The Complete Guide to Support at Home in Australia 2026
If you're trying to work out how to get help at home — for yourself, or for a parent — you've probably discovered that the hardest part isn't deciding you need support. It's the system you have to get through to receive it.
Support at Home replaced the Home Care Packages Program in November 2025. This guide covers how it works, who qualifies, what it pays for, and how to compare providers, so you can make decisions with some confidence rather than guessing.
Key takeaways
Support at Home replaced Home Care Packages in November 2025, with eight funding classifications based on assessed need.
It starts with My Aged Care — registration, then an assessment that determines what you're approved for.
The goal is staying home safely. Help around the house, in the garden, with personal care and clinical needs is how that's made possible.
Coordination is the difference between funding that sits unused and support that actually turns up.
We work across the Northern Rivers, coordinating Support at Home services and delivering in-home support locally.
What the Support at Home program is
Support at Home is the Australian Government's in-home aged care program, designed to help older people keep living independently at home. It replaced both the Home Care Packages Program and the Short-Term Restorative Care Programme in November 2025.
Through it you receive funded help with everyday living tasks, independence support and clinical care. Your funding level comes from an aged care assessment.
The program also includes three short-term pathways: the Restorative Care Pathway, the End-of-Life Pathway, and the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications scheme.
Who's eligible
Support at Home is for older Australians whose needs can't be fully met by the Commonwealth Home Support Programme alone. Eligibility comes from a formal aged care assessment.
Start by registering with My Aged Care, online or by phone. You'll then be referred to an assessment organisation, which looks at what you manage well, what's become difficult, and what support would help.
If approved, you receive a Notice of Decision setting out your approved services and which of the eight funding classifications you've been assigned.
What the assessment looks at
How you manage daily tasks, your mobility, memory and thinking, social connection and general health — plus your home environment and any support already in place.
Have someone with you if you can. A family member often notices changes in routine or in the house that you'd never think to mention, and it's those details that shape the outcome.
How the funding works
Once approved you go onto the Support at Home Priority System and are allocated funding as it becomes available. Priority runs across four categories, from urgent through to standard.
Funding then arrives as quarterly budgets. You can carry unspent money into the next quarter up to $1,000 or 10%, whichever is greater — which means planning each quarter genuinely matters, because anything above that cap doesn't follow you.
Services Australia manages the funding account. Your provider delivers services and claims through Services Australia, which deducts any participant contribution before paying them.
What you'll contribute
Your out-of-pocket costs come from an income and assets assessment done by Services Australia.
Clinical care is fully government-funded — nursing and allied health cost you nothing. For everyday living and independence services you may contribute a portion based on your circumstances. Hardship provisions exist for people who can't contribute for reasons outside their control.
(Worth knowing: from 1 October 2026 personal care moves into the clinical category and becomes fully funded too.)
What's covered
Everyday living — cleaning, laundry, meal preparation, shopping and household tasks. The point isn't a tidy house; it's a home that's safe to move through and manageable without leaning entirely on family.
Independence and personal care — bathing, dressing, mobility, transport and medication management, along with social and community support such as companionship, outings and staying connected locally.
Clinical care — nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, podiatry and speech therapy, fully government-funded.
Garden and outdoor maintenance — mowing, weeding, hedge trimming and clearing paths. Outdoor areas are usually the first part of a property to get away from someone, and an overgrown path is a trip hazard before it's an eyesore.
Choosing a provider
Your choice shapes how well the funding actually works. Some providers concentrate on compliance and invoicing; others actively manage your services.
When you're comparing, ask about coordination. Will you have a consistent point of contact? How often is your plan reviewed? How fast do they respond when your needs change?
Ask who will actually be in your home, too — whether it's the same small team each visit or whoever is available that week. Consistency is what lets someone notice a change before it becomes a problem.
Questions worth asking
Will one person manage my services, or am I ringing a call centre?
Who comes to my home, and will it be the same people?
How do you track whether my funding is being used effectively?
What happens when my needs change?
These get you past the brochure and into what daily life with that provider actually feels like.
Why coordination matters for staying at home
Ageing in place means staying in your own home as your needs change, rather than moving into residential care.
Research published by the University of Technology Sydney in February 2026 — carried out with older residents on the NSW North Coast, around Woolgoolga and the Coffs Harbour Northern Beaches — identified six pillars that determine whether ageing in place works: transport and mobility, food and nutrition, home modification and maintenance, digital inclusion, social inclusion, and access to health care.
What stands out is how many of those are practical and everyday. Keeping a home maintained and safe to move through. Getting out and staying connected. Being able to reach appointments. These aren't clinical problems — they're the ordinary fabric of living somewhere, and they're exactly what tends to slip first.
Coordinated support pulls them into one plan. Rather than you managing a cleaner, a gardener, an allied health appointment and a personal care worker separately, one person handles scheduling, budget and communication.
It also means someone is paying attention across the whole picture — noticing when the garden's getting away, when appointments are being missed, when someone's stopped going out — and adjusting before it turns into a fall or a hospital stay.
How we work
We coordinate Support at Home services across the Northern Rivers — developing your care plan, organising services, keeping an eye on your budget, and staying in regular contact with you and your family.
