Support at Home Fees and Contributions Explained

If you're trying to work out what Support at Home will actually cost, you're not alone - the fee structure is one of the most confusing parts of the whole program. The short version: what you pay depends on which type of service you're using and your own income and assets, not a single flat fee.

In short: Support at Home participants may pay a contribution toward some services, calculated as a percentage of the service cost. The percentage depends on the type of service and an income/assets assessment. Some services are fully government-funded with no contribution at all, and a lifetime cap limits how much anyone pays overall.

The three service categories

Support at Home groups services into three categories, and each is treated differently for contributions:

• Clinical supports - nursing, physiotherapy and other allied health. These are fully funded by the Australian Government. You don't pay a contribution toward clinical supports, regardless of your income or assets.

• Independence - services like personal care, some social support, and assistive technology or home modifications. These attract a contribution, calculated as a percentage of the service cost based on your means.

• Everyday living - domestic assistance, meal preparation, gardening and similar services. These carry the highest contribution percentages of the three categories.

A change worth knowing about: from 1 October 2026, personal care services move from the Independence category into Clinical supports - meaning they become fully government-funded and participants stop paying a contribution for them. If you're budgeting ahead, check which category applies to your specific services and when, since this shifts partway through.

How your contribution percentage is worked out

You don't choose your contribution rate, and it isn't the same for everyone. Services Australia runs an income and assets assessment - similar in spirit to the Age Pension means test - that looks at your income (or joint income, for couples) and financial assets. The home you live in isn't counted; savings, investments and other income sources generally are.

That assessment places you somewhere on a sliding scale for each contribution category:

• Full pensioners typically sit at the lower end of the scale.

• Self-funded retirees without a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card typically sit at the higher end.

• Part-pensioners and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders fall somewhere between the two, based on their individual assessment - not a fixed middle rate.

Because the exact percentage depends on your personal assessment, this article can't tell you your specific rate - that comes from your own assessment through Services Australia. Treat any percentage you see quoted elsewhere as an example of the range, not a number that applies to you specifically.

The lifetime cap

No one pays more than $130,000 in non-clinical care contributions over their lifetime, whether that's through Support at Home, residential aged care, or a combination of both. Once you reach that cap, contributions for non-clinical services stop.

If paying is difficult

If you're facing genuine financial hardship, you can apply to Services Australia for hardship assistance. Where it's approved, the government pays some or all of your contribution on your behalf. This is a real option worth raising with Services Australia directly rather than assuming a quoted fee is fixed and unavoidable.

Where "Home Care Package fees" fit into this

If your search led you here from "Home Care Package fees," that's the previous program's terminology - Support at Home replaced the Home Care Packages Program from 1 November 2025, and the contribution structure above is what applies now. If you were already receiving a Home Care Package before the change, different transition arrangements protect your existing contribution level - see Home Care Package levels explained (and what replaced them) for that detail specifically.

A different fee - CareVicinity's platform fee

It's worth being clear this isn't the same thing as any fee you'd see using CareVicinity itself: care seekers pay no platform fee to use CareVicinity. CareVicinity's 12.5% platform fee applies to the support worker, not to you. The contributions above are set by the Australian Government as part of Support at Home - CareVicinity doesn't set, collect, or vary them.

FAQ

Do I pay a contribution for every Support at Home service? No. Clinical supports like nursing and allied health are fully government-funded. Contributions apply to Independence and Everyday Living services, at percentages based on your means.

How do I find out my actual contribution percentage? Through your income and assets assessment with Services Australia - it's specific to you and isn't published as a single flat number.

Is there a limit to how much I'll ever pay? Yes - a $130,000 lifetime cap on non-clinical contributions, combined across in-home and residential aged care.

Does CareVicinity charge me a fee on top of my Support at Home contribution? No. Care seekers pay no platform fee on CareVicinity. CareVicinity's 12.5% platform fee applies to the support worker.

Next step

Once you understand what you'll be asked to contribute, the next practical question is usually who delivers your approved services. How to hire an independent support worker through CareVicinity walks through that step, and What is Support at Home? A plain-language guide is the place to start if you haven't already worked out how the program itself works.

CareVicinity is an Australia-wide care marketplace connecting people with independent support workers who can deliver Support at Home-funded services. Availability of specific services and workers may vary by location.