Does private health insurance cover home care?

As a rule, no. Private health insurance covers hospital treatment and extras, not aged care at home: expect no help with Support at Home services or a Home Care Package. Some policies cover limited home nursing after a hospital discharge. Check the specific policy in writing before paying for nursing.

Can I use CHSP while I wait for my Support at Home package?

It depends on your assessment, so ask My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 what can start in the meantime. Once Support at Home services begin, CHSP can only continue in limited short-term circumstances, including respite and emergency services. For long waits, the system’s own bridge is interim funding of 60 per cent.

How much does private home care cost without a package?

Across the providers whose published schedules Vera tracks, weekday personal care runs $97 to $135 an hour, and paying privately means paying the full amount with no subsidy. Engaging a worker directly through a platform generally costs less. Get a written quote for your specific hours; providers set their own private rates.

Paying privately while you wait: bridging care options

Interim funding: 60% of your budget
CHSP keeps running: Until at least 1 July 2027
Private health insurance: Doesn't cover home care

While you wait for Support at Home funding, four things can help bridge the gap. Interim funding lets the government release 60 per cent of your budget early when waits run long. Short-term Commonwealth Home Support Programme services can help too, where your assessment allows. Respite is available through Carer Gateway. And paying a provider privately costs roughly $97 to $135 an hour for personal care, at published rates. As a rule, private health insurance does not cover home care.

Every figure on this page checked 24 July 2026.

Because the waiting list doesn't pause life. The approval letter arrives, and the help doesn't. Nobody sits you down and explains what to do in the months in between. Families work it out by ringing around while the need keeps growing. If help is needed now, paying for a short private bridge is a legitimate move, and it's worth doing with your eyes open.

The steps that matter

What to actually do this week, in order.

Call on 1800 200 422. Confirm the status of the person you care for is "seeking services", and ask two questions: whether interim funding applies, and whether any short-term services can start in the meantime.
If they hold private health insurance, ask the fund in writing what it covers at home before you pay for nursing yourself. Assume nothing from the brochure.
Get a written quote for the specific hours you need from at least one local . Compare it with a platform before deciding the cost is out of reach.
Ask for a services agreement with no lock-in and a notice period of two weeks or less, so you can stop the day funded services start. Don't prepay long blocks. Pay fortnightly or monthly in arrears where possible.
Keep receipts and a simple log of what help was needed and when. It's useful evidence if their needs are reassessed.

What can help fill the gap while you wait?

There are funded options worth checking before you spend your own money, and a private option that is simpler than most families expect. In order of what to try: interim funding, short-term services, , then paying privately.

Interim funding is the system's own bridge. When wait times for ongoing funding run longer than expected, you may be assigned 60 per cent of your approved budget early. The most critical services can start then, with the rest allocated once full funding is available. If it happens, you'll be told by letter, but it is still worth asking My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 where you stand (My Aged Care, checked 24 July 2026).

See how long the wait actually is, by priority band →

Can I use CHSP while I wait?

The Commonwealth Home Support Programme is the entry-level home help program. It keeps running alongside until at least 1 July 2027. It delivers similar everyday services, such as cleaning, gardening, transport and allied health. But it is not designed for complex or intensive care needs (health.gov.au, checked 24 July 2026).

The two programs mostly don't run together. Once your Support at Home services start, short-term CHSP services can only be accessed in limited circumstances. These include a social support group you already attended, hoarding and squalor assistance, respite services, and access to emergency services.

While you're still waiting, what you can access depends on your assessment. If you were already using CHSP services before your Support at Home approval, ask your provider and My Aged Care what continues in the meantime rather than assuming it all stops. If you're not receiving anything yet, ask My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 whether any short-term services can be put in place while you wait. The answer depends on your circumstances, and asking costs nothing.

What can respite offer as a bridge?

Respite is the bridge designed for you, the carer, rather than for the person you care for. Someone else takes over the care for a defined stretch, so you can sleep, work or deal with the rest of your life. While you wait for funding, the fastest funded route is Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737, the government's free carer support program. Planned respite may be free as part of a tailored support package. If you become sick or injured, emergency respite can be organised at any hour, where a suitable local service exists (Carer Gateway, checked 24 July 2026).

