Costs & contributions
Support at Home has no basic daily fee. Instead, every service sits in one of three categories, and what you pay is a percentage of each service's price — a percentage set by your means, not by your provider. Clinical care is free for everyone. Here's the whole model, with real numbers.
Last updated 20 August 2026
Figures current as at 20 August 2026: contribution rates as set at 1 November 2025; lifetime caps indexed 20 March 2026; quarterly budgets indexed 1 July 2026.
From 1 October 2026, personal care (showering, bathing, dressing, grooming and continence care) becomes free for everyone — it moves into the clinical care category. The change is automatic. What's changing and who benefits.
The three categories, in plain English
Every service on the Support at Home list belongs to one of three categories. The category — together with your pension status and a means assessment by Services Australia — decides your share of the price. The government pays the rest from your quarterly budget.
| Service category | What's in it | Full pensioner | Part pensioner / CSHC | Self-funded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical care | Nursing, allied health (physio, OT, podiatry), care management — and personal care from 1 October 2026 | Free | Free | Free |
| Independence | Personal care (until 30 September 2026), respite, transport, social support, assistive technology | 5% | 5–50% (means-tested) | Around 50% |
| Everyday living | Cleaning, laundry, gardening, meal services, home maintenance | 17.5% | 17.5–80% (means-tested) | Around 80% |
Three things soften these percentages: clinical care is always free; a lifetime cap limits what anyone contributes in total; and people approved on or before 12 September 2024 are protected by "no worse off" grandfathering. If you don't complete a means assessment, you're charged the maximum rates — so it's worth doing.
Guides in this section
What you'll pay: worked examples
Full pensioner, part pensioner and self-funded — realistic weekly numbers at median prices, plus the lifetime caps.
Personal care becomes free on 1 October 2026
Showering, dressing and continence support — free for everyone. What changes and what doesn't.
"No worse off": how grandfathering works
Had a package — or a spot in the queue — on 12 September 2024? Your old fee arrangements are protected for life.
The 10% care management fee
What care management covers, why the cap halved from HCP days, and how to judge value.
What providers charge per hour
National median prices by service, why price caps were deferred, and what to do about overcharging.
Unspent funds and quarterly rollover
The $1,000-or-10% rollover rule, the HCP-transfer exemption, and saving for bigger purchases.
If contributions are hard to afford
Hardship provisions through Services Australia, and free advocacy help. Nobody should go without care.
Unsure what you'd pay?
Tell us your pension status and the services you use, and we'll walk you through the contribution rules that apply to you — free, no obligation, no pressure.