Support at Home
Support at Home replaced the Home Care Packages Program and the Short-Term Restorative Care Programme on 1 November 2025. The change was originally legislated for 1 July 2025 and was deferred, which is why you may still see the earlier date in older material. If you had a package before the change, you did not need to reapply and your care did not stop.
Existing package recipients moved across automatically. You keep a funding classification equivalent to the package level you held, and your services continue. Support at Home has four transitional classifications specifically for people who came from the Home Care Packages Program, alongside the eight ongoing classifications for new participants.
If you were receiving, or had been approved for, a Home Care Package on or before 12 September 2024, you are no worse off under Support at Home. If you were assessed as having to pay fees, you pay the same or less than you would have under the old programme. If you were assessed as not having to pay fees, you will not be asked to make contributions under Support at Home.
Funding is now organised as a quarterly budget against a defined service list, rather than a package balance that accumulates indefinitely. What you contribute now depends on the type of service: the government pays the full cost of clinical supports, while independence and everyday living services carry a contribution. Your provider should be able to show you clearly how your budget is being used.
This is a sensible moment to look at whether your current arrangement still suits you. Ask your provider for a written statement of your classification, your quarterly budget, and what is being charged against it. If that answer is not clear, it is worth knowing, and you are free to change provider without losing your funding.
If you are unclear which classification you transitioned onto, or how your budget is being spent, call Harwell on 1300 064 430. We will help you read your statement, whether or not you are our client.
Your classification and funding move with you. Our guide to choosing a Support at Home provider sets out what to compare and how the switch works.