If a support worker comes to your home — or to Mum’s or Dad’s — to help with showering, dressing or other daily personal care, there’s some good news.
From 1 October 2026, eligible Australians receiving personal care through the Support at Home program will no longer pay a contribution towards those services.
The Australian Government has announced that personal care delivered through the Support at Home program will be fully government funded from 1 October 2026 (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing).
Personal care means the hands-on daily help that keeps people living well in their own homes. The Department lists showering, dressing and continence support as examples. Until now, these services have carried a contribution based on income and assets. Full pensioners have paid five per cent of the price, self-funded retirees up to 50 per cent, with part pensioners falling somewhere in between (health.gov.au).
From 1 October, those contributions stop. If personal care is approved in your support plan, you will not pay anything towards it, regardless of your income or assets.
Depending on how much support someone receives, the savings could be significant. Government indicative pricing suggests personal care costs around $100 an hour (reported by Carevo). A self-funded retiree receiving several hours of care each week could save thousands of dollars a year, while full pensioners may save hundreds.
Will my provider automatically stop charging me?
That is how the changes are designed to work for services delivered from 1 October onward. Keep an eye on your statements and, if a personal care charge appears after that date, raise it with your provider first, then My Aged Care if needed.
Does this make my home care package free?
Not quite, and it is an important distinction. Personal care becomes fully funded, alongside clinical services such as nursing, which were already covered. Everyday services such as cleaning and gardening still involve a contribution based on your means. Your costs should fall, but they will only reach zero if personal care was the only service you contributed towards.
Someone in our family has delayed getting help because of the cost. Should we look again?
This is a good time to review the situation. If the contribution was the reason personal care hours were kept to a minimum, that barrier disappears in October. A person’s needs assessment determines the level of support they can receive, so a conversation with My Aged Care about their support plan is a good place to start.
This change may reduce the ongoing cost of staying at home, but it is still worth reviewing how aged care fees fit into your broader retirement plans.
Take your time, read your statements and talk things through with your family.
If it would help to have someone explain how care costs fit alongside the Age Pension, your savings and your home, that’s exactly what our Retirement Funding Specialists at Money at 60 do every day. We focus on education first, at your pace.
Book a relaxed 15-minute call with a Retirement Funding Specialist. There is no obligation, and family members are welcome to join.
Check out Here Is What Your Family Gets Back
Money at 60 is a specialist retirement funding and credit assistance provider, and part of the Starts at 60 group. We help Australians over 55 understand whether the wealth in their home can support the retirement they want, with education before any product discussion.
Chris Moutzikis is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Money at 60, and a Retirement Funding Specialist. Money at 60 helps Australians aged 55 and over make confident, well-informed decisions about funding their retirement, with education before any product discussion. To talk through your own situation at your own pace, you can reach Chris and the team at moneyat60.com.
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