Home Care Services and Support at Home Providers in Australia
Home care services help older Australians stay living safely in their own home: personal care, nursing, cleaning, meals, transport, gardening and social support. Since 1 November 2025 government-funded home care is delivered through the Support at Home program, which replaced Home Care Packages; the {count} providers below are approved to deliver it across Australia.
Choosing a provider matters more than it used to, because your contributions are now a percentage of each provider's prices. The sections below cover what Support at Home funds, what you pay, how long people are waiting, and what to compare.
Not sure which aged care provider is right?
Get free, personal help comparing residential care, home care (Support at Home) and respite options. Free for families, no obligation.
Browse by state
Home Care providers
What Support at Home funds, and how much
Services fall into three groups: clinical care (nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy), independence (personal care, social support, respite) and everyday living (cleaning, meals, gardening, transport). Equipment and home modifications are funded separately through the AT-HM scheme, and two short-term pathways cover restorative care and end-of-life care at home.
An assessment places you in one of eight ongoing classifications with quarterly budgets from about $2,750 to $20,000, roughly $11,000 to $80,000 a year, including 10% for care management. People who had a Home Care Package on 31 October 2025 moved to transitioned classifications with equivalent funding and kept their unspent funds.
What you pay
Clinical care is free for everyone. For other services you pay a percentage of the provider's price: full pensioners pay 5% for independence services and 17.5% for everyday living; part pensioners and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders pay between those rates and 50% and 80% depending on means; self-funded retirees without a card pay 50% and 80%.
From 1 October 2026 personal care moves into the clinical category and becomes free for everyone. There is a lifetime cap on contributions, and people who had a Home Care Package, or were approved and waiting for one, on 12 September 2024 cannot pay more than they would have under the old rules.
Eligibility, and how long people are waiting
Support at Home is for people aged 65 and over (50 and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) whose needs go beyond the entry-level Commonwealth Home Support Programme. Register with My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 or online, then have an aged care needs assessment; a family member can do this as your representative.
In the March 2026 quarter the national median wait from referral to assessment was 25 days. The wait from approval to funded services depends on your priority category: under a month for urgent, about a month for high, five to six months for medium and seven to eight months for standard, according to My Aged Care in June 2026. Choosing your provider while you wait means services start as soon as funding is allocated.
How to compare home care providers
Get the price list in writing from at least three providers and compare hourly rates by service, weekend and evening loadings, minimum visit lengths and travel charges; because contributions are a percentage of price, a $60 versus $85 cleaning hour is a real difference to a self-funded retiree. Package management and exit fees no longer exist, so a provider quoting either is out of date.
Then ask about the people: will you see the same workers, how are new workers introduced, what happens when someone does not turn up, and who answers after hours. The providers listed here are drawn from the government register; our free placement help service compares them for you.
Guides to Home Care Services
- The Support at Home program explainedThe plain-English guide to the program that replaced Home Care Packages
- Support at Home costs and contributionsRates by pension status, with worked examples
- How to apply and current wait timesThe assessment, the priority categories and the 2026 waits
- How to choose a Support at Home providerPrice lists, questions to ask and red flags
- Moving from a Home Care PackageUnspent funds, transitioned levels and the no worse off rules
Frequently asked questions
Who is eligible for home care in Australia?
People aged 65 and over (50 and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) who need help to keep living at home and whose needs go beyond the entry-level Commonwealth Home Support Programme. Eligibility and your funding classification are decided by an aged care needs assessment arranged through My Aged Care.
What is the difference between home support and a home care package?
The Commonwealth Home Support Programme provides a few hours a week of entry-level help such as cleaning and transport. Home Care Packages were the higher-level program and were replaced on 1 November 2025 by Support at Home, which has eight funding levels from about $11,000 to $80,000 a year for people with greater needs.
How much does home care cost?
Clinical care is free. Full pensioners pay 5% of the price of independence services and 17.5% of everyday living services; self-funded retirees without a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card pay 50% and 80%; part pensioners fall between. Personal care becomes free for everyone from 1 October 2026, and a lifetime cap applies.
How do I find the best home care provider near me?
Compare price lists, because your contribution is a percentage of each provider's prices, then compare worker consistency, after-hours support and availability in your suburb. The providers on this page are drawn from the government register; browse by state and suburb, or use the free placement help service to have them compared for you.
How long is the wait for home care funding?
The median wait from referral to assessment was 25 days in early 2026. After approval, My Aged Care estimated waits of under a month for urgent priority, about a month for high, five to six months for medium and seven to eight months for standard, as at June 2026.
Are the home care providers on this site approved?
Yes. Providers listed on AusCareGuide are sourced from the official My Aged Care register and are approved by the Australian Government to deliver Support at Home services.