If you moved across from a Home Care Package

If you were on a Home Care Package before 1 November 2025, you were moved onto Support at Home automatically. You did not need to reapply and you did not need to be reassessed.

Your funding level

You kept a level equivalent to the package you had. Transitioned levels sit slightly differently from the eight ongoing classifications, and as of 1 July 2026 the quarterly amounts are $2,818.04 for a transitioned Level 1, $4,955.44 for Level 2, $10,787.18 for Level 3 and $16,353.98 for Level 4. As with everyone else, 10% of the budget goes to care management. These figures are indexed each 1 July.

Your unspent funds

Money you had accumulated under your Home Care Package came with you. It did not disappear at the changeover and it is still yours to use.

Going forward, the carryover rule is different from the old one: at the end of each quarter you keep either $1,000 or 10% of that quarter's budget, whichever is greater, and the rest returns to the government. If you have been used to building up a large balance over years, that no longer happens, and it is worth planning your services with that in mind rather than discovering it at the end of a quarter.

What is genuinely different

• Services are grouped into three categories, each with its own contribution rate, instead of one package fee arrangement.
• Clinical care is now free to everyone — nursing, allied health, care management — regardless of means.
• Everyday services cost you more than clinical ones, by design.
• Budgets are quarterly, not an annual pool.

What did not change

You can still choose your provider and change it. Your services do not have to change. Nobody is required to reassess you because of the transition.

Worth doing once

Sit down with your provider and go through what you are actually receiving against what your budget now covers, in the new categories. Plenty of people are paying a contribution on something that is now free, or have a service they stopped needing eighteen months ago still on the plan.

If you would like us to do that with you — whether or not we are your provider — ring (03) 5229 0722.