How much do I have to pay for a home care package?

It depends on your means, not the package level. Clinical care costs nothing for anyone. A full pensioner pays 5% of the price of independence services and 17.5% for everyday living; a self-funded person pays 50% and 80%. Part pensioners and CSHC holders pay somewhere between those figures; the picker on this page works out a real dollar range for that band.

Can a self-funded retiree get a home care package?

Yes. Eligibility is about care needs, assessed by an aged care assessor, not about money. Being self-funded affects what you pay, not whether you qualify: self-funded participants contribute 50% of the price of independence services and 80% for everyday living, while clinical care is free for everyone.

How much money can you have before you have to pay for care?

There is no single dollar threshold. Contributions follow pension status: a full pensioner pays the lowest rates, a self-funded person the highest, and everyone in between is means tested by Services Australia. The government's fee estimator gives an exact figure for your circumstances.

What do part pensioners pay for a home care package?

A rate between the full pensioner and self-funded figures, set by income and assets, never by package level. Clinical care is still $0. For independence services that is 5% to 50%; for everyday living, 17.5% to 80%. The picker on this page works out a dollar range at a sample budget; the government's fee estimator gives your exact percentage.

How are home care fees calculated?

As a percentage of each service's price, set by your means band and the service's category. The government pays the rest. On $100 of everyday living services, a full pensioner pays $17.50 and a self-funded person pays $80. The worked example table above shows every combination.

What is a co-contribution in Support at home?

The share of the price of each service you, or the person you care for, receives, invoiced by the provider alongside government funding. It is set by a means test and the service's category, not by package level. It never adds to or subtracts from the package budget or the hours it buys.

Support at Home contribution rates (your co-contribution), in plain English

Clinical care: $0
Full pensioner rate: 17.5%
Self-funded rate: 80%
Lifetime cap: $137,917.01

Under Support at Home, the person you care for (or you, if this is your own package) pays a set percentage of each service's price as a contribution. Full pensioners pay 5% for independence services and 17.5% for everyday living. Self-funded people pay 50% and 80%. Part pensioners and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders pay a rate that slides between those two figures, set by income. Clinical care is always $0. Contributions are invoiced separately and never change the budget or hours. A lifetime cap applies: $137,917.01, or $86,185.23 for those grandfathered from the old Home Care Package system.

Every figure on this page checked 22 July 2026.

Because the first thing anyone shows you is the , and the first surprise is the bill. Nobody sits you down and explains that the government pays most of each service's price. You, or the person you care for, get invoiced for a slice of it. How big that slice is depends on pension status, not package level. This page is that sit-down.

Were you in the system before 12 September 2024?

On or before 12 September 2024, was the person you care for (or you, if this is your own package) receiving a , on the waitlist for one, or assessed as eligible for one? If so, none of the standard rates below apply. Their rates are set instead by different, more generous rules. Jump to the grandfathered rates →

If not (the situation for most people newly assessed under Support at Home), the picker below finds your rate.

Which contribution band are you in?

Pick the one that matches you, or the person you care for. Every dollar figure below uses the same sample budget throughout this page: a Level 4 classification, $30,468.51 a year, roughly the middle of the eight-level scale, so the three bands can be compared directly.

Full pensioner Part pensioner or CSHC Self-funded

Full pensioner

Clinical care costs nothing. You pay 5% of the price of independence services and 17.5% of everyday living services; the government pays the rest. At a Level 4 budget ($30,468.51 a year), that comes to about $1,233.97 to $4,318.91 a year, or $23.73 to $83.06 a week.

If you were in the Home Care Package system on or before 12 September 2024, your rate is $0 in every category instead. See the grandfathered table →

Part pensioner or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holder

This band is genuinely a range, not a single rate. Clinical care is still $0. For independence services you pay somewhere between 5% and 50%; for everyday living, between 17.5% and 80%. At a Level 4 budget ($30,468.51 a year), that spans roughly $1,233.97 to $19,743.59 a year, or $23.73 to $379.68 a week. The low end is what a full pensioner pays at that budget. The high end is what a self-funded person pays.

The part pension figure is a range because two separate things are unknown at once. Which category the spending fell into, and where an income sits on the sliding scale between the two rates. The bottom of the range is the rate a full pensioner pays. The top is the rate a self funded retiree pays. Nothing published says where inside that span a particular income lands.

For the one number that applies to you, use the government's official fee estimator.

Self-funded

Clinical care is still $0. You pay 50% of the price of independence services and 80% of everyday living services. At a Level 4 budget ($30,468.51 a year), that comes to about $12,339.75 to $19,743.59 a year, or $237.30 to $379.68 a week.

