Support at Home Classifications Explained
- Schedule v3, 1 October 2026
- Ongoing and short-term
- Free, no sign-up
Ongoing classifications
Transitioned HCP levels
Amounts from 1 October 2026, including the 10% for care management. Daily figures are the Schedule’s indicative equivalents.
Classification 4
a year, released as four quarterly budgets
A classification is set by an aged care assessment, not chosen. It decides how much funding there is. The services a person can use are the ones approved in their support plan.
Short-term pathways
Funding for a set period, on top of or instead of a classification
Restorative Care Pathway
$6,179.40
per episode of up to 16 weeks
- Intensive allied health and nursing to help someone stay at home, or stay at their current classification.
- Up to 2 units in 12 months, a total of $12,358.80.
- Runs alongside an ongoing budget.
- For episodes starting on or after 1 October 2026.
End-of-Life Pathway
$25,736.57
over 12 weeks, usable up to 16
- For people with 3 months or less to live, as estimated by a doctor or nurse practitioner, and an AKPS score of 40 or less.
- One episode. It replaces the ongoing classification.
- Amending rules made on 17 September 2026 extend the maximum period from 112 to 168 days and add a second credit, equal to the first, 84 days in, from 8 March 2027. The program manual has not caught up yet.
Assistive technology and home modifications
low
$513
medium
$2,052
high
$15,390
- Same three tiers for assistive technology and for home modifications, each for 12 months.
- Assistive technology above $15,390 can be funded with evidence such as a prescription.
- Home modifications are once-off lifetime funding; complex works can be extended to 24 months.
- Assistance dog maintenance: $2,052 a year. MM 6 and 7: an extra 50% of the tier.
Service categories
Every service sits in one of three categories
The category decides the participant’s contribution. From 1 October 2026 personal care is a clinical support, so nobody contributes to it.
Clinical supports
0% for everyone- Nursing (registered nurse, enrolled nurse, nursing assistant) and nursing consumables
- Allied health and therapy (for example physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry, dietetics, speech pathology, psychology, social work)
- Prescribed nutrition
- Care management
- Personal care, from 1 October 2026
Independence
5% to 50%- Social support and community engagement
- Therapeutic services for independent living (for example remedial massage, chiropractic, osteopathy)
- Respite
- Transport
- Assistive technology and home modification items
Everyday living
17.5% to 80%- Domestic assistance (cleaning, laundry, shopping)
- Home maintenance and repairs (including gardening)
- Meals (preparation and delivery)
Rates are for people outside the grandfathering arrangements. Care management and AT-HM prescription and wrap-around services are 0%; AT-HM items are charged at the independence rate.
How classification works
An aged care needs assessor uses the Integrated Assessment Tool to look at a person’s needs, and an Assessment Delegate decides whether they are eligible. The outcome comes as a Notice of Decision and a support plan, which set out the classification, any short-term pathway and the services the person can use. Nobody picks their own classification, and a provider can’t change it: only a new assessment can.
Once approved, people wait in the Support at Home Priority System (urgent, high, medium or standard) until funding is assigned. If demand is high, a person may first receive interim funding of 60% of their classification’s amount.
What the budget pays for
- 10% goes to care management, pooled by the provider. See the Care Management Calculator.
- The rest pays for services at the provider’s prices, with a contribution from the participant for independence and everyday living services. See the Budget & Contribution Calculator.
- Unspent money carries over up to the higher of $1,000 or 10% of the quarterly budget after care management.
What this tool follows
- Schedule of Subsidies and Supplements for Aged Care: Support at Home, version 3 (rates effective 1 October 2026, published 22 September 2026): every classification, transitioned HCP level, pathway and AT-HM amount on this page
- Support at Home program manual, version 4.4 (September 2026): assessment and classification (sections 6.4 to 6.8), short-term pathways (13 to 15), service categories (10.2)
- health.gov.au: Funding for Support at Home aged care nurses' award wage increase: why the amounts rose on 1 October 2026
- Aged Care Amendment (September Indexation and Other Measures) Rules 2026 (F2026L01252): base amounts from 1 October 2026 and the End-of-Life Pathway change from 8 March 2027 (Schedule 7)
- My Aged Care: Support at Home costs and contributions
General information only, not financial, legal or claiming advice. Always check a claim against the current official documents.
Questions people ask
Can I choose my Support at Home classification?
No. An aged care needs assessor uses the Integrated Assessment Tool, and an Assessment Delegate approves the classification. It is set out in the Notice of Decision and support plan. If needs change, the provider can ask for a Support Plan Review, which may lead to a new assessment.
Do higher classifications get different services?
The classification sets the funding. The services a person can use are the ones approved in their support plan from the Support at Home service list. A higher classification means a larger budget to pay for them.
Why did the budgets change on 1 October 2026?
Amounts are usually indexed on 1 July. Every classification, transitioned HCP level and the Restorative Care and End-of-Life amounts were raised again from 1 October 2026 to fund the aged care nurses’ award wage increase. The assistive technology and home modification tiers did not change.
What is a transitioned HCP level?
People who had a Home Care Package when Support at Home started on 1 November 2025, or who were waiting for one, keep a budget equal to their package level. If they are reassessed into a higher classification, they move to one of classifications 1 to 8.
Can someone have a short-term pathway and an ongoing classification at the same time?
Yes for restorative care and assistive technology or home modifications: these run alongside an ongoing budget. The End-of-Life Pathway replaces the ongoing classification. Unspent short-term funding does not carry over.
More free tools
See all tools →Rostery does this for you
Stop working it out by hand
Rostery applies the right price, award rate and rule to every shift, invoice and claim automatically. Book a demo and we’ll show you on your own roster.