The four-level Home Care Packages system transitioned into the Support at Home program on 1 November 2025.
Under the old structure, Levels 1 to 4 mapped to set annual funding tiers and care needs, beginning with basic domestic assistance at Level 1 and reaching high-level nursing care at Level 4.
Support at Home now uses eight ongoing classification levels rather than four. The Australian Government made the change so that funding sits closer to assessed need, which means more steps on the scale and smaller gaps between them.
If you were already receiving a home care package, your support continued. Nobody was left without services on 1 November 2025, and you did not need to reapply.
Current budgets and classifications are managed through My Aged Care.
What Were the Home Care Package Levels 1 to 4?
The home care packages program grouped people into four funding tiers based on an aged care assessment. The level you were assigned set your yearly budget, and your care plan set what that budget actually bought.
The weekly hours below were typical rather than guaranteed. Real hours always depended on the mix of services delivered and on provider pricing.
Level 1: Basic Care
Level 1 was designed for seniors with minimal assistance needs, offering roughly 2 to 3 hours of help each week.
It covered basic assistance such as light housework, social support and transport to medical appointments. For many people, this was a first, gentle step into aged care: enough basic support to stay on top of day-to-day tasks without changing much else about daily life.
Level 2: Low Care
Level 2 suited people needing regular daily assistance, funding around 3 to 4 hours of weekly help.
Common services included meal preparation, shopping and domestic help, alongside the ongoing services already provided at Level 1.
Level 3: Intermediate Care
Level 3 was aimed at moderate to intermediate needs and funded about 7 to 9 hours of care each week.
At this level, personal care usually became a regular part of the week. So did medication management and allied health services such as physiotherapy or podiatry, delivered by qualified health professionals.
Level 4: High Care
Level 4 was built for high-level, complex needs, providing roughly 12 to 15 hours of weekly support.
It funded nursing care, daily personal care and coordinated services from several allied health professionals. Support for mental health and emotional wellbeing sat alongside physical care, because complex needs are rarely only physical.
Level 4 was often the level people weighed up against a move into residential aged care. For people living with dementia, specialist dementia support can form part of that conversation too.
What Each Home Care Package Level Was Worth Each Year
Under the updated classification structure, the former package tiers transition to set quarterly and annual budgets.
| Former package level | Care need | Annual amount | Quarterly amount |
| Level 1 | Basic care | approximately $11,272 | approximately $2,818 |
| Level 2 | Low care | approximately $19,821 | approximately $4,955 |
| Level 3 | Intermediate care | approximately $43,148 | approximately $10,787 |
| Level 4 | High care | approximately $65,415 | approximately $16,353 |
These amounts are indexed each year, so check current figures on the aged care website before you plan around them.
It is worth being clear about one thing: how much funding you receive is not something you choose. It is assessed. Government funding varies based on your assessed care needs, and what you contribute varies with your financial circumstances.
What Your Funding Covers Now
Support at Home sorts services into three categories, and the category matters because it determines who pays for what.
Clinical Support Services
Nursing support, wound care, physiotherapy and occupational therapy sit here, delivered by registered health professionals.
Government funding covers the full cost of clinical support services. There is no participant contribution for clinical supports, whatever your means.
Independence Services
Personal care such as showering and dressing, mobility support, transport to medical appointments and respite for carers all sit in this category.
Contributions apply to independence services. If you care for someone and need a break, respite care can be planned in rather than left until things reach breaking point.
Everyday Living Services
Domestic assistance, cleaning, laundry, gardening, meal preparation and shopping make up everyday living services.
These carry the highest contribution rates, on the reasoning that they are costs most households already meet at home.
What You Pay and What the Government Pays
What you contribute depends on the service category and on your assessed means. Full pensioners contribute least, part pensioners contribute more, and self-funded retirees contribute most.
Under the old packages, contributions included a basic daily fee and, for some people, an income-tested care fee. Support at Home replaced that structure with contribution rates set by category and by your status against the age pension.
Your Income and Assets Assessment
You complete an income and assets assessment through Services Australia so your contribution rate can be set. Until that assessment is done, your financial situation cannot be assessed, and your contributions cannot be finalised.
Aged care costs interact with your pension, your home and your estate, sometimes in ways that are not obvious.
Read through our fees and charges information and the detail on the income and assets assessment, then seek independent financial advice before you commit to anything. Good independent financial advice usually pays for itself.
How to Get a Classification and Start Services
Older people need to register with My Aged Care first. Everything else follows from that.
You must be 65 or older to be assessed. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can be assessed from age 50, in recognition of earlier onset of age-related health needs.
The work once done by an aged care assessment team now sits within a single assessment system, so there is one process rather than several. After your assessment, you receive a Notice of Decision setting out your classification and your priority category, which determines where you sit in the national queue.
Wait times vary with urgency and with the services you need. Once you choose a provider, you have 56 days to enter a service agreement, so it pays to have a shortlist ready.
Our pages on eligibility and how to apply walk through what to expect.
What Happens at Your Aged Care Assessment
An aged care assessment takes 45 to 75 minutes and can happen at home or over the phone.
An assessor talks with you about day-to-day tasks, safety at home, your health, your mental health and wellbeing, and the support you already have from family or friends.
Your support plan and care plan both grow out of that conversation, so be candid about the harder days rather than the good ones.
Need More Information about Home Care Packages? Contact Hall & Prior Today!
The move from four package levels to eight classifications has left a lot of families unsure where they stand.
If you are already receiving support, nothing stopped on 1 November 2025. If you are just starting out, the first step is registering with My Aged Care and booking an assessment.
Either way, you do not have to work it out on your own.
Get in touch with us today, and we will help you understand your classification, what your budget covers, and what you would contribute before you commit to a service agreement.