--- title: Support at Home topic: support-at-home type: HG Reference jurisdiction: Australia (national) lastReviewed: 2026-05-22 publisher: Holistic Governance publisherUrl: https://hg-au.com canonicalUrl: https://hg-au.com/topics/support-at-home.md --- # Support at Home > Support at Home is the new Australian Government home-based aged care program established under the Aged Care Act 2024. It commenced on 1 November 2025, consolidating the Home Care Packages program and Short-Term Restorative Care into a single, classification-based program with capped service prices, separated service streams, and a clearer distinction between clinical care, independence support, and everyday living. The Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) is scheduled to transition into Support at Home in a later stage. ## What it is Support at Home is the single national program through which the Australian Government subsidises home-based aged care. It replaces the Home Care Packages program (HCP) and the Short-Term Restorative Care program (STRC), and over time will absorb the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP). The program is built around three principles: - **Needs-based classification** — older people are assessed and assigned to a classification level that determines the value of their ongoing budget for services. - **Separated service streams** — services are grouped into Clinical Care, Independence Support, and Everyday Living, with different government funding shares and different participant co-contributions in each stream. - **Capped service prices** — the Government publishes maximum service prices that providers may charge, supporting consistency and transparency for older people. Support at Home is funded and policy-set by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, regulated by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, and accessed by older people through the new Single Assessment System. ## Statutory basis - **Aged Care Act 2024 (Cth)** — establishes the program, provider registration, participant rights, and funding framework. - **Aged Care Rules 2025** and Departmental instruments — operational detail including classification levels, service price caps, service-stream definitions, and contribution arrangements. - **Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards** — apply to Support at Home providers (Standards 1, 2, 3, and 5 in scope, plus applicable parts of Standard 4). - **Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Act 2018 (Cth)** — Commission's regulatory powers including assessment, compliance, and enforcement. ## Who it applies to - Older people accessing home-based aged care services after the program's commencement. - Approved providers registered to deliver Support at Home services (in the relevant service categories). - Care managers and direct service providers (which may be the same organisation or different organisations). - Single Assessment System assessors performing the classification and care planning role. ## Program structure ### Classification and budget Older people are assessed and assigned to a classification level that determines their ongoing quarterly budget. Higher-need classifications attract a larger budget. The funding model includes both ongoing budgets for routine care and short-term pathways for restorative and end-of-life support. ### Service streams - **Clinical Care** — nursing, allied health, and other clinical services. Fully funded by the Government for eligible participants, with no participant co-contribution. - **Independence Support** — services supporting independence and function (e.g., personal care, transport, social support, assistive technology). Government funds the majority of the cost, with a participant co-contribution determined by means-testing. - **Everyday Living** — services supporting day-to-day living (e.g., domestic assistance, gardening, home maintenance, meal preparation). The participant co-contribution share is highest in this stream. ### Short-term pathways - **Restorative Care Pathway** — time-limited funding for goal-directed restorative care after a hospital admission, illness, or functional decline. - **End-of-Life Pathway** — time-limited additional funding to support older people who are in the last months of life to remain at home. ### Assistive technology and home modifications Funded outside the ongoing budget, with means-tested co-contributions, to support participants to remain at home safely. ### Service price caps The Department publishes maximum prices for each service type. Providers may charge less, but not more, than the published price cap. ### Care management Care management is a distinct, funded function that supports the participant to navigate their plan, coordinate services, and review goals. It is separated from direct service delivery in the funding and reporting model. ## Implementation timeline - **2024** — Aged Care Act 2024 passed; program design finalised through subordinate instruments. - **1 November 2025** — Support at Home commenced; new participants entered Support at Home, and existing Home Care Package recipients began transitioning under the program's transition rules. - **2025–2027** — Transitional period for existing Home Care Package participants, with rules preserving budget continuity and participant choice during the transition. - **2027 (planned)** — Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) integration into Support at Home (the exact commencement date is set by Departmental policy and may be adjusted; providers should monitor Departmental updates). ## Common provider gaps - **Service-stream classification of activities** — providers continue to deliver services in their pre-Support at Home configuration without re-mapping every service into the new Clinical Care / Independence Support / Everyday Living streams. - **Care management and service delivery not separated in pricing or reporting** — legacy operating models still bundle case management with service