Being self-funded changes what you pay, never whether you or the person you care for qualifies for a package. If you were in the Home Care Package system on or before 12 September 2024, a flat 25% applies instead of the rate above. See the grandfathered table →

These dollar figures assume the standard everyday-help and nursing mix used throughout this page: see "How is your contribution actually worked out?" below. Source: Support at Home Program Manual v4.2 §9.4; classification budget from the Department of Health, Funding classifications for Support at Home.

The steps that matter

Check the fork above first. If the person you care for (or you, if this is your own package) was in the Home Care Package system on or before 12 September 2024, use the grandfathered rates, not the standard ones.
If not, use the picker above to find the standard band. It is set by pension status alone, never by package level.
Part pensioner or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holder? The picker gives a worked range; the government's fee estimator, linked there, gives the exact percentage.
Ask the provider to confirm in writing which contribution percentage they will invoice for each service category. Ask to see a sample invoice too.

What is a co-contribution under Support at Home?

A is the share of the price of each service you, or the person you care for, receives. The government pays the rest. The percentage depends on two things only: which type of service it is, and , checked by . The package level makes no difference.

There are three types of service, and each is charged differently: , , and . Here is what each band pays for each.

Full pensioner

Clinical supports: 0%
Independence: 5%
Everyday living: 17.5%

Part pensioner or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holder

Clinical supports: 0%
Independence: 5% to 50%
Everyday living: 17.5% to 80%

Self-funded

Clinical supports: 0%
Independence: 50%
Everyday living: 80%

Support at Home contribution rates by band and service category
Band	Clinical supports	Independence	Everyday living
Full pensioner	0%	5%	17.5%
Part pensioner or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holder	0%	5% to 50%	17.5% to 80%
Self-funded	0%	50%	80%

Source: Support at Home Program Manual v4.2 §9.4.

Here is the part worth remembering: the full price of every service still comes out of the package budget. The co-contribution is invoiced separately, on top. Paying it does not add money to the budget. Owing it does not take away any hours.

Part pensioners and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders fall inside the middle row above as a range. Use the picker higher up this page for a worked dollar figure, or the government's official fee estimator for the exact one. It answers a different question to this page, and it is the right tool for that one.

What are the grandfathered ("no worse off") rates?

This is the group the transition rules were written to protect. The test is whether, on or before 12 September 2024, the person you care for (or you, if this is your own package) was already connected to a Home Care Package. That connection could take one of three forms: receiving a Home Care Package, being on the waitlist for one (the National Priority System), or being assessed as eligible for one. If any of those apply, this section applies instead of the standard rates above. This part is worth reading twice, because the rule covers more people than most families expect. They did not need to be receiving services yet.

For this group, this is the no worse off rule. Contributions are designed so they do not pay more under than they would have under the old arrangements. Full pensioners pay nothing in any category. Part pensioners and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders pay between 0% and 25%. Self-funded people pay a flat 25%. A fortnightly cap, worked out from income, limits the total amount that can be invoiced. If the first Support at Home invoice looks higher than the old arrangements would have charged, ask the provider to show how the transition arrangements were applied.

Full pensioner (grandfathered, no worse off)

Clinical supports: 0%
Independence: 0%
Everyday living: 0%
Note

Part pensioner or CSHC holder (grandfathered, no worse off)

Clinical supports: 0%
Independence: 0% to 25%
Everyday living: 0% to 25%
Note: A fortnightly cap applies to the total amount payable, determined by income.

Self-funded (grandfathered, no worse off)

Clinical supports: 0%
Independence: 25%
Everyday living: 25%
Note: A fortnightly cap applies to the total amount payable, determined by income.

Grandfathered (no worse off) Support at Home contribution rates
Band	Clinical supports	Independence	Everyday living	Note
Full pensioner (grandfathered, no worse off)	0%	0%	0%
Part pensioner or CSHC holder (grandfathered, no worse off)	0%	0% to 25%	0% to 25%	A fortnightly cap applies to the total amount payable, determined by income.
Self-funded (grandfathered, no worse off)	0%	25%	25%	A fortnightly cap applies to the total amount payable, determined by income.

Source: Support at Home Program Manual v4.2 §9.4.1.1.

Is there a limit to what you'll ever be asked to contribute?

Yes. There is a on how much any one person can be asked to contribute towards their care. Once their total contributions reach it, the invoices stop and the government pays the full price of their services from then on. Services Australia keeps the running total for you, so you do not need to track it yourself. If you would also like to keep your own record of invoices, that is fine too.

Support at Home lifetime contribution caps
Cap	Lifetime amount
Standard	$137,917.01
Grandfathered (no worse off)	$86,185.23

Indexed twice a year, on 20 March and 20 September. Verified 2026-07-22.

