The Support at Home program, explained properly.
Australia's new in-home aged care program, translated into plain English — and how ACAC helps you get every dollar of value from it.
One program. One budget. Your home.
Since 1 November 2025, Support at Home has been Australia's single program for aged care in the home, replacing Home Care Packages. If the old system felt like alphabet soup, the new one is genuinely simpler: you're assessed once, given a budget, and you choose a provider to turn it into real help.
Our job at ACAC hasn't changed with the program: keep you living well in the home you love, surrounded by people who know your name.
Already with a provider? Your funding travels with you.
Your budget belongs to you, not your provider. If you're not getting the care or the answers you deserve, you can move to ACAC at any time — we notify your current provider, coordinate the handover, and make sure not a single visit is missed.
Switch to ACAC →
Two programs, one destination: care at home.
For years, Australia funded in-home aged care through Home Care Packages (HCP) — four levels, from a little help to a lot. On 1 November 2025 a new front door opened: Support at Home (SAH), with eight classifications matched more precisely to your needs. Whichever road you came by, you end up in the same place — one budget, spent on care in your own home, with a provider you choose.
Home Care Package (HCP)
The previous program — levels 1 to 4. If you already had a package, your funding simply travelled with you when the new program began. Nothing was taken away.
Support at Home (SAH)
The current program — you're assessed once by My Aged Care and placed in one of eight classifications, each with a quarterly budget.
🏡 Your home, your budget, your care
Both roads arrive at the same door — and ACAC walks the rest of the way with you.
New assessments — Support at Home
Assessed from 1 November 2025 onward? Your letter shows a classification from 1 to 8.
| Classification | Quarterly budget | Annual budget |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,752.50 | $11,010.01 |
| 2 | $4,112.84 | $16,451.35 |
| 3 | $5,634.20 | $22,536.81 |
| 4 | $7,617.13 | $30,468.51 |
| 5 | $10,182.38 | $40,729.53 |
| 6 | $12,341.32 | $49,365.27 |
| 7 | $14,915.00 | $59,660.00 |
| 8 | $20,034.28 | $80,137.12 |
Transitioned from a Home Care Package
Had an HCP before 1 November 2025? You keep these amounts until you choose to be reassessed — the government's "no worse off" promise.
| HCP level | Quarterly budget | Annual budget |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | $2,746.63 | $10,986.52 |
| Level 2 | $4,829.86 | $19,319.44 |
| Level 3 | $10,513.83 | $42,055.32 |
| Level 4 | $15,939.55 | $63,758.20 |
Rates current from 1 July 2026, per the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing Schedule of Subsidies and Supplements. Indexed each July.
Find your budget.
See what your funding covers and what it could do for you — your budget, your services, your choices, all worked out in one friendly place.
Explore your budget →Extra support when life changes.
On top of your ongoing budget, Support at Home has flexible pathways for when circumstances change. Here's what each one means:
Assistive Technology & Home Modifications
What to expectPractical changes to your home, or equipment that keeps you safe and independent — grab rails, ramps, mobility aids — prescribed by an allied health professional, with its own separate funding on top of your budget. One of our specialties.
Ask us about AT-HM →Restorative Care Pathway
What to expectUp to 16 weeks of focused support to get you back on your feet after illness, injury or a hospital stay. Clear goals, steady progress, and a whole team cheering you on — delivered by ACAC as a registered provider.
End of Life Pathway
What to expectSpecialist care that prioritises dignity, comfort and time with loved ones. ACAC doesn't deliver this pathway ourselves — but we'll connect you and your family with the right specialist provider, warmly and without delay. You'll never work it out alone.
What happens to money you don't spend?
If you moved across from a Home Care Package, any unspent funds came with you in full — they're still yours to use for approved services once a quarterly budget runs out, or for assistive technology and home modifications that meet your assessed needs.
Under Support at Home itself, you can carry up to $1,000 or 10% of your quarterly budget (whichever is greater) into the next quarter.
Every service sits in one of three baskets.
1 · Clinical Supports
Nursing, allied health, therapies, medication support.
Fully funded by the government — you pay nothing for clinical care.
Learn more →
2 · Independence
Personal care, mobility and continence support, transport, social support, respite.
A contribution applies, based on your income.
Learn more →
3 · Everyday Living
Cleaning, laundry, meals, gardening, home maintenance.
A contribution applies, based on your income.
Learn more →The government's national service list defines exactly what can and can't be funded — and your ACAC care partner will always tell you straight which basket something falls into before it's booked.
Three kinds of participants — where do you fit?
What you contribute depends on when you were first approved. Find your group here — then see what it means for your costs just below.
Approved on or before 12 Sept 2024: protected by the no worse off rule. Same costs as before, or less.
Approved 13 Sept 2024 – 31 Oct 2025: moved across on the new contribution settings, applied automatically from your pension/income status.
Approved from 1 Nov 2025: start directly under the new rules.
What will I actually pay?
You only ever contribute towards services you actually use — and clinical care is always fully government-funded.
| Your situation | Independence | Everyday Living |
|---|---|---|
| Full pensioners | 5% | 17.5% |
| Part pensioners | 5–50% | 17.5–80% |
| Self-funded retirees | 50% | 80% |
Part-pension rates depend on income and assets — set automatically by Services Australia from details they already hold.
Three protections worth knowing:
Lifetime cap
$135,318.69 (indexed) across home and residential care combined. Once reached, contributions stop.
No worse off rule
If you were approved on or before 12 September 2024, you'll keep paying the same as before, or less.
Financial hardship assistance
If contributions become unaffordable, you can apply for help so your care never stops.
Three examples — fictional, but true to how the rules work:
Margaret, 81, Glenside — grandfathered full pensioner. On a package since 2022, she worried the new program meant new fees. It doesn't: her contribution arrangements are protected, her nursing stays fully funded, and her cleaning continues at the price she's always paid.
Raj, 77, Glen Waverley — transitioned part pensioner. Approved in early 2025, Raj moved across automatically. Services Australia set his contribution tier from details they already held — no forms, no surprises, and a monthly ACAC statement that shows every dollar.
Helen, 74, Magill — new entrant, self-funded. Assessed in 2026 after a fall, Helen contributes at the higher tier for everyday services, but her physio and nursing cost her nothing. Her care partner helped her weight the budget towards what mattered most: staying steady and staying social.
Your rights, in writing.
The Aged Care Act 2024 sets out a Statement of Rights every provider must honour — respect, safety, quality care, and transparency about your funds. We publish it, we train to it, and we welcome being held to it.
Read the Statement of Rights →
The program is national. Your care shouldn't feel like it.
A care partner who's genuinely yours.
One dedicated person who knows your plan, your preferences and your family — and answers when you call.
Registered nurses on our own staff.
Clinical oversight from people inside ACAC, not down a referral chain.
We speak fluent Support at Home.
Assessments, reassessments, classifications, AT-HM — we track every rule change so you never have to.
Statements you can actually read.
Every month: what was spent, on what, and what remains. No mystery lines, ever.
Boutique and family-run.
Around 300 families across Adelaide and Melbourne — big enough to do it well, small enough to know your name.
Support at Home questions, answered.
Ready to make Support at Home actually feel supportive?
Your home. Your budget. Your choice.
Answer a few quick questions online, or call us for a friendly, no-pressure chat.
