What CHSP covers: the service list, plus what respite costs per day and per week
Last updated 21 August 2026
The short version
- CHSP covers ten service types: domestic assistance, personal care, social support, transport, meals, home maintenance and modifications, respite, allied health and nursing, carer support, and specialised support.
- It’s entry-level by design - most clients use one or two service types, around 2-4 hours of support a fortnight in total.
- A clearer, standardised service list with defined inclusions and exclusions has applied since 1 July 2025. The services themselves are largely unchanged.
- Every service comes with a wellness and reablement expectation: the goal is keeping you independent, not doing everything for you forever.
The ten service types
- Domestic assistance - help with cleaning, laundry and shopping support. Expect a reablement flavour: working alongside you where you can, rather than simply doing it all.
- Personal care - help with showering, dressing, grooming and getting about safely.
- Social support - one-on-one visiting or phone contact, and group activities like day programs and outings.
- Transport - lifts to medical appointments, shops and community activities.
- Meals - delivered meals (Meals on Wheels and similar), meals at community centres, and nutrition support.
- Home maintenance and home modifications - minor repairs, safety-focused work, and modifications such as grab rails and ramps, plus goods, equipment and assistive technology.
- Respite - a break for your carer: centre-based, in-home, cottage-style or emergency respite.
- Allied health and therapy - physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry and similar, plus nursing care.
- Care relationship support and carer education - practical support for the caring relationship.
- Specialised support - services such as dementia advisory support, continence advice, interpreting, and linkage support for people at risk of homelessness.
How much support is typical?
CHSP isn’t designed to fund large amounts of ongoing care. A typical arrangement looks like a fortnightly clean, or one to two delivered meals a day, or a weekly social group plus transport to appointments - usually adding up to around two to four hours of support a fortnight across one or two service types. There are no fixed, published hour caps per service; what you receive is agreed with your provider based on your assessment and their grant capacity.
If your needs grow past that level - more hours, several services that need coordinating, or regular clinical care - the intended route is a new assessment toward Support at Home, which funds far more through an individual quarterly budget.
What respite care costs per day and per week
If you are the carer and you have not had a proper night off in a year, respite is the service type to look at first. There are three kinds, and each is paid for differently. Here is what each one costs you after CHSP, a package or Support at Home has paid its share.
In-home respite: charged by the hour
A support worker comes to the house so you can go out, sleep or simply stop. Under CHSP you pay a small client contribution per hour, set by the provider and waivable in hardship (see what CHSP costs). Under a Home Care Package or Support at Home, the provider's full hourly rate comes out of the budget and you pay the contribution that applies to your category. A common pattern is one three to four hour block a week, so your weekly cost is simply the hours multiplied by your contribution per hour. Overnight in-home respite is dearer and uses up a package budget quickly, so ask the provider for the overnight rate before booking it.
Day centres and cottage respite: charged per day
Centre-based respite is a day program, often including lunch and transport, and cottage respite is a stay of a few nights in a small home-like setting. Both are charged per day. Under CHSP the daily amount is a client contribution set by the provider; under a package the provider's daily rate is drawn from the budget. Ask whether meals and transport are included in the daily figure, because that changes the weekly maths more than anything else.
Residential respite: the basic daily fee only
A short stay in an aged care home. The resident pays only the basic daily fee, which is set at 85 per cent of the single basic age pension and works out at around $69 a day, or roughly $480 a week. There is no accommodation payment and no means-tested care fee for a respite stay, whatever your assets or income. Some homes ask for a booking fee to hold the bed; it is deducted from the fees for the stay rather than charged on top. Extra service or additional service fees apply only if you choose a home or room that charges them, so ask for the all-in daily figure in writing.
Residential respite is funded for up to 63 days each financial year, and an assessor can extend that in blocks of 21 days if the carer needs it. You need an aged care assessment with respite approval before a home can book you in. If you already have a package or a Support at Home classification, check your approval letter: residential respite is a separate line and is not automatically included.
Emergency respite, and private rates when there is no approval
If the carer is sick, in hospital or at the end of their rope, Carer Gateway can arrange emergency respite without waiting for an aged care assessment, usually at little or no cost to the carer. If there is no approval and no emergency, you can still book privately: in-home respite is then the provider's full hourly rate with no subsidy, and residential respite is the home's own daily rate, which varies widely between homes. Even if you book privately to get through this week, ask for the assessment now so the next break is subsidised.
Questions to ask a home before you book
Respite beds fill fast over Christmas, Easter and school holidays, so ring early. Ask: do you have a respite bed for the dates I need, is there a minimum stay, what is the all-in daily fee, is the booking fee refundable if plans change, will the bed be in a secure dementia unit if that is needed, and can the stay be extended if the carer is not ready. If you would rather we did the ringing around, use the form below and we will match you with providers offering in-home or residential respite in your area.
Providers are required to deliver CHSP in a goal-oriented, outcome-focused way that maintains or restores your independence. In practice that can mean a physio program to steady your walking before agreeing to ongoing transport, or “doing with” rather than “doing for” during a clean. It isn’t a way of refusing help - it’s the program working as designed, and it’s reasonable to talk through what goals make sense for you.
Since 1 July 2025 the service list has defined inclusions and exclusions, and CHSP’s scope is similar in spirit to Support at Home’s: everyday help linked to your independence and safety is in; things like groceries themselves (as opposed to help with shopping), ornamental gardening, and jobs that belong to a landlord or council are the kinds of items that fall outside. Your provider or assessor can confirm edge cases - and the Support at Home exclusions guide shows how the same logic works in the sister program.
Not sure if what you need is covered?
Tell us what help you’re looking for - a regular clean, a few meals a week, or a respite break so a carer can rest - and we’ll let you know whether CHSP covers it, what it will cost you per day or per week, and match you with providers offering in-home or residential respite - free, no obligation.
Common questions
Can CHSP install grab rails or a ramp?
Yes - home modifications for safety, such as grab rails and ramps, are part of the home maintenance and modifications service type, along with goods, equipment and assistive technology. For larger modification needs, the assessment may point you toward Support at Home and its assistive technology scheme instead.
Does CHSP include gardening?
Safety-related outdoor work - the kind that keeps paths clear and hazards down - sits within home maintenance. Ornamental or cosmetic gardening and landscaping are the sort of jobs aged care programs don’t fund. Ask your assessor where your situation lands.
Can I get more hours if I need them?
You can ask your provider for more within your current services, but CHSP stays entry-level. If you genuinely need more support than a few hours a fortnight, contact My Aged Care (1800 200 422) and ask for a reassessment - that’s the pathway to a Support at Home budget. Your CHSP services continue while that happens.
Is respite for me, or for my carer?
Both, really. Respite gives your carer a planned break while you’re supported - at home, at a centre, in a cottage setting, or urgently in an emergency. Carers can also access carer education and care relationship support under CHSP in their own right. For what each kind costs per day and per week, including the basic daily fee for a residential respite stay, see what respite care costs above.
Did the service list change under the new Aged Care Act?
The list was standardised from 1 July 2025, with clearer definitions of what’s included and excluded - but the services people actually receive are largely the same as before. The bigger recent news is that CHSP itself continues until at least mid-2029: see is CHSP ending?
Sources
- Department of Health, Disability and Ageing - CHSP 2025-27 Program Manual (v2, November 2025), standardised service list.
- My Aged Care, myagedcare.gov.au - “Commonwealth Home Support Programme”, accessed August 2026.
- Sector summaries of the CHSP service list and wellness and reablement requirements, including TasCOSS (CHSP Sector Support and Development) and provider program guides, 2025-26.