What happens to unspent Support at Home funds?

What happens to money left in your package at the end of a quarter?

Your 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 funding is released quarterly, at the start of July, October, January and April, into an account Services AustraliaServices AustraliaThe government agency that works out what someone pays and holds the money set aside for their care. More words explained manages on your behalf. Your provider claims against it as services are delivered. At the end of each quarter, whatever is left carries over automatically. You don't apply for it, and you can't lose it by forgetting to ask.

The carryover is capped, though. The amount that rolls into the new quarter is whichever is higher: $1,000, or 10 per cent of your quarterly budget, including any supplements (Support at Home Program Manual, section 9.7.1). The government's own worked example: a participant with $1,100 unspent and an $8,000 quarterly budget carries over $1,000, because 10 per cent of $8,000 is only $800. Anything above the cap does not carry into the new quarter.

For the base budgets below, before any supplements, $1,000 is the higher number at Levels 1 to 4. From Level 5 up, 10 per cent of the quarterly budget is higher instead. The "Carryover cap" column in the table shows exactly where that break falls and what it is worth at each level.

The carried-over amount doesn't appear the day the quarter turns, though. Services Australia confirms it within 61 days of the quarter ending, or sooner if your provider lodges its final claim first. That is usually why your account can look light in the first few weeks of a new quarter.

Carryover rule, example and timing: Department of Health, Individualised budgets for Support at Home participants · My Aged Care, Managing your Support at Home budget · Support at Home program manual (v4.2, section 9.7.1). Verified 2026-07-26.

What if you transitioned from a Home Care Package?

Home Care Packages transitionedTransitioned classificationThe level someone kept when their old Home Care Package moved across to Support at Home, at the same dollar value. More words explained to Support at Home on 1 November 2025. If you had unspent Home Care Package funds at that point, you kept them. Government-held unspent funds as at 31 October 2025 carried across automatically and sit in a separate budget alongside your quarterly one.

That separate budget can be used for two things: assistive technology and home modificationsAssistive Technology and Home ModificationsA separate pot of money for equipment and home changes, like rails, ramps or a shower chair. More words explained , and extra approved services once your quarterly budget is fully spent. You don't need to apply to use it. Services Australia and your provider manage it, and it moves with you if you change providers.

The $1,000 or 10 per cent cap is a rule about your ongoing quarterly budget. The government's guidance sets no such cap on carried-over Home Care Package funds. Neither government page says whether this budget ever expires, and we won't guess. If the department publishes a rule, this page will say so.

One more thing worth knowing: if fees you paid to your old provider went unspent, that portion is held by the provider. They decide how to handle it, and they can refund it to you. Ask them directly where that money went.

What happens to unspent funds if you change providers or leave the program?

The funds are attached to you, not your provider. Your ongoing budget sits in an account managed by Services Australia, and your provider claims against it. Carried-over Home Care Package funds transfer with you when you change providers. Any unspent funds a provider holds must be returned to the government when you leave them. They don't get to keep the money.

Changing providers is one way of leaving. Two others are asked about constantly, and the money question is different each time, so they get their own answers below: what happens if the person dies, and what happens on a move into residential care.

What happens to unspent funds if the person dies?

The date of death becomes the exit date from Support at Home. The provider has 60 days from the day after to finalise every claim for care already delivered, and must issue a final invoice and a final monthly statement. If the person had transitioned across from a Home Care Package and their provider was holding unspent funds on their behalf, that balance is paid to the estate. It is usually paid within 14 days of the provider being shown probate or the letter of administration (Support at Home Program Manual, sections 12.3.3 and 12.4.1). What is not published anywhere is what happens to money still sitting in the ongoing quarterly budget's own account once someone dies, over and above the claims a provider can still make. We are not going to guess at that part.

The provider carries the paperwork. Within 28 calendar days of the date of death they must tell Services Australia that services have ceased. They also update the My Aged Care Service and Support Portal with a departure code and call My Aged Care so no further letters go out to the person, a registered supporter, or family. None of this needs to be chased. It is the provider's job (Support at Home Program Manual, section 12.4.1).

A contribution refund can turn out to be owed after the fact, for example because Services Australia reviews the contribution rate once services have already stopped. If that happens, the refund goes to the estate rather than to the provider (Support at Home Program Manual, section 9.5.3).

One specific case the manual names directly: a home modification project that is still mid-build when someone dies. The provider can keep claiming past the usual 60-day limit so the remaining work can be finished. The manual notes the home modifications account closes once that final claim is submitted (Support at Home Program Manual, section 16.4).