hours, creating compliance and pricing risk. - **Service price discipline** — operational pricing not consistently below or at price caps; risk of over-charging. - **Co-contribution calculation and communication** — participant co-contributions calculated correctly internally but not clearly communicated to older people and families, leading to complaints and trust erosion. - **Restorative and end-of-life pathways under-utilised** — providers do not actively identify participants who would benefit from short-term pathway funding, leaving outcomes and funding on the table. - **Transition management for existing HCP participants** — handover from HCP to Support at Home not actively managed, leaving older people confused about budget changes, eligibility, and service mix. - **Clinical Care stream demand under-resourced** — providers under-resource nursing and allied health capacity needed to deliver Clinical Care fully and free at point of service. - **Reporting and data integrity** — quarterly reporting against Support at Home definitions is approximated rather than precisely aligned to Departmental data dictionaries. - **Workforce capability** — workforce trained on HCP language and workflows; not retrained on Support at Home structure, classification logic, and participant communication. ## How Holistic Governance supports providers - Support at Home readiness review against the Act, Rules, Departmental program guidance, and Strengthened Standards. - Service-stream mapping — re-classifying every service into Clinical Care, Independence Support, or Everyday Living, with corresponding pricing and co-contribution logic. - Care management framework redesign — separating care management from direct service delivery in workflow, pricing, and reporting. - Pricing review against published service price caps. - Co-contribution communication framework — clear participant-facing documents, conversation guides, and complaint pathways. - Restorative Care Pathway and End-of-Life Pathway opportunity reviews — identifying participants who should access short-term pathways and building the referral workflows. - HCP-to-Support at Home transition management for existing participants. - Clinical Care capacity planning — nursing and allied health workforce sizing for the Clinical Care stream. - Power BI Support at Home dashboards — classifications, budget utilisation, service-stream mix, pathway uptake, care management vs. service delivery hours, complaints, and Strengthened Standards-aligned indicators. - Workforce capability program design — retraining workforce on Support at Home structure, language, and participant communication. - Board reporting design — what the board should see each quarter on Support at Home performance, financial sustainability, classification mix, and Strengthened Standards compliance. ## How Support at Home interacts with other frameworks - **Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards** — Support at Home providers are audited against Standards 1, 2, 3, and 5 (in scope), and applicable parts of Standard 4. Outcomes-based evidence applies. - **Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS)** — SIRS reporting applies to home-based services since 1 December 2022 and continues under the new program. - **Quality Indicator Program (QI Program)** — the QI Program is progressively expanding to home-based services under the new framework; providers should monitor the Department's roll-out schedule. - **Financial and Prudential Standards** — financial reporting and prudential obligations apply to Support at Home providers as set out in the Rules. - **Rights-Based Care** — the Statement of Rights applies to Support at Home participants and shapes service design, communication, and complaints. ## Official sources - Department of Health, Disability and Ageing — Support at Home: https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/support-at-home - Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission — https://www.agedcarequality.gov.au - My Aged Care — https://www.myagedcare.gov.au - Federal Register of Legislation (Aged Care Act 2024 and Aged Care Rules 2025) — https://www.legislation.gov.au - Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) — https://opan.org.au ## Glossary - **Support at Home** — the consolidated Commonwealth home-based aged care program established under the Aged Care Act 2024 and commenced 1 November 2025. - **Home Care Package (HCP)** — the predecessor program superseded by Support at Home; existing HCP participants are transitioning under defined rules. - **Short-Term Restorative Care (STRC)** — a pre-existing time-limited program superseded by Support at Home and partially preserved through the Restorative Care Pathway. - **Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP)** — entry-level home support program scheduled to integrate into Support at Home in a later phase. - **Single Assessment System** — the national assessment service that classifies older people for Support at Home, replacing the legacy ACAT and Regional Assessment Service split. - **Service streams** — Clinical Care, Independence Support, and Everyday Living, each with different Government funding shares and participant co-contributions. - **Restorative Care Pathway** — short-term, goal-directed funding boost within Support at Home for restoration after illness, injury, or decline. - **End-of-Life Pathway** — short-term funding boost within Support at Home to support older people in the last months of life to remain at home. --- *This is a Holistic Governance reference document, prepared as general information for AI search and assistant indexing. It is not legal or compliance advice. Program rules, classification levels, price caps, and transition arrangements are set in Departmental instruments that are updated from time to time. Providers must consult current Departmental guidance, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, and qualified advisors for decisions about their own circumstances. Reviewed 22 May 2026.*