Support at Home Pricing Explained: What You Need to Know

Aged care in Australia has changed and so has the way it is paid for.

In November 2025, the Australian Government introduced a new aged care program, called Support at Home (SAH).

SAH replaces the Home Care Packages system and is designed to provide flexible, personalised support to allow you to live independently in your home for as long as possible.

This article has everything you need to know about how the pricing and day-to-day funding of your care work under the new system, including what’s expected of you.

How does Support at Home pricing work?

After you’ve been assessed and approved for SAH, you’ll receive one of eight funding levels, based on your care needs.

This level determines the quarterly budget available to you to spend on services. (This is a change from the old system, which used annual packages.)

You will work with your Care Partner (called a “care coordinator” under the old system) to select the services you require and allocate your budget using your aged care provider’s price list.

SAH divides care services into three categories.

• Clinical supports – Nursing and allied health services
• Independence supports – Personal care, social support, transport, and respite
• Everyday living – House cleaning, gardening, home maintenance, and meal services.

Each category is funded differently.

Clinical supports are fully government funded, which means they’re free to you as the person receiving the care.

But for independence and everyday living support, you may be asked to make a financial contribution towards your care. This is another change from the old system.

Client contributions

Your co-contribution is based on your income and assets.

Here’s the fee structure:

Brightwater at Home Service Leader Fern Raynham said the new system was designed to be as fair as possible.

“It’s more flexible, more person centred and it’s tailored to the individual,” she said. “SAH is designed to support those who really need the care.”

Care management fees

Under Support at Home, 10% of your quarterly budget is automatically set aside for care management. This includes things like:

• Creating and updating your care plan
• Managing your quarterly budget
• Checking in on your health and needs
• Organising your services
• Helping you access extra support if you need it.

SAH fees are structured a little differently to the previous system.

• Package management fees have been removed (under the old system these could be up to 15%)
• Care management fees are capped at 10% of your quarterly budget (under the old system this was capped at 20%)
• The service prices on your provider’s price list are now inclusive of the costs of delivering them (those are costs like administration, insurance and coordination).

This means the separate fees you might be used to have been bundled into the price of each service, rather than being charged separately. It also means service prices may look like they have increased, when in fact:

• Hidden fees have been removed (everything is included in your service price)
• You’ve got greater transparency on how your funding is being used
• It’s easier to both budget and create a tailored care plan
• You’re receiving better value (with care planning included, services will be more responsive to your needs).

The Australian Government requires all aged care providers to report their price list on a regular basis to ensure costs are fair and reasonable.

Fern said this has ensured providers’ pricing lists are very competitive.

“There’s perhaps a small variance in hourly rates,” she said.

SAH fee FAQs

How much does Support at Home cost in 2025?

The cost of Support at Home depends on the services you require. Once you’re approved for a level of support, you’ll have a quarterly budget to spend on the services you need.

All aged care providers, including Brightwater, publish their price lists. This means you can compare like-for-like costs between service providers.

Under the SAH system, clinical care is 100% covered by the Australian Government. You may be required to make a contribution towards other categories of care that support independence and everyday living.

What fees do I have to pay under Support at Home?

Under the Support at Home program, 10% of your quarterly budget is automatically set aside to cover care management (like creating and updating your care plan, organising your services and helping you access additional support).

The remaining 90% is spent on the services you receive.

All clinical services are covered by the Australian Government, but you may be asked to make a means-tested financial contribution of between 5% and 80% towards independence and everyday living care.

Where can I find Brightwater’s Support at Home price list?

Like all aged care providers across Australia, Brightwater is legally obliged to publish our price list. You’re welcome to view ours on the Brightwater website here.