Support at Home replaced Home Care Packages — here's what actually changed for families

Support at Home went live in November 2025. Most explanatory articles focus on the bureaucracy. I want to talk about what it means in practice — and where families are still getting caught out four months in.

Support at Home (SAH) replaced Home Care Packages (HCP) on 1 November 2025. If you're new to aged care, you might not know any of this matters — it does, because the rules are different enough that old advice from friends or family members won't always apply.

The headline change

Under HCP, you got a package (Level 1 through 4) and spent it mostly as you chose within broad rules. Under SAH, the funding is unbundled into three specific service types: Independence, Everyday Living, and Clinical Care. Each has its own funding pool, and the amounts are classified based on assessed need.

That matters because it means you can't redirect your clinical funding to extra cleaning. You also can't save unused clinical funding and spend it on something else. This is a more disciplined system, which — if you're being honest — was probably overdue.

Where families are getting caught

Four months in, these are the three things I see families not understanding until it hits them:

One — the assessment determines everything. If the assessment underestimates your clinical needs, you'll find yourself short on the clinical funding when you actually need it. Advocate during the assessment. Bring notes. Don't downplay.

Two — the transition from HCP was meant to be seamless but wasn't for everyone. If you were on an HCP before November, you were migrated across. But not everyone's funding reclassified cleanly. It's worth asking your provider for a funding statement if you haven't had one recently.

Three — co-contributions are now clearer, and for some families, higher. Read the letter the government sent about your specific contributions. If you didn't receive one or don't understand it, ask.

What hasn't changed

You still choose your provider. You still have the right to switch. And a good provider still spends time with you explaining what you're entitled to and where your funding is going — not just delivering services and sending invoices.

If your current provider hasn't talked you through SAH in detail, that's a signal worth paying attention to.

More from Goldstar Care resources.