What you’ll pay on Classification 5

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 5 carries $10,182.38 a quarter ($40,729.53 a year) - enough for care most days of the 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.

Care most days - what that does to the bill

At roughly $783 a week of services, Classification 5 is where routines shift from “a few visits” to “most days”. That matters for costs, because personal care - the service that usually anchors a daily routine - sits in the independence category until 1 October 2026, when it becomes free clinical care. Until then, the more daily help in your mix, the more the means test shows up in your week. Clinical services, including care management (fee capped at 10% of the budget), remain free throughout.

Three worked examples

Assumptions: median prices (personal care ≈ $115/hr, cleaning ≈ $110, community respite ≈ $130, physio ≈ $194), a 13-week quarter, no evening or weekend surcharges. Faye’s rates are an illustrative mid-range for a part pensioner - only the Services Australia means assessment sets the real figure. None of this is a quote.

Norm, full pensioner

Classification 5 · $10,182.38/qtr: Weekly: 1 hr personal care five days a week, plus 1 hr cleaning
His contribution: ≈ $48/week
Why: 5% across five personal care hours ($28.75) and 17.5% on the clean ($19.25). From 1 October 2026: ≈ $19/week.

Faye, part pensioner

Classification 5 · $10,182.38/qtr: Weekly: 4 hrs personal care, 1 hr cleaning; physio each fortnight
Her contribution: ≈ $165/week
Why: Illustrative mid-range rates: 25% on independence ($115) and 45% on everyday living ($49.50); physio free. From 1 October 2026: ≈ $50/week.

Ian, self-funded

Classification 5 · $10,182.38/qtr: Weekly: 3 hrs personal care, 2 hrs cleaning; respite for his wife each fortnight
His contribution: ≈ $381/week
Why: Around 50% of the independence lines ($205) and around 80% of the cleaning ($176). From 1 October 2026: ≈ $209/week.

1 October 2026: the daily-care discount

When personal care becomes free on 1 October 2026, the examples above change sharply. Norm’s five weekday showers stop costing him anything - his week drops from about $48 to about $19. Faye’s falls from about $165 to about $50, and Ian’s from about $381 to about $209. At this level and above, the change routinely saves people more than $100 a week.

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.

Pricing a most-days routine?

The gap between providers’ prices adds up fast when you use care five days a week. Tell us your area and routine and we’ll show you who charges what - free, no obligation.

Get matched - it’s free How contributions work

Common questions

Will daily help blow through the budget before the quarter ends?

Not at the medians: Norm’s mix above uses about $685 of his roughly $783 weekly capacity, leaving room for the care management fee. But dearer providers or weekend hours change the maths - your provider must map it out in your service agreement, and your monthly statement shows the running balance.

If I’m reassessed upward, do my percentage rates change too?

No - the classification and the contribution rate are separate. Reassessment changes your budget; only a new means assessment by Services Australia (for instance, if your finances change) moves your percentage.

Is respite for my carer really charged to me?

Community respite gives your carer a break, and it’s billed as an independence service on your package - 5% for a full pensioner up to around 50% self-funded. In Ian’s example the fortnightly respite averages about $32.50 a week of his contribution.

What if the contributions are more than I can manage?

Ask about financial hardship provisions through Services Australia - they exist precisely so nobody goes without care over contributions. Our hardship guide explains the process.

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).