What you’ll pay on Classification 4

Last updated 21 August 2026

Figures current as at 21 August 2026: quarterly budgets indexed 1 July 2026; lifetime caps indexed 20 March 2026; median prices from the mid-2026 National Summary of Support at Home Prices.

The short version

Classification 4 provides $7,617.13 a quarter ($30,468.51 a year) - solid daily-life support, several visits a week.
Clinical care - nursing, allied health and care management - is free for everyone, and personal care becomes free for everyone from 1 October 2026.
Contributions apply only to independence services (5-50% of the price) and everyday living services (17.5-80%).
The budget itself is not means-tested - everyone on this classification gets the same amount. Only your share of each service’s price depends on your means.

A $30,000-a-year budget - and no means test on it

It surprises people, but the $7,617.13 a quarter is not means-tested. A self-funded retiree on Classification 4 holds exactly the same budget as a full pensioner - around $586 a week. The means test touches only your contribution: your personal slice of each independence or everyday living service’s price. Nursing, allied health and care management (the fee is capped at 10% of the budget) are clinical, so they cost you nothing whatever your means.

Three worked examples

We’ve priced these at the national medians - personal care around $115 an hour, cleaning $110, gardening $118, social support $111, enrolled nurse $145, physio $194 - over a 13-week quarter, weekday rates. Graham’s percentages are an illustrative mid-range for a part pensioner; the real number comes from the Services Australia means assessment and could be higher or lower.

Dot, full pensioner

Classification 4 · $7,617.13/qtr: Weekly: 3 hrs personal care, 1 hr cleaning; a nurse each fortnight
Her contribution: ≈ $37/week
Why: 5% on three personal care hours ($17.25), 17.5% on the clean ($19.25), nursing free. From 1 October 2026: ≈ $19/week.

Graham, part pensioner

Classification 4 · $7,617.13/qtr: Weekly: 2 hrs personal care, 2 hrs cleaning; safety gardening each fortnight
His contribution: ≈ $158/week
Why: Illustrative mid-range rates: 20% on independence ($46) and 40% on everyday living ($111.60). From 1 October 2026: ≈ $112/week.

Lucia, self-funded

Classification 4 · $7,617.13/qtr: Weekly: 2 hrs personal care, 1 hr cleaning; fortnightly social support and physio
Her contribution: ≈ $231/week
Why: Around 50% of the independence lines ($142.75) and around 80% of the clean ($88); physio free. From 1 October 2026: ≈ $116/week.

The 1 October 2026 effect on these examples

Because personal care moves into the free clinical category on 1 October 2026, every personal care line above goes to $0 automatically - no forms, no reassessment. Dot’s week falls from about $37 to about $19, Graham’s from about $158 to about $112, and Lucia’s from about $231 to about $116. For mixes built around daily showering help, this is the single biggest cost change since the program began.

Already had a package or an approval on 12 September 2024?

The “no worse off” grandfathering arrangements protect people who, at 12 September 2024, had a Home Care Package, were on the National Priority System, or had been assessed or approved. If that’s you, you keep HCP-era fee arrangements for life - full pensioners who paid no income-tested care fee keep paying $0 - and a lower lifetime cap applies. Read how grandfathering works.

Whatever your rates, contributions don’t run forever. Once your non-clinical contributions reach $137,917.01 over your lifetime, you stop contributing altogether - and the cap is $86,185.23 for grandfathered participants. If contributions are genuinely unaffordable, financial hardship provisions exist through Services Australia; nobody should go without care because they can’t contribute.

Get a real estimate for your week

Median prices are a starting point - your local providers’ prices decide the actual bill. Tell us your postcode, pension status and routine and we’ll price it properly.

Get matched - it’s free How contributions work

Common questions

Is respite an everyday living service?

No - community respite sits in the independence category, so a full pensioner pays 5% of its price and the maximum rate is around 50%. At the median of about $130 an hour, that’s $6.50 an hour for a full pensioner.

Do I need to apply for the free personal care in October?

No. The change is automatic from 1 October 2026 for every participant. Your provider’s prices don’t change - what changes is that neither you nor your contribution rate applies to personal care any more. Check your October statement to see it flow through.

Do the contributions I pay now count toward anything?

Yes - every non-clinical contribution accumulates toward your lifetime cap of $137,917.01 ($86,185.23 if grandfathered), and amounts you paid in home care fees under the old system count too. Once you reach the cap, contributions stop for good.

Could I be asked to pay a basic daily fee on top?

No. Support at Home has no basic daily fee and no income-tested care fee - only the per-service contributions shown above. If a charge on your statement doesn’t map to a service you received, query it, and escalate to the Commission if needed.

Sources

Support at Home Program Manual - service categories, individual contributions and classification budgets.
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, health.gov.au - Support at Home classifications and quarterly budgets (indexed 1 July 2026).
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing - National Summary of Support at Home Prices (median service prices), 2026.
Services Australia, servicesaustralia.gov.au - aged care means assessment; lifetime cap on non-clinical contributions (indexed 20 March 2026).