What Support at Home covers: the service list in plain English
Last updated 20 August 2026
Contribution rates current as at 20 August 2026
The short version
- Support at Home works from a defined service list — if a service is on the list, your budget can fund it; if it isn’t, it can’t.
- The list is split into three categories: clinical care (free for everyone), independence (you contribute 5–50%) and everyday living (you contribute 17.5–80%).
- From 1 October 2026, personal care moves into the free clinical category — showering, dressing and continence help will cost nothing.
- Equipment and home modifications are funded separately through the AT-HM scheme, not from your quarterly budget alone.
Category 1: clinical care — free for everyone
Clinical services keep you well and out of hospital, and the government pays 100% of the cost regardless of your income or assets. This category covers:
- Nursing — wound care, medication management, continence assessment, chronic condition monitoring.
- Allied health — physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry and speech pathology.
- Nutrition support — dietitian input where eating well has become difficult.
- Care management — the coordination of your services, capped at 10% of your quarterly budget.
From 1 October 2026, personal care — help with showering, bathing, dressing, grooming and continence — is reclassified as clinical care and becomes free for everyone, automatically. Announced 26 May 2026 as a measure worth around $1 billion. Read what changes.
Category 2: independence — you contribute 5–50%
Independence services help you keep doing things safely. Full pensioners contribute 5% of the price; part-pensioners and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders sit on a sliding scale from 5% to 50% based on a Services Australia means assessment; fully self-funded retirees pay around 50%. The category covers:
- Personal care — showering, dressing, grooming, continence support (free from 1 October 2026, as above).
- Respite — a planned break for your carer, at home or in the community.
- Transport — getting to appointments, shops and social activities.
- Social support — company at home or help to get out and stay connected.
- Assistive technology — day-to-day aids, with bigger items funded via the AT-HM scheme.
Category 3: everyday living — you contribute 17.5–80%
These are the domestic tasks that keep a household running. Contributions are highest here because they’re expenses everyone has throughout life: full pensioners pay 17.5%, the sliding scale runs 17.5% to 80%, and self-funded retirees pay around 80%. The category covers:
- Domestic assistance — cleaning, laundry and help with shopping.
- Meal preparation and delivery — the service component only; you still pay for the ingredients themselves.
- Home maintenance and safety gardening — minor upkeep, lawn mowing, pruning and clearing paths so you can move around safely.
Note the boundaries: ornamental gardening, groceries, pet care and professional repairs are off the list entirely. Our exclusions guide walks through the common surprises.
Want to know what your budget would actually buy?
Send us your classification and the services you’re after, and we’ll show you how far the budget stretches with providers in your area — including what your contribution would look like.
Common questions
Who decides which services I actually get?
Your assessment sets your classification and identifies your needs; you and your provider then agree a care plan choosing services from the list within your quarterly budget. You have a real say — and if the mix stops working, you can change it with your provider at any time.
Why do the three categories cost different amounts?
The design logic: government pays fully for clinical care because it keeps people well; it shares the cost of independence services; and it asks for a bigger contribution to everyday living costs, since meals and cleaning are expenses everyone carries through life. Contributions are means-tested by Services Australia — and if you don’t complete the means assessment, maximum rates apply, so it’s worth doing.
Is there a limit on what I can pay over time?
Yes. A lifetime cap of $137,917.01 applies to non-clinical contributions ($86,185.23 for grandfathered participants), indexed each 20 March and 20 September. And nobody should go without care they can’t afford — hardship provisions exist through Services Australia.
Are equipment, rails and ramps part of my quarterly budget?
Mostly no — they’re funded through the separate Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) scheme, with tiers of $500, $2,000 and $15,000 over 12 months depending on what you need. See our AT-HM guide.
Sources
- Support at Home Program Manual — service list and service categories.
- Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, health.gov.au — Support at Home contribution arrangements and the personal care measure announced 26 May 2026.
- My Aged Care, myagedcare.gov.au — Support at Home services guidance, accessed 20 August 2026.