, and other clinical care services.
Danni
So Giselle, will our loved ones have to pay more?
Giselle
So the government has introduced the “no worse off principle”. So for someone that's already already on a Home Care Package Program or for, anyone that was assessed before the 12th of September 2024, or for anyone that is on the wait list, the priority national waitlist before the 12th of September 2024, that principle will apply to them.
So that means that if they, were receiving or if, they weren't paying an income tested fee, that that will apply, they won't need to be paying anything or contributing anything.
Danni
Okay.
Giselle
So again, it's really depends on the situation of the person and where they are on that care journey and when they did get into that home care package system, because that “no worse of principle” will apply to them.
Danni
Right. So Gio, will we lose any unspent home care funds?
Giovanni
No Danni. Similarly to the “no worse off principle”, if you do have unspent funds in your Home Care Package program, basically you can carry that over with you and you can use that extra funding to pay off any extra services that you might need. So no, you will not lose that.
However, in the new program, there will be a cap of $1,000 per quarter or 10% of the quarterly budget. So basically, if you don't use the funding, you will lose it. You say you can only save up to a thousand, $1,000 a quarter.
Danni
Okay. Makes sense. So Giselle, how many care levels are there?
Giselle
So in the new Support at Home Program, there's going to be eight levels.
In the current Home Care Package program theres four. So what this means for anyone that is in the current Home Care Package, they'll be matched to that level with the equivalent funding that they've currently got. So in Support at Home with the eight levels, the overall funding, that can be, the highest funding amount, the level eight is, I think, about $78,000 per year.
So obviously the different levels have different funding amounts. Now there's also two short term classifications or two short term pathways. One is the Restorative Care Pathway and one is the End of Life Care Pathway. So both have additional funding, assigned to that particular pathway. The End of Life Pathways up to $25,000, over a 12 week period. And that provides in-home care for a loved one who is in the last three months of their life.
Danni
So Giselle, will my loved one actually need a new assessment?
Giselle
No, they won't, they won't be required to be reassessed. They'll just be assigned that new package, that new package level. Obviously, if and this is applicable if they're in the current system, Home Care Package, if they're wanting to change levels or increase level to get more funding, that would require reassessment. But otherwise, no.
Danni
So Gio, can we still choose to self-manage care?
Giovanni
Yes, absolutely. You can still choose to be a self-managed participant. However, the, care management fees, that will be deducted from your budget, is still up to 10%. Whether you are self managing or whether you're fully managed with a case manager.
But if you do decide to self manage, then you will need to organise your own care, you will need to reach out to the other suppliers and so forth to fulfill your care plan. I suppose, overall, goals.
Danni
So what are the key changes for family carers and caregivers, Giselle?
Giselle
I think it's important for caregivers and family members to know that the pricing model is completely different. So they are going to see a lot of changes when the provider sends out their price list, it is going to look extremely different. So it's moving towards a unit price model where everything needs to be incorporated into that hourly rate.
Whereas Home Care Packages is currently different. So package management fee, this package management fees, it could be travel fees and kilometers and it all needs to be rolled into one now. So I think that's going to be, important for families to understand so they can explain to their loved ones as well, because that hourly rate will be higher than what they've seen before.
But really what it is is it should equate to really the same thing. So that's going to be one important thing to understand and to pass on. So it makes it simple because it is just a single rate? Really at the end of the day, rather than a list of all the other fees and, and bits and bobs, that are involved as well. That's probably an important point to note. Anything else Gio that you wanted to say?
Giovanni
Ultimately, because the care management fees are reduced to up to 10% whilst the hourly rate goes up. It should balance itself. So you should receive about the same amount of hour of care. Into the new system.
Danni
That's really good to know.
Giovanni
So you shouldn't be worse off. Except for the fact that there might be co-contribution fees applicable if you are into the new system. Okay.
Danni
Well thank you for your time. It's been so informative and very, very helpful for so many. If people have got some questions and they want to reach out, what's the best way that they can do that?
Giselle
Well, they can definitely reach out to Conversations with G and G, and we're more than happy to provide any information. We can put in some links to the government info sheets as well. So people and listeners have access to that.
Danni
Great. Thank you. I'll see you next time.
Giselle
See you then.
Danni
And we'll see you next time on Conversations with G and G.
Outro:
Giovanni: Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Conversations with G and G. We hope today’s chat offered some fresh insight and support for your caregiving journey.
Giselle: If you’re looking for more tools, strategies, or just a bit of encouragement, head over to our website, you’ll find resources to guide you every step of the way.
Danni: Whether you're just starting out as a caregiver or have been caring for a loved one for years, there’s something there for you.
Giselle: Don’t forget to subscribe, share this episode with someone who needs it, and join us next month for another real, honest conversation.