What’s changed
Support at Home keeps changing. We log every change that affects your money or your wait — and update the guides it touches the same week.
Last updated 20 August 2026
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Peak bodies demand action on waits and assessments
Five peak bodies — including COTA, OPAN and Anglicare — jointly called on the government to act on growing wait times and problems with the assessment tool. It’s pressure, not policy: nothing changes for you yet. But it raises the odds of more places being released, and it’s a reminder that if your situation worsens while you wait, you can ask for your priority to be reviewed.
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Waitlist reaches 106,977
New data shows 106,977 people were waiting for Support at Home at 30 June 2026 — up about 13% from roughly 95,000 at the end of December. Medium-priority waits are typically 8–11 months. If you’re thinking about applying, the practical takeaway is simple: start the My Aged Care registration now rather than later, and use CHSP interim services or the short-term pathways in the meantime if you need help sooner.
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Budgets indexed up 2.6% for 2026–27
All eight classification budgets rose by 2.6% on 1 July. Classification 5, for example, is now $10,182.38 a quarter (about $40,730 a year). You don’t need to do anything — the new amounts apply automatically from the July quarter. It’s still worth glancing at your next statement to check the higher figure is showing.
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Personal care to be free for everyone from 1 October 2026
The government announced that from 1 October 2026, personal care — help with showering, bathing, dressing, grooming and continence — moves into the clinical care category, which is free for everyone. It’s a roughly $1 billion measure, and it’s automatic: no forms, no reassessment. If you currently pay a contribution on personal care, that line item should disappear from October’s statement.
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Hourly price caps deferred indefinitely
Price caps on services were due to start on 1 July 2026 but have been deferred with no new date. Instead, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission can order refunds for overcharging, monthly statements are mandatory, and the government publishes quarterly national price summaries. Consumer groups including COTA and OPAN criticised the deferral; providers welcomed it. For you, it means comparing providers’ prices matters more, not less.
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2026–27 Budget: 24,000 extra places
The federal Budget committed $389.8 million to release 24,000 additional Support at Home places, alongside a statutory goal of an average three-month wait by 1 July 2027. Extra places are released in batches, so this eases the queue gradually rather than overnight — but if you’re waiting, it’s genuinely good news.
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Lifetime caps indexed
The lifetime caps on non-clinical contributions rose with indexation: $137,917.01 for standard participants and $86,185.23 for grandfathered (“no worse off”) participants. Once you reach your cap, you stop paying non-clinical contributions for life. These caps index again on 20 September.
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Support at Home begins — with a bumpy start
Support at Home replaced Home Care Packages and Short-Term Restorative Care under the new Aged Care Act. Existing package holders were moved across automatically with their funding intact. The first months brought billing and pricing confusion — surprise meal fees and unexpected personal care contributions were the most common complaints. If a charge on a statement from that period still looks wrong, it’s not too late to query it: the regulator can order refunds.
Affected by one of these changes?
We’ll talk you through what it means for your package — free, no obligation.