Home Care Packages, in plain words

A Home Care Package is the government subsidising ongoing help at home for an older person, coordinated as one arrangement rather than paid for job by job. It is the middle rung: more than the odd subsidised service, well short of moving into care.

From late 2025 it is being folded into a new program called Support at Home. The name and some of the mechanics are changing; the idea — subsidised, coordinated help so someone can stay in their own home — is not.

The levels, roughly

Support comes in levels, from basic help for someone who needs a hand with a few things, up to a high level for someone who needs a lot of daily support. Which level someone gets is decided by the assessment, not by asking — and the higher levels have longer waits.

What a level pays for is broad: help around the home, personal care, transport, some nursing and allied health, equipment. It is a pooled budget that you and a provider decide how to spend, within the rules.

Who it is for

Broadly, someone over 65 — or over 50 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people — who needs ongoing help to keep living at home. Under 65 with disability is a different door: the NDIS.

There is no cost to be assessed, and being assessed commits you to nothing.

How to actually start

Ring My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 and ask for an assessment. Say plainly what is getting hard — the cleaning, the shopping, getting to appointments — in ordinary words, and they will arrange for someone to visit.

Start it even if you think you will not qualify or will not need it yet. The wait for the assessment, and then for a package, runs to months, and starting late is the common regret. Arrange something privately in the meantime if you need to.

How long is the wait?

Two waits, back to back. The assessment itself takes weeks to arrange and complete. Then, once you are approved for a package, there is a national queue for one to be assigned — and for the higher levels that can run to many months.

It is why every version of this advice says the same thing: start now. A package you are approved for but waiting on is still worth having in the queue, and there are faster, lower-level supports through the entry-level program you can use in the meantime.

What you contribute

A package is subsidised, not always free. You may be asked to pay a basic contribution, and people on higher incomes an income-tested amount on top — worked out by the assessment, not by the provider. The contribution model is one of the things changing under Support at Home, so the current figures live with My Aged Care.

Do not let uncertainty about the fee stop you starting: you will be told what you would pay before you commit to anything.

Changing providers, and unspent funds

You are not tied to the first provider you choose. If it is not working, you can move, and the funding is yours to take with you rather than the provider's to keep. There is usually a notice period, so check the agreement.

Money you do not spend does not simply vanish either — how unspent funds are handled is set by the rules of the program you are on, and this is another area the reforms are reshaping, so confirm the current position with My Aged Care.

What AskFam does and does not do

AskFam works out what you need and points you at services that already exist. It does not employ anyone, does not arrange the work, and takes no fee or commission — from you or from them.

It also has not checked anybody. Where you see a business listed, that is a public listing, not a recommendation. Where somebody offers on a job you posted, that is them describing themselves, in their own words. Ask for what matters to you, and take your time about it.