CHSP in the Northern Territory
Last updated 21 August 2026
The short version
- CHSP is the entry-level home help program - small per-service contributions, quick to start once a local provider has room.
- It's not ending: on 20 August 2026 the government confirmed CHSP stays standalone until at least 30 June 2029. What that means.
- The NT is Australia's most remote-skewed aged care market. ARRCS is the major provider across Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and remote communities.
- In remote Aboriginal communities, the NATSIFAC flexible aged care program often takes the place of CHSP - and the earlier eligibility ages for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (50+, or 45+ if at risk of homelessness) matter most here.
How CHSP works in the Territory
CHSP is the same national program everywhere: government grants fund around 1,300 organisations to deliver task-based help - cleaning, meals, transport, personal care, social support - to about 830,000 older Australians, with clients paying small contributions (typically around $5-$15 an hour for domestic help) and hardship waivers required so inability to pay never blocks a service. What's different in the NT is the map. This is the country's smallest and most stretched aged care market, and much of the Territory's older population - especially Aboriginal Territorians - lives outside Darwin and Alice Springs, where mainstream providers barely operate.
The backbone is Australian Regional and Remote Community Services (ARRCS), the NT's largest aged care provider, operating across Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and remote communities. Other community organisations deliver home support in and around the main centres. Coverage is genuinely uneven, so the first practical step anywhere in the Territory is checking who currently holds CHSP funding for your community via My Aged Care's Find a Provider tool - or asking us.
Remote communities, NATSIFAC and eligibility ages
Two things every Territorian family should know. First, eligibility ages are lower for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: 50 and over (rather than 65), or 45 and over for people on a low income who are homeless or at risk of it. In the NT, where a large share of older people are Aboriginal, these are the ages that matter in practice.
Second, in many remote communities the program on the ground isn't CHSP at all but NATSIFAC - the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program - which grant-funds local, often community-controlled organisations to deliver culturally safe care flexibly, without the mainstream program boundaries. If you're in a remote community, don't worry about which acronym applies: My Aged Care has dedicated remote-access pathways and will route you to whatever service actually operates where you live. The support is what matters, not the program label.
It's out of date. The planned merger into Support at Home was abandoned on 20 August 2026 - CHSP continues standalone until at least 30 June 2029. Read our summary of the announcement.
Getting CHSP - and what to do while you wait
Access is national: register with My Aged Care (1800 200 422 or myagedcare.gov.au), have a phone screening, then a home support assessment - usually at your home, more a conversation than a test. You'll get referral codes and can start once a local provider has capacity; in Darwin and Alice Springs that's typically days to a few weeks, but in smaller centres it depends entirely on local capacity. If you're stuck, ask My Aged Care to re-refer you, and the free advocacy services can help - in the NT, OPAN advocacy is provided by Darwin Community Legal Service (Top End postcodes) and CatholicCare NT (the rest of the Territory), or call OPAN on 1800 700 600.
If you've been approved for Support at Home, CHSP (or NATSIFAC) is the standard support while you wait - NT waits vary a lot between centres because the numbers are small, so treat any single figure with caution. See the waitlist in the NT, and providers in regional and remote NT for who covers your community.
Trying to sort out care in the Territory?
Tell us where you are and what help is needed. We'll work out which program applies where you live and who can actually deliver it.
Common questions
I'm Aboriginal and 52 - am I old enough for CHSP?
Yes. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are eligible for Commonwealth aged care from age 50 (45 if on a low income and homeless or at risk of homelessness). Register with My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 - and if you live in a remote community, ask about the services operating locally, which may be NATSIFAC rather than CHSP.
There's no CHSP provider in my community. What are my options?
Check whether a NATSIFAC flexible aged care service or a multi-purpose service operates locally - in remote NT they often fill the role CHSP plays elsewhere. Call My Aged Care and ask specifically about remote-access pathways for your community, and if you get nowhere, the free advocacy services (Darwin Community Legal Service or CatholicCare NT, via OPAN 1800 700 600) can push on your behalf.
Is CHSP ending?
No. On 20 August 2026 the government confirmed CHSP continues as a standalone program until at least 30 June 2029 - the previously planned 2027 merger was abandoned. Services continue as normal. Full details.
Sources
- My Aged Care, myagedcare.gov.au - Commonwealth Home Support Programme and support for people in rural and remote areas, accessed August 2026.
- Ministers Butler and Rae, media release, 20 August 2026 - CHSP standalone until at least 30 June 2029 (as reported by ABC News and sector press).
- ARRCS (Australian Regional and Remote Community Services) - navigating home care services in the NT.
- Department of Health, Disability and Ageing - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged care programs (NATSIFAC).
- CHSP 2025-27 Program Manual and Client Contribution Framework, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
- OPAN - advocacy coverage in the Northern Territory.