What neither the manual nor either government page says is what happens to the balance in the ongoing quarterly budget's account itself, beyond the claims a provider can still make. The budget was never handed over as cash while the person was alive, and nothing published says that changes on death. If you are the executor or next of kin, ask the provider directly, in writing, exactly what happened to every dollar. There is a script for that below, in "Words to have ready".

Support at Home program manual (v4.2, December 2025, sections 9.5.3, 12.3.3, 12.4.1 and 16.4). Verified 2026-07-26.

What happens to unspent funds on a move into residential care?

Moving permanently into residential aged care ends Support at Home. The day someone enters residential care becomes their exit date from the program, and the provider has 60 days from that date to finalise claims for care delivered before it. If the move is foreseen, the provider and the person are expected to agree on the cessation date together in advance. If it happens without warning, straight from a hospital admission for instance, the provider manages the exit around that instead (Support at Home Program Manual, sections 12.4.1 and 18.4). What is not published is what happens to money left in the ongoing quarterly budget's own account once that exit date passes, so we are not going to invent an answer.

Support at Home and residential aged care cannot normally be accessed at the same time. The one exception is the entry and exit day itself: services from both programs can be claimed on that single day, whether or not they're the same services, so the changeover does not leave a gap in care. Outside that one day, the two do not run together, even for someone approved for both (Support at Home Program Manual, sections 16.5 and 18.4).

If the person had transitioned across from a Home Care Package and their provider was holding unspent funds, that balance is paid to them directly within 70 days of services ceasing. That is the same rule that applies on any exit (Support at Home Program Manual, section 12.3.3).

One thing genuinely does carry across: the lifetime capLifetime capA ceiling on the total anyone can ever be asked to contribute. Once it is reached, the bills stop. More words explained on participant contributions. For someone on the grandfatheredNo worse offA protection for people already in the old system before September 2024, so the change does not cost them more. More words explained arrangements, that cap keeps counting once they move into residential care (Support at Home Program Manual, section 9.4.1.1). And once anyone reaches the ordinary lifetime cap, whether before or after the move, no further non-clinical care contribution is owed in residential care either. A hotelling contribution, the residential equivalent of room and board, can still apply (Support at Home Program Manual, section 9.4.3).

Neither the manual nor either government page says what happens to money still sitting in the ongoing quarterly budget's account once the exit date to residential care passes, beyond the claims a provider can still make. The budget was never paid out as cash before the move, and nothing published says that changes at the door of a residential care home. If the move is coming, ask the provider and Services Australia, in writing and before the date is locked in, exactly what happens to any balance left on the last day of Support at Home. There is a script for that below, in "Words to have ready".

Support at Home program manual (v4.2, December 2025, sections 9.4.1.1, 9.4.3, 12.3.3, 12.4.1, 16.5 and 18.4). Verified 2026-07-26.

What is the "2 year rule" people ask about?

Not a Support at Home rule, and nothing to do with unspent funds. The "2 year rule" people search for is about the family home and the Age Pension. If you move permanently into residential aged care, your former home is exempt from the Age Pension assets test for up to two years from the date you enter care. After that, it counts as an asset and you're assessed as a non-homeowner. Services Australia knows the exact detail, and it depends on your circumstances. Check with them before making any decision about the house.

Services Australia, Real estate assets (Age Pension), verified 2026-07-24.

Words to have ready

Common questions

What happens to the funds of an aged care package not spent?

Under Support at Home, unspent quarterly funds carry over to the next quarter automatically, capped at $1,000 or 10 per cent of your quarterly budget, whichever is higher. Amounts above the cap do not carry forward. Unspent Home Care Package funds carried across at the changeover and sit in a separate budget.

What is the 2 year rule for aged care?

It is not about home care funds. If you move into residential aged care, your former home is exempt from the Age Pension assets test for up to two years from the date you enter care. After that it is counted as an asset and you are assessed as a non-homeowner.

What happens to unspent home care funds when someone dies?

The date of death becomes their exit date from Support at Home, and the provider has 60 days to finalise every claim for care already delivered. If they held unspent Home Care Package funds through their provider, that balance is paid to their estate, usually within 14 days of the provider being shown probate or the letter of administration. Neither the program manual nor either government page says what happens to money still sitting in the ongoing quarterly budget itself, beyond what a provider can still claim.

What happens to a Support at Home budget when someone moves into residential care?

The day someone enters permanent residential care becomes their exit date from Support at Home, and the provider has 60 days from that date to finalise claims for care delivered before it. Services from both programs can be claimed on the entry day itself, but not on any day after. Neither the program manual nor either government page says what happens to money left in the ongoing quarterly budget once that exit date passes.

One human thing

You're allowed to ask what happened to every dollar. You won't be the first, and a good provider won't flinch.