Where we support you at home ourselves, it's our own local team doing it: the same faces, people who learn your routines. Where you need something we don't deliver, we organise it through trusted local providers and keep it running through one point of contact, so you're not the one holding it all together.
Switching providers
You can change your Support at Home provider at any time without losing your approved funding. You notify your current provider, choose a new one, and enter a new service agreement. Your new provider works with Services Australia to transfer the funding account.
There shouldn't be a gap in your care, though it's worth planning the changeover so start and exit dates line up. We've written a step-by-step guide to switching providers if you're weighing it up.
A growing balance on your quarterly statement is usually the clearest sign your funding isn't reaching you.
The eight funding classifications
Each participant is assigned one of eight classifications based on assessed need — Classification 1 for lower-level support through to Classification 8 for complex, high-intensity care. Each comes with a set funding amount covering care management, everyday living, independence and clinical support.
If your needs increase, you can request a Support Plan Review through your assessment organisation, which may result in a higher classification.
Short-term pathways
Restorative Care Pathway — coordinated allied health and nursing to help you regain function after illness, injury or a hospital stay, reducing the need for ongoing intensive support.
End-of-Life Pathway — funded care allowing you to remain at home in your final months.
Assistive Technology and Home Modifications — mobility aids, bathroom rails, ramps and modifications that make your home safer and easier to use.
To confirm before publishing: the source draft specified 16 weeks for the Restorative Care Pathway and 12 weeks for the End-of-Life Pathway, plus a second funding round from early 2027. None could be verified — check the department's pathway pages and reinstate the durations. The 2027 claim has been cut as speculative.
When the system itself is the obstacle
Plenty of families find the terminology harder than the caring. CHSP, classifications, assessment referrals, Notices of Decision — it's a lot to take in while you're also worried about someone.
A care navigator helps you understand the process, prepare for the assessment and make sense of the letters. It's most useful if you've never dealt with aged care before.
Care Compass is our navigation service — walking you through registering with My Aged Care, preparing for assessment, and understanding what comes next, before any funding is in place.
What the house tells you
The state of someone's home often reflects a change in health, mobility or support needs before anyone says anything.
A garden that's become overgrown. Dishes stacking up. Clutter narrowing a hallway. Post unopened on the table. These are usually the earliest visible signs that the support in place isn't quite enough.
People who spend regular time in a home are often the first to see it. When those observations get passed on — to family, to a coordinator — things get addressed earlier and more easily.
It's a large part of why consistency matters. A team who knows your home and your routine notices what a rotating roster of unfamiliar workers can't.
Getting started, step by step
1. Register with My Aged Care. Call 1800 200 422 or apply online. Have your Medicare number, date of birth and contact details ready. A GP or hospital referral can also start it.
2. Complete your assessment. An assessor visits to look at daily functioning, health needs and goals. Prepare by noting what you find difficult, any recent falls or health events, and what matters to you about staying home.
3. Receive approval and wait for funding. Your Notice of Decision confirms approved services and classification. You then enter the Priority System until funding is allocated. Short-term pathways like Restorative Care are funded immediately.
4. Choose a provider. Once your funding allocation letter arrives you have 56 days — with an optional 28-day extension — to select a registered provider and start services. Compare two or three before deciding.
5. Activate your services. Your provider builds a care plan and individualised budget, then works with you to organise, review and adjust support as things change.
What a social enterprise does differently
A social enterprise runs with a purpose beyond profit. We're certified, and we reinvest a minimum of 50% of profits into local employment pathways, community initiatives and social outcomes across the Northern Rivers.
It means the service you receive also creates meaningful local work for people who face barriers getting into or back into the workforce.
Choosing a social enterprise doesn't mean compromising on quality. It means your funding does something in the community as well as in your home.
Where to start
Working through the aged care system takes patience, but it's navigable — and you don't have to do it on your own.
Register with My Aged Care, prepare properly for your assessment, and take your time comparing providers once funding comes through. Look for one that coordinates actively, communicates clearly, and sends the same people to your door.
If you're in the Northern Rivers and want a local hand with any part of it, we're here.
You don't have to manage it alone. Have a chat with our team.
Common questions
What is the Support at Home program? An Australian Government aged care program funding in-home services for older people. It replaced the Home Care Packages Program in November 2025 and covers everyday living support, personal care, nursing and allied health.
How do I apply? Register with My Aged Care online or by phone, then complete an aged care assessment that determines eligibility, approved services and funding classification.
Can I change provider? Yes, at any time, without losing your approved funding. Your new provider works with Services Australia to transfer the account.
What does Support at Home cover? Everyday living tasks such as cleaning and meals; independence support including personal care and transport; and clinical services such as nursing and physiotherapy. Clinical care is fully funded.
How does Sistability help? We coordinate your care plan, organise services, keep track of your budget and stay in contact with you and your family. Where we deliver support at home ourselves, it's our own local Northern Rivers team.
What is ageing in place? Continuing to live in your own home as your needs grow, rather than moving into residential care. Coordinated support is one of the things that makes it possible.
Do I have to pay? It depends on an income and assets assessment by Services Australia. Clinical care is fully government-funded. For everyday living and independence services you may contribute a portion. Personal care becomes fully funded from 1 October 2026.
