How many hours a week does Classification 4 buy?
Last updated 21 August 2026
Budget figures current as at the 1 July 2026 indexation (2026-27); median hourly prices from the mid-2026 National Summary of Support at Home Prices.
The short version
- Classification 4 buys about four to four and a half hours of help a week at national median prices, after care management.
- The quarterly budget of $7,617.13 is about $585.93 a week - roughly $527.34 for services once the 10% care management cap comes out.
- Dearer services pull the number down: community respite ($130) and home maintenance ($150) buy fewer hours per dollar than cleaning ($110).
- An all-cleaning-and-social week tops out near four and three-quarter hours; a respite- or maintenance-heavy week lands nearer four.
Classification 4 is where a family carer usually enters the picture - and where the budget starts having to serve two people’s stamina, not one. The mixes below reflect that: respite, weekend cover, and keeping the house itself functioning.
How the weekly figure is built
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Quarterly budget (2026-27) | $7,617.13 |
| ÷ 13 weeks in a quarter | ≈ $585.93 a week |
| − care management (capped at 10%) | − $58.59 |
| = left for services each week | ≈ $527.34 |
| ÷ $115 - the median personal care hour | ≈ 4.6 hours a week |
Divide by cleaning’s $110 median instead and the ceiling is about 4.8 hours; divide by home maintenance’s $150 and it’s 3.5. The service mix, not just the budget, decides your week.
Three realistic weeks at Classification 4
| Service | Rate | Hours / week | Cost / week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal care | $115/hr | 2 hrs | $230.00 |
| Community respite (carer has the afternoon off) | $130/hr | 2 hrs | $260.00 |
| Care management (10%) | - | - | $58.59 |
| Total | 4 hrs | $548.59 of $585.93 weekly budget |
| Service | Rate | Hours / week | Cost / week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal care - weekday visits | $115/hr | 3 hrs | $345.00 |
| Personal care - Sunday visit at $143.75/hr | $143.75/hr | 1 hr | $143.75 |
| Care management (10%) | - | - | $58.59 |
| Total | 4 hrs | $547.34 of $585.93 weekly budget |
The Sunday hour costs $28.75 over the weekday rate at that illustrative loading - about $374 a quarter, which is three-plus cleaning hours forgone. Worth it if Sunday is when the help is needed; worth questioning if it’s just how the roster fell.
| Service | Rate | Hours / week | Cost / week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home maintenance (small repairs, smoke alarm, tap washers) | $150/hr | 1 hr | $150.00 |
| Safety gardening (mowing, clearing paths) | $118/hr | 1 hr | $118.00 |
| Cleaning | $110/hr | 1 hr | $110.00 |
| Social support | $111/hr | 1 hr | $111.00 |
| Care management (10%) | - | - | $58.59 |
| Total | 4 hrs | $547.59 of $585.93 weekly budget |
Indicative only - providers set their own prices, surcharge policies differ, and your means-tested contribution affects what you pay out of pocket rather than the hours the budget buys. Compare typical hourly rates.
Community respite is on the defined service list precisely because carer exhaustion ends more home-care arrangements than money does. If you’re the carer, budgeting one respite block a week at Classification 4 is a legitimate - often the wisest - use of the funds.
How to get more hours from the same budget
- Price-check across providers. On a $7,617 quarter, a 15% difference in average hourly rates is worth roughly 40 hours a year. Typical rates by service.
- Negotiate care management. The cap here is about $762 a quarter - providers charging below it hand the difference back as hours. How the fee works.
- Batch the dear trades. Home maintenance at $150 an hour is best saved up into an occasional longer visit rather than a weekly drip.
- Consider self-managing part of the arrangement to trim fees and choose your own workers - self-management explained.
Four hours a week, spent well
We’ll help you find providers near you with fair pricing, weekend availability and genuine respite options.
Common questions
Do respite hours count as “my” hours if they’re really for my carer?
They come out of your budget, yes - respite is a service to you that also gives your carer a break. It sits in the independence category, so a contribution may apply depending on your means assessment (full pensioners pay 5%). How contributions work.
How do I find out a provider’s weekend and evening rates?
Ask for the full price list in writing before signing the service agreement - loadings aren’t always on the first page. The government’s quarterly National Summary of Support at Home Prices publishes medians for standard hours, which gives you a benchmark to compare against.
Can I save budget across quarters for a big home maintenance job?
Only partly - unspent funds roll over up to the greater of $1,000 or 10% of your quarterly budget (about $762 here). For larger one-off needs like modifications, look at the AT-HM scheme instead, which funds up to $15,000 over 12 months at its high tier. How AT-HM works.
What would Classification 5 change?
The budget steps up to about $10,182 a quarter - roughly six hours a week at median prices, enough for personal care most days. If that sounds like where things are heading, compare Classifications 4 and 5 and ask My Aged Care (1800 200 422) about a free reassessment.
Sources
- Department of Health, Disability and Ageing - Support at Home program classifications and budgets, 1 July 2026 indexation.
- Department of Health, Disability and Ageing - National Summary of Support at Home Prices (median service prices), 2026.
- Support at Home Program Manual - quarterly budgets, care management cap and the defined service list.
- My Aged Care, myagedcare.gov.au - Support at Home program guidance, accessed 21 August 2026.