Vision and hearing loss: what home care funds, and what’s free elsewhere
Last updated 20 August 2026
Figures on this page - AT-HM tier amounts - are current at 20 August 2026.
The short version
- Support at Home funds practical help for sensory loss: occupational therapy, social support, transport, help with mail and shopping, and sensory assistive technology through the AT-HM scheme.
- Hearing aids come from a different program: the free Commonwealth Hearing Services Program, which fully subsidises assessments and hearing aids for eligible people - Support at Home generally doesn’t fund what it already covers.
- Orientation and mobility training, and daily-living skills for low vision, can be delivered under aged care funding by specialists like Vision Australia and the Guide Dogs organisations.
- Guide dogs themselves are typically provided free by the guide dog charities - your care budget isn’t the funding route for a dog.
What Support at Home can fund for sensory loss
Losing vision or hearing gradually is one of the most common reasons older people withdraw from the things they enjoy - and much of what Support at Home funds is aimed squarely at preventing that:
- Occupational therapy (clinical care, free for everyone): retraining daily-living skills, and assessing your home’s lighting, contrast and layout so it works with the vision you have.
- Social support and companionship: a support worker to read mail, help with paperwork, or accompany you to appointments and outings.
- Transport: to shops, appointments and community activities when driving is no longer safe.
- Everyday-living services: cleaning, meal support and shopping help where sensory loss makes them hard.
- Assistive technology through the AT-HM scheme: magnifiers, talking devices, big-button and amplified phones, alerting systems that flash or vibrate, and other vision and hearing support devices. AT-HM funding is separate from your quarterly budget, in tiers of up to $500, $2,000 or $15,000 over 12 months.
- Personal alarms and monitoring, which matter more when you can’t hear a knock at the door or see a trip hazard.
Contributions follow the normal categories: clinical care is free; independence and everyday-living services carry a means-tested contribution.
Hearing: use the free Hearing Services Program first
The Hearing Services Program (HSP) is a free Commonwealth program - separate from aged care - for eligible people, including Pensioner Concession Card holders, DVA Gold Card holders and White Card holders with hearing-related accepted conditions. It provides free comprehensive hearing assessments and annual reviews, fully subsidised hearing aids, and refits around every five years. An optional annual maintenance agreement, for a small yearly fee, covers batteries and repairs; higher-specification “top-up” devices are available at your own cost.
Support at Home doesn’t pay for things another Commonwealth program already covers - so if you’re eligible for the Hearing Services Program, that’s where hearing assessments and hearing aids come from, and your package can’t be used to top up or cover the gap. If you’re not eligible for the HSP, talk to My Aged Care and your provider about what your assessment and the AT-HM scheme can cover in your situation. Either way, start with an HSP eligibility check - for most pensioners the whole pathway is free.
Not sure which program covers what?
Tell us what’s getting harder - hearing the phone, reading mail, getting out safely. We’ll help you sort out what Support at Home can fund and find providers experienced with sensory loss.
Vision: specialist services, orientation and mobility, and guide dogs
Specialist low-vision organisations deliver services through the aged care system, so you don’t have to choose between a generalist provider and sensory expertise. Vision Australia, for example, delivers allied health, restorative programs, daily-living skills training (cooking, managing at home, getting around the community) and social groups through both CHSP and Support at Home funding, and supplies aids and equipment. Access runs through the standard My Aged Care assessment, with normal client contributions.
Orientation and mobility (O&M) training - learning to move about safely and confidently, including white-cane skills - is offered by Vision Australia, the state Guide Dogs organisations and See Differently in South Australia, and can be delivered under aged care funding as allied health and independence services.
Guide dogs are different: the dogs are typically provided free by the Guide Dogs charities, funded by donors, rather than through your aged care budget. If a guide dog might suit you, contact your state Guide Dogs organisation directly - and use your Support at Home services for everything around it, like O&M training and transport.
One boundary note: if your vision or hearing disability began before you turned 65 and you were an NDIS participant before 65, the NDIS continues past 65 - you don’t automatically move to aged care. The NDIS-aged care boundary is the single most common point of confusion here; if you’re unsure which system you’re in, call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422.
Common questions
Will Support at Home pay for hearing aids?
Generally no. Hearing aids for eligible people - including Pensioner Concession Card holders - are fully subsidised by the free Hearing Services Program, and Support at Home doesn’t duplicate other Commonwealth programs or cover their gaps. If you’re not eligible for the HSP, discuss your options with My Aged Care and your provider.
Are hearing tests free for pensioners?
Yes - the Hearing Services Program provides free comprehensive hearing assessments and annual reviews for eligible people, including Pensioner Concession Card holders and many DVA cardholders. An optional maintenance agreement for batteries and repairs carries a small yearly fee.
Can home care pay for someone to read my mail or take me shopping?
Yes. Social support and transport are on the Support at Home service list as independence services, and shopping help sits under domestic assistance. A means-tested contribution applies. Many people with low vision use regular support-worker visits exactly this way.
Who provides white-cane or guide-dog training, and does it cost anything?
Orientation and mobility training comes from specialists like Vision Australia, your state Guide Dogs organisation or See Differently (SA), and can be funded through your aged care services. Guide dogs themselves are typically provided free by the charities, funded by donations - not through your package.
Can I get magnifiers, talking devices or a big-button phone funded?
Yes - these are exactly the kind of items the AT-HM scheme covers, with sensory support devices and alerting systems among its cited examples. Low-cost items sit in the $500 tier with no clinical assessment needed; the funding is separate from your quarterly care budget.
Sources
- Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, health.gov.au - Hearing Services Program eligibility, accessed August 2026.
- Department of Health, Disability and Ageing - Support at Home service list, accessed August 2026.
- Vision Australia, visionaustralia.org - “My Aged Care funding” and service information, accessed August 2026.
- My Aged Care, myagedcare.gov.au - assessment and Assistive Technology and Home Modifications Scheme guidance, accessed 20 August 2026.