Support at Home is the Australian Government’s in-home aged care program. It replaced the Home Care Packages Program and Short-Term Restorative Care on 1 November 2025. It is designed to help older Australians stay at home for longer with funded support.
At Careseekers, we help older Australians and families find independent aged care workers they choose and trust. You can compare worker profiles, speak directly with workers, and arrange support in a way that gives you more visibility over who is providing care, when they provide it, and how much you pay. We also support both Support at Home funding and private payments, with no membership fees or lock-in contracts.
The short answer
If you are using Support at Home, the key things to know are:
- your funding is based on your assessed Support at Home classification
- ongoing funding is split into quarterly budgets
- providers set their own prices, and from 1 July 2026 those prices are subject to government price caps
- depending on the service, you may need to make a participant contribution
- through Careseekers, you can still choose the worker you want and arrange support more directly.
What is Support at Home?
Support at Home is the main government-funded program for ongoing aged care support at home. It includes 8 ongoing funding classifications as well as short-term pathways for restorative care, end-of-life care and assistive technology and home modifications.
For people receiving ongoing services, funding is split into 4 quarterly budgets each year. Each quarterly budget includes government funding and, where applicable, participant contributions. 10% of the quarterly budget is allocated to care management.
How does Support at Home work with Careseekers?
Support at Home gives you funding for approved services. Careseekers helps you use that support more flexibly by letting you choose aged care workers through our platform.
Through Careseekers, you can:
- browse worker profiles
- compare experience, availability and rates
- speak directly with workers
- choose the person who feels right for you
- arrange support through the platform
That means you get more visibility over the worker and the support arrangement, rather than simply being placed into a fixed roster. Careseekers publicly describes the platform as a way to choose your own care or support workers and use aged care funding.
Can I use Support at Home funding with Careseekers?
In many cases, yes.
If your support is being paid by a third party, such as an aged care provider, the invoice can be forwarded through Careseekers once the worker’s hours have been approved. On the platform, that means the third party’s details are entered into the account, and once the hours are approved the invoice is automatically sent to them for payment.
The practical point is that Careseekers helps with the worker selection and platform process, while the funding and provider arrangement still need to fit the Support at Home rules and your provider’s payment setup.
What services can be covered?
Support at Home covers a mix of services, including:
- clinical supports, such as nursing and allied health
- independence supports, such as help with getting dressed and medication-related assistance
- everyday living supports, such as cleaning, shopping and gardening.
Through Careseekers, older Australians commonly use workers for support such as:
- personal care
- domestic support
- companionship
- transport
- community access
- overnight or routine support
The exact mix depends on your needs, your funding and what your provider will pay for.
How much will I pay?
Support at Home is not a flat-fee program.
Your costs depend on:
- your Support at Home classification
- the services you use
- your provider’s prices
- whether you need to make a participant contribution
- how often support is delivered
My Aged Care says each Support at Home provider sets its own prices and those charges come out of your quarterly budget. It also says all Support at Home providers must publish their full price list online. From 1 July 2026, the government will introduce price caps for each service, and providers cannot charge above the capped price or add extra fees on top.
Do I have to make a contribution?
Sometimes, yes.
From 1 November 2025, Support at Home participants contribute towards the cost of some services, while other services are free. Contribution rates depend on your income and assets and the type of service you receive. You only pay contributions for services you actually receive, and the government pays the rest directly to the provider.
In practice, this means clinical services are treated differently from everyday living services, so it is important to understand both your provider’s prices and your likely contribution before you start.
How do the quarterly budgets work?
If you receive ongoing Support at Home services, your annual funding is split into 4 quarterly budgets. Budgets for ongoing classifications are released at the start of each quarter in July, October, January and April. Participants can carry over unspent funds up to $1,000 or 10%, whichever is greater, into the next quarter.
This matters because it affects how much support you can schedule and how closely you need to watch your spending over the year.
What are the Support at Home funding levels?
Support at Home has 8 ongoing classifications. The current quarterly budgets, effective from 1 November 2025, range from $2,682.75 at Classification 1 to $19,526.59 at Classification 8, with annual amounts ranging from $10,731.00 to $78,106.35. These amounts are indexed in July each year.
That funding level affects how much support you can reasonably arrange through the quarter, so it is one of the first things to understand before choosing a worker.
Why people use Careseekers with aged care funding
For many older Australians and families, the biggest appeal is choice.
Using Careseekers can make it easier to:
- choose the worker you want
- compare support options more clearly
- build more continuity with the same worker
- communicate directly
- understand rates before you commit
That can be especially valuable when consistency and fit matter just as much as the hourly rate.
What should you check before getting started?
Before arranging support, it helps to be clear on:
- what type of support you need
- what your Support at Home classification and quarterly budget are
- whether your provider will pay through Careseekers
- what contribution you may need to make
- whether the worker is the right fit for your needs and routine
The clearer these points are at the start, the easier it is to build an arrangement that works well in practice.
Frequently asked questions
Did Support at Home replace Home Care Packages?
Yes. Support at Home replaced the Home Care Packages Program and Short-Term Restorative Care on 1 November 2025.
Can I use Support at Home funding with Careseekers?
In many cases, yes. If a third party such as an aged care provider is paying, the invoice can be forwarded to them through Careseekers once the worker’s hours are approved.
How do Support at Home budgets work?
For ongoing services, funding is split into 4 quarterly budgets each year. Your budget includes government funding and, where applicable, your contributions.
Do all Support at Home participants have to contribute?
Not in the same way. Participant contributions depend on your income and assets and on the type of service you receive. You only contribute for services you actually receive.
Do providers set their own prices under Support at Home?
Yes. Providers set their own prices. From 1 July 2026, those prices are subject to government price caps and extra fees cannot be charged above the capped price.
Ready to explore Support at Home with more choice?
We make it easier to compare aged care workers, understand how support is arranged and choose care that fits your needs.
Learn How At Home Aged Care Works with Careseekers
Read: Can I Use Support At Home Funding With Careseekers?
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