How to change Support at Home providers (and when to)

Can I choose my aged care provider?

Yes, and it stays your choice. From the start, you pick your own provider. Ask your assessor for a referral, browse the Find a provider tool on My Aged Care, or call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 for help. Providers must publish pricing information for the services they deliver, so you can compare before you ever pick up the phone. And the choice is not permanent. You can change providers for any reason. That includes needing services your current provider does not offer, or moving to a different area. You do not need to justify the decision to anyone.

Can you have two aged care providers?

No. Under Support at HomeSupport at HomeThe government program that pays for help at home for older people. It replaced Home Care Packages in November 2025. More words explained , all of your ongoing services run through a single registered provider, under one service agreementService agreementThe contract with a provider. It sets out what they will do and what they will charge. More words explained . That is the program's design, not your provider's policy. One nuance: your provider can subcontract other organisations to deliver some services. So more than one company may come through the door, but one provider holds the agreement, coordinates the services, and claims against the budget. If you are asking because your current provider cannot deliver everything approved in the plan, that is one of the government's own listed reasons to change providers, rather than add one.

What do I need to agree with my current provider before I leave?

The exit date matters most in the whole move. You and your current provider agree it together, taking the service agreement's terms into account. It is an agreement, not a date they hand down. Hold out for one that works for the care needed, not just the provider's roster. Until that date, your current provider must keep delivering services under the existing agreement, so there is no gap in care. After it, they must issue any final invoices and a final monthly statement. They must also share your remaining budget information with your new provider within 28 days, and they cannot charge an exit amount. Ask for the exit date, and the final statement, in writing. One caution if you are tempted to leave first and choose later. If a year passes, four quarters in a row, without a service agreement since a service was last received, the ongoing funding is withdrawn. Line up the new provider before you leave the old one.

What happens to unspent funds when I switch?

Your funding moves with you to the new provider, including unspent fundsUnspent fundsMoney left at the end of three months. Some of it rolls into the next three months, but not all of it. More words explained for ongoing services. If you transitioned from a Home Care Package, the government-held portion of those unspent funds is available to your new provider immediately. Switching does not cost you the balance.

See the full unspent-funds rules →

Warning signs when choosing a new provider

These are the patterns families run into again and again, whether it is a first provider or a replacement. Any one of them is a reason to keep looking.

• Prices only ever quoted verbally. A provider who will not put prices in writing has answered your real question.
• Being told "call us back when the bigger package comes through", in any of its variations.
• Pressure to sign quickly, or reluctance to explain the service agreement in plain terms.
• Vagueness about how many hours the package actually buys after fees.
• Once care starts, hours delivered can drift quietly below hours billed. Compare the monthly statement against the hours actually received.

Every provider's care managementCare managementThe provider organising the care: booking workers, keeping the plan up to date. It is paid for out of the budget. More words explained fee is capped at the same 10 per cent of the quarterly budgetQuarterly budgetThe amount set aside for care every three months. It is not cash, and it never goes into anyone's bank account. More words explained under Support at Home, whichever provider you choose. So that fee is not the one to compare when choosing. The hourly service rates underneath it are what actually differ.

Care management cap: Support at Home Program Manual v4.2, section 8.9 (care management account).

Compare before you commit

Every provider draws from the same government money, and what they deliver for it varies enormously. National price caps have been deferred, as of May 2026, so comparing prices is up to families for now. The same package can buy meaningfully more hours at one provider than another. If you are switching because the hours never showed up, this is the moment to check you are not walking into the same rates.

See the full sortable comparison →

Words to have ready

The first two are for providers you are vetting. The third is for the provider you are leaving.

Common questions

One human thing

You're allowed to compare and ask questions. Nothing is signed until you choose, and a good provider will respect the questions rather than resent them.