You can also buy in-home respite privately, by the hour, at the published rates in the table below. Unlike an ongoing care arrangement, a block of respite is easy to book once and easy to stop, which makes it a natural first taste of paid help.

Still waiting, with no idea what happens next?

Tell Vera where things stand and what the last letter said. You'll come away knowing which of the five causes you're in, what to ask for, and what can start before the package does.

Talk it through with Vera

Free. Private. No account needed.

What would you pay privately, without a package?

Paying privately means exactly what it sounds like: no package, no subsidy, no fee. The provider invoices you directly, at full cost, for the hours you use. My Aged Care itself points people who are towards these non government-funded services (My Aged Care, checked 24 July 2026). The published Support at Home schedules below are the best available guide to what a full-service agency will quote you. Confirm the private rate in writing, because providers set their own prices for private clients.

Two facts take the fear out of it. First, paying privately does not cost you your place in the queue. Your position is set by your and the date of approval on your assessment outcome letter, and buying interim help changes neither. Second, you're buying weeks, not signing up for years: a bridge arrangement should be easy to wind down the day funded services start.

Published weekday hourly rates for the services most often paid for privately
Service	Hourly rate range	Providers compared
Personal care	$97 to $135 an hour	14
Domestic assistance	$97 to $135 an hour	14
In-home respite	$105 to $135 an hour	12

Published weekday, full-service hourly rates across 14 providers Vera tracks, verified 22 to 23 July 2026. No care management fee applies when paying privately. See the full sortable comparison →

Engaging a worker directly through a platform generally costs less than the agency rates above. Mable, for example, publishes an average agreed band of $55 to $65 an hour for personal care, plus a 7.95 per cent client platform fee. My Aged Care's own directory lists Mable, Like Family and Careseekers as places to find individual workers. The trade-offs are the same ones covered on our self-managed page.

Does private health insurance cover any of this?

Mostly no, and it's better to know that before you spend a month hoping. Private health insurance in Australia covers hospital treatment and general treatment extras, such as physiotherapy and dental (health.gov.au, checked 24 July 2026). Aged care at home is not on that list. Consumer guides state the negative plainly: private health insurance does not pay for Home Care Packages, and, by extension, Support at Home (Healthslips, checked 24 July 2026). Where a policy can genuinely help is narrower. Some policies include home nursing cover. The government's private health insurance glossary describes this as medical care after a hospital discharge, such as wound care and medication management. It is sometimes provided instead of a hospital admission (privatehealth.gov.au, checked 24 July 2026). Cover is built around clinical episodes, not ongoing day-to-day help. Before you pay for nursing yourself, ring the fund. Ask what the specific policy covers at home, and get the answer in writing.

Words to have ready

"We only need interim care until the government package starts. What’s your minimum term and notice period?"

"If we move to Support at Home with you later, does this agreement carry over, and can we cancel privately paid services without a fee?"

"Can you confirm in writing there are no exit or cancellation fees?"

Common questions

Does private health insurance cover home care?: As a rule, no. Private health insurance covers hospital treatment and extras, not aged care at home: expect no help with Support at Home services or a Home Care Package. Some policies cover limited home nursing after a hospital discharge. Check the specific policy in writing before paying for nursing.
Can I use CHSP while I wait for my Support at Home package?: It depends on your assessment, so ask My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 what can start in the meantime. Once Support at Home services begin, CHSP can only continue in limited short-term circumstances, including respite and emergency services. For long waits, the system’s own bridge is interim funding of 60 per cent.
How much does private home care cost without a package?: Across the providers whose published schedules Vera tracks, weekday personal care runs $97 to $135 an hour, and paying privately means paying the full amount with no subsidy. Engaging a worker directly through a platform generally costs less. Get a written quote for your specific hours; providers set their own private rates.

One human thing

Paying for a few weeks of help isn't giving up on the system. It's buying safety while the system catches up.

Where to go next

Still waiting, with no idea what happens next?

Tell Vera where things stand and what the last letter said. You'll come away knowing which of the five causes you're in, what to ask for, and what can start before the package does.

Talk it through with Vera

Free. Private. No account needed.