CHSP in Tasmania
Last updated 21 August 2026
The short version
- CHSP works the same in Tasmania as everywhere: entry-level help at home - cleaning, meals, transport, social groups - with small per-service contributions, typically around $5-$15 an hour for domestic help.
- It's not ending. On 20 August 2026 the government confirmed CHSP continues standalone until at least 30 June 2029. What that means.
- Tasmania has no special state rules for over-65s - access is entirely through My Aged Care. Providers include Community Based Support and Uniting AgeWell, with TasCOSS supporting the sector statewide.
- The practical Tasmanian issue is geography: three separate population centres and thin coverage between them.
How CHSP works in Tasmania
There's no Tasmanian version of CHSP - it's the same national program under which government grants fund around 1,300 organisations to deliver task-based help to about 830,000 older Australians. You pay a small contribution per service (typically $8-$12 for a delivered meal, $3-$10 per transport trip), the government covers the rest, and every provider must offer hardship reductions so inability to pay never blocks a service. It suits people who need one or two kinds of help a few hours a fortnight; more than that points to Support at Home.
Delivery follows Tasmania's three-region shape - South around Hobart, North around Launceston, and the North-West around Burnie and Devonport each function as semi-separate markets, and providers often organise themselves the same way. Notable CHSP deliverers include Community Based Support, a Tasmanian home care not-for-profit, and Uniting AgeWell, which runs separate home care services in each of the three regions. TasCOSS holds the CHSP-funded sector support role for the state, helping providers with reform information and wellness-and-reablement training. We won't pretend there's a rich seam of Tasmania-specific CHSP data - there isn't - so confirm who currently holds CHSP funding near you via My Aged Care's Find a Provider tool, or ask us.
One thing worth knowing: Tasmania's Department of Health still runs state-funded community care for under-65s - a HACC-era legacy. If you're under 65, that state stream (not CHSP) is usually the right door.
It's out of date.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 at your home - more a conversation than a test. You'll get referral codes and can start with any local provider that has capacity, usually within days to a few weeks; there's no national queue for CHSP. In smaller towns capacity can be tight, so contact every provider on your referral list and ask My Aged Care to re-refer you if the first is full. Our application guide has the steps.
If you've been approved for Support at Home, Tasmania's waits were around 302 days from application to services starting in the first official wait-times report - among the longest in the country. CHSP is the standard bridge: My Aged Care can refer you for interim CHSP services while you wait. See the waitlist in Tasmania. And outside the three centres - the east and west coasts, the Highlands, the Bass Strait islands - coverage is genuinely thin; see providers in regional Tasmania for who covers your area.
Need a hand working out your options?
Tell us where you are in Tasmania and what help you need. We'll tell you which program fits and who actually services your town.
Common questions
Is CHSP ending in Tasmania?
No. The government confirmed on 20 August 2026 that CHSP continues as a standalone program until at least 30 June 2029 - the previously planned 2027 merger into Support at Home was abandoned. Your services continue as normal. Full details.
There's only one provider near me. Do I have to accept their prices?
Contributions must be published, agreed in your service agreement, and backed by a hardship policy - ask for both in writing. If the contribution is genuinely unaffordable, ask for a reduction or waiver: inability to pay must never stop a CHSP service. And it can still be worth checking whether a provider in the next town covers your area - we can look for you.
Sources
- My Aged Care, myagedcare.gov.au - Commonwealth Home Support Programme, 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).
- TasCOSS - CHSP Sector Support and Development, Tasmania.
- Tasmanian Department of Health - types of aged care and state community care programs.
- Aged Care Act 2024 Wait Times Report (System Governor, May 2026) - state median waits, Nov 2025-Mar 2026.
- CHSP 2025-27 Program Manual and Client Contribution Framework, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.