How is your contribution actually worked out?

The percentage applies to the price of each service, not to the package budget. Say a cleaning visit costs $100. A full pensioner is invoiced $17.50 of it, and the government pays the rest. A self-funded person is invoiced $80 of it instead. In both cases, the full $100 still comes out of the package budget. The budget pays the whole price of the service, contribution included. Here is that same $100 across every band and category.

Full pensioner

Clinical supports: $0
Independence: $5
Everyday living: $17.50

Part pensioner or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holder

Clinical supports: $0
Independence: $5 to $50
Everyday living: $17.50 to $80

Self-funded

Clinical supports: $0
Independence: $50
Everyday living: $80

Worked example: out-of-pocket contribution on $100 of service
Band	Clinical supports	Independence	Everyday living
Full pensioner	$0	$5	$17.50
Part pensioner or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holder	$0	$5 to $50	$17.50 to $80
Self-funded	$0	$50	$80

Illustrative: what each band pays out of pocket on $100 of service delivered in a week. Not a quote; your provider's actual rate and your exact means-tested position will differ.Support at Home price caps are deferred as of May 2026, so providers set their own prices and your contribution is a percentage of whatever they charge.

Turned into a real Support at Home budget rather than a flat $100, the same gap looks like this. At a Level 4 classification ($30,468.51 a year, the same sample budget used in the picker above), a full pensioner's contribution comes to about $1,233.97 to $4,318.91 a year. A self-funded person's comes to about $12,339.75 to $19,743.59. Care management is left out of the working. It sits in the clinical supports category, where the contribution rate is nil in every income band, so putting it back would not change the figure.

These figures assume the same mix at every level. Nine tenths of the budget goes to everyday help and one tenth to nursing and clinical care, after the care management allocation is set aside. The mix is an assumption, not an entitlement, and nothing published ties a level to a mix. It is held identical across all eight levels on purpose, so the only reason the numbers differ from level to level is the size of the budget. Classification budget: Department of Health, Funding classifications for Support at Home.

Words to have ready

Three things worth saying to a provider: one before you sign, one if the person you care for was in the system before September 2024, and one if you're self-funded.

Before you sign

"Before we sign, can you confirm in writing the contribution percentage you will invoice for each service category, and show me what it will look like on an invoice?"

If you were in the system before September 2024

"Dad was already approved for a Home Care Package before the September 2024 cut-off. Can you confirm his contributions are being worked out under the grandfathered transition arrangements, and what his fortnightly cap is?"

If you're self-funded and managing your own care

"I'm self-funded, so my contribution is 50% for independence services and 80% for everyday living. Can you set out exactly which services fall into each category, so I know what I'm actually paying for?"

Common questions

How much do I have to pay for a home care package?: It depends on your means, not the package level. Clinical care costs nothing for anyone. A full pensioner pays 5% of the price of independence services and 17.5% for everyday living; a self-funded person pays 50% and 80%. Part pensioners and CSHC holders pay somewhere between those figures; the picker on this page works out a real dollar range for that band.
Can a self-funded retiree get a home care package?: Yes. Eligibility is about care needs, assessed by an aged care assessor, not about money. Being self-funded affects what you pay, not whether you qualify: self-funded participants contribute 50% of the price of independence services and 80% for everyday living, while clinical care is free for everyone.
How much money can you have before you have to pay for care?: There is no single dollar threshold. Contributions follow pension status: a full pensioner pays the lowest rates, a self-funded person the highest, and everyone in between is means tested by Services Australia. The government's fee estimator gives an exact figure for your circumstances.
What do part pensioners pay for a home care package?: A rate between the full pensioner and self-funded figures, set by income and assets, never by package level. Clinical care is still $0. For independence services that is 5% to 50%; for everyday living, 17.5% to 80%. The picker on this page works out a dollar range at a sample budget; the government's fee estimator gives your exact percentage.
Is Support at home price capped in 2026?: No. Price caps for Support at Home services were deferred and are not in force as of May 2026. Providers set their own prices, and your contribution is a percentage of whatever they charge. That makes comparing published price lists worth doing before you sign with anyone.
How are home care fees calculated?: As a percentage of each service's price, set by your means band and the service's category. The government pays the rest. On $100 of everyday living services, a full pensioner pays $17.50 and a self-funded person pays $80. The worked example table above shows every combination.
What is a co-contribution in Support at home?: The share of the price of each service you, or the person you care for, receives, invoiced by the provider alongside government funding. It is set by a means test and the service's category, not by package level. It never adds to or subtracts from the package budget or the hours it buys.

One human thing

You are allowed to ask a provider money questions this bluntly, and a good one will not flinch.

Where to go next

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