Support at Home Program Available.
Support at Home Program Available.
The Support at Home service list groups approved aged care services into three categories: Clinical Supports, Independence and Everyday Living. Each category covers a different type of help, from nursing and personal care through to cleaning, meals and support around the home.
The category also affects what you may need to contribute towards the cost of your care. Clinical Supports have no participant contribution, while contributions can apply to Independence and Everyday Living services.
Understanding the three categories can make it easier to read your support plan, discuss services with your provider and see how different types of care fit together.
The Support at Home service list sets out the services that can be funded through the Australian Government’s Support at Home program.
It currently contains:
The three categories are:
The list also explains which activities fall within each service type and gives examples of activities or costs that sit outside the program.
That doesn’t mean everyone approved for Support at Home can access all 49 services. The care you receive depends on your assessed needs, approved support plan and available funding.
If you’re still working out whether government-funded home care may apply to you or a family member, you can learn more about Home Care Services and Aged Care Support.
The three categories reflect the different types of support older people may need to remain at home.
The category also determines the participant contribution rules. Clinical Supports have a 0% participant contribution. Independence services generally attract a moderate contribution, while Everyday Living services attract a higher contribution.
Clinical Supports cover specialised care that helps maintain or improve health, function and wellbeing.
The government service list includes:
Nursing care can include services such as:
Approved allied health services may also form part of Clinical Supports where they address age-related needs and are included in the person’s support plan.
Clinical Supports do not replace the broader health system. Services that should be funded through another program, such as hospital care or other health services, may fall outside Support at Home.
Participants do not make a contribution towards approved Clinical Supports. The current contribution rate is 0%.
Independence services are there to make everyday activities easier and help older people continue doing as much as possible for themselves.
This category includes:
Personal care can include help with:
Social support may include activities or outings that help someone stay connected with other people and their community.
Respite can provide temporary support from someone other than the person’s usual informal carer, while transport services can help people get to their usual activities where approved.
Elka’s Home Care Services for the Aged include personal care and social support, with services tailored around individual needs and preferences.
Everyday Living services cover practical tasks that help keep the home safe and liveable.
The category includes:
Domestic assistance can include essential household tasks such as:
Home maintenance may cover essential light gardening or minor repairs where the work supports safety and independence.
Examples in the government service list include lawn mowing, pruning for safe access, cleaning gutters, replacing lightbulbs and repairing a broken door handle where the activity meets program requirements.
Meal support can include assistance with preparing food at home and eligible meal delivery arrangements. Ordinary grocery costs are not covered.
Elka Home Care’s approved service materials include domestic assistance, meal and grocery shopping support, giving families practical options for everyday help at home.
The amount you pay depends on the service category and your financial circumstances.
From 1 October 2026, the standard contribution rates are:
Category | Full Pensioner | Part Pensioner / CSHC | Self-Funded Retiree |
Clinical Supports (nursing, physiotherapy, allied health) | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Personal Care (showering, dressing, grooming) | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Independence (transport, social support, home modifications) | 5% | 5%–50% | 50% |
Everyday Living (cleaning, meals, gardening) | 17.5% | 17.5%–80% | 80% |
Personal care was previously charged under Independence, where contributions ranged from 5% to 50% depending on circumstances. From 1 October 2026, it is fully government-funded for all participants.
For part pensioners and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders, the exact percentage for Independence and Everyday Living depends on the person’s income and assets assessment.
Some people are covered by the no worse off principle. This applies to certain people who were receiving, waiting for or already approved for a Home Care Package on or before 12 September 2024. Their contribution rates can be lower than the standard rates above.
You only contribute towards services you actually receive. The contribution is calculated as a percentage of the service price, with the government funding the remaining eligible amount.
Support at Home funding can’t be used for every household, lifestyle or health expense.
Examples of excluded costs include:
Some services can still involve assistance with an activity without covering the underlying expense.
For example, shopping assistance may be an approved service, but the groceries themselves remain a personal expense.
The government’s examples are not a complete list of every possible inclusion or exclusion. If you’re unsure whether something can be funded, check the current Support at Home service list or ask your provider before agreeing to the expense.
Your care plan can include services from more than one category.
One person might need:
Those services sit in different categories, but they can still form part of the same overall support plan.
Your approved services are based on your assessment. From there, you and your provider can work out which approved services to use and how they fit within your available budget.
This means your care does not need to look the same as someone else’s, even if you have a similar Support at Home classification.
From 1 October 2026, the contribution rules for personal care will change.
All personal care services under Support at Home will move from the Independence category to the Clinical Supports category for participant contribution purposes. Participants will no longer pay an out-of-pocket contribution for approved personal care delivered from that date.
This can include approved help with:
The service itself is not becoming unlimited or separate from your Support at Home budget.
You must still:
Personal care will continue to be paid from your available Support at Home budget. The change only removes the participant contribution.
Services delivered before 1 October 2026 will still attract the contribution that applied at the time, even if the provider submits the claim after that date.
Your approved Support at Home services come from your aged care assessment and support plan.
If the support you need is already approved, you can work with your provider to decide how those services fit into your care arrangements and available funding.
Needs can change over time. You may start finding certain tasks harder, require a different type of assistance or need more support than your current plan allows.
If the service you need is not part of your current approval, speak with your provider about the next step. A review of your support needs may be required before the additional service can be funded.
It’s better to raise changes early rather than waiting until the current arrangement is no longer working well.
Different people need different combinations of support.
Elka Home Care offers services that sit across the Clinical Supports, Independence and Everyday Living categories, including:
The services available to you will still depend on your assessment, approved support plan and available funding.
If you’re comparing care options, visit Elka Home Care to learn more about its approach to personalised in-home support.
Have questions about the services included in your plan? Contact us to discuss your needs with the Elka Home Care team.
The Support at Home service list currently includes 49 services across 14 service types, grouped under Clinical Supports, Independence and Everyday Living. The services available to you depend on your assessment, approved support plan and available funding.
The three categories are Clinical Supports, which include services such as nursing and allied health; Independence, which covers areas such as personal care, social support, respite and transport; and Everyday Living, which includes domestic assistance, home maintenance and meals.
No. The participant contribution rate for approved Clinical Supports is 0%, although the service still needs to be included in your Support at Home arrangements and funded within the program.
Under the standard rates from 1 July 2026, full pensioners contribute 17.5%, while part pensioners and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders contribute between 17.5% and 80% depending on their income and assets assessment. Self-funded retirees at the maximum threshold contribute 80%, although different rates can apply under the no worse off principle.
Until 30 September 2026, personal care generally sits in the Independence category for contribution purposes, so a contribution may apply. From 1 October 2026, approved personal care will have no participant contribution, although you will still need approval for the service and enough funding in your Support at Home budget.
Examples of costs not covered include ordinary groceries, pet care, professional carpet cleaning, pest control, medicines, many general household expenses and holiday travel. If you’re unsure about a particular cost, it’s best to check the current service list before using your funding.
The service list covers essential light cleaning, with examples such as mopping, vacuuming and washing dishes, while professional cleaning services that would normally be an ordinary household expense are excluded. Routine window cleaning is not specifically named in the published list, so it’s best to check with your provider.
Support at Home can cover approved assistance with self-administration of medication, but pharmaceuticals and dose administration aids themselves sit outside the funded service list. This means help related to medication may be covered where approved, but the cost of a Webster pack should not automatically be treated as a Support at Home expense.
You can work with your provider to choose from the services already approved in your support plan, subject to your available funding. If your needs change and you require a service that is not currently approved, speak with your provider about whether your support plan needs to be reviewed.