Support at Home Levels 1–8 Explained
The Quick Version
- Eight levels replaced the old four Home Care Packages on 1 November 2025.
- Funding ranges from ~$10,731/year (Level 1) to ~$78,106/year (Level 8).
- Three service categories: Clinical Supports (0% co-contribution), Independence, and Everyday Living.
- Your level is set by a face-to-face assessment through My Aged Care.
- Levels can change — request a Support Plan Review any time your needs shift.
- St Jude’s supports older Australians and people with disability across WA and QLD. Call us on (08) 9279 4343 in WA or (07) 2800 6050 in QLD.
If you’ve been searching for “NDIS support at home levels,” you’re not alone — it’s one of the most common mix-ups in Australian care. The Support at Home program is actually an aged care program, not an NDIS program. It’s designed for older Australians (generally 65 and over, or 50 and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples) who need help to keep living safely at home.
The NDIS is a completely separate system for people under 65 with a permanent and significant disability — different legislation, different funding model, different rules.
We’ll unpack both in this guide. But first, let’s get into the support at home levels themselves — because that’s what most people are really trying to understand.
What is the Support at Home program?
On 1 November 2025, the Australian Government launched the Support at Home program under the Aged Care Act 2024. It replaced the Home Care Packages (HCP) program and the Short-Term Restorative Care (STRC) program.
Here’s the short version of why. The old system had four funding levels, and the gaps between them were too wide. Someone could be too complex for Level 2 but not yet needing Level 3 — and the wait to move up could drag on for months. The new eight-level structure is designed to grow with you, so funding matches where you actually are rather than forcing you to clear a huge gap.
The Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) — lighter-touch support like meals, transport, and social activities — is still running separately and won’t transition into Support at Home until at least 1 July 2027.
The 8 support at home levels and what they cover
Every classification comes with a quarterly budget deposited into your account every three months. These are the baseline figures for 2025–26, indexed annually each July.
| Classification | What it generally covers | Quarterly budget | Annual budget |
| Level 1 | Light domestic help — cleaning, laundry, meal delivery, welfare check-ins, transport to medical appointments | $2,682.75 | $10,731 |
| Level 2 | Regular personal care — supervised showering, medication prompts, social outings, community participation | $4,008.61 | $16,034 |
| Level 3 | Structured weekly support — multiple care visits, fall prevention, early-stage cognitive support | $5,491.43 | $21,966 |
| Level 4 | Near-daily assistance — help with all daily activities, home safety assessments, and household maintenance | $7,424.10 | $29,696 |
| Level 5 | Daily support with health monitoring — allied health integration, physical hoisting, complex medication management | $9,924.35 | $39,697 |
| Level 6 | Clinical care — registered nursing, wound management, injections, glucose monitoring, speech pathology for swallowing | $12,028.58 | $48,114 |
| Level 7 | Intensive multidisciplinary care — multiple daily visits, full feeding assistance, mechanical hoist transfers, in-home respite | $14,537.04 | $58,148 |
| Level 8 | Highest-level palliative and clinical care — near-constant or 24/7 oversight, hospital-grade equipment, pain management | $19,526.59 | $78,106 |
A quick note: the quarterly budgets include a 10% allocation for care management — your provider’s coordination fee, capped by law. And the descriptive level names in the table are widely used shorthand, not official government labels. Officially, they’re “Classification 1” through “Classification 8.”
Lower levels (1–4): Staying safe and independent at home
The first four support at home levels are for people who are mostly managing on their own but need a hand to keep it that way. At Level 1, that might mean someone handling the heavy cleaning or driving you to a GP appointment once a week. By Level 4, support becomes near-daily, help with showering, medication management, and keeping the house safe.
The goal at these levels is prevention. Enough support to keep you comfortable and confident at home, and to avoid a premature move into residential aged care. For a lot of families, that peace of mind makes all the difference.
Higher levels (5–8): Complex clinical care at home
From Level 5 upward, care becomes clinical. Allied health professionals and registered nurses join your regular routine. At Level 7 and 8, you’re looking at multiple coordinated daily visits, mechanical hoisting, specialist equipment, and, in some cases, round-the-clock support.
Level 8 is reserved for the most acute or terminal presentations, including palliative care. It exists so people who would otherwise need hospitalisation can stay at home, surrounded by family, in familiar surroundings, if that’s what they choose.
How your funding is split — and what you’ll pay
Your budget doesn’t arrive as one lump sum. It’s spread across three service categories, and you have flexibility in how you use the funding within each one, depending on what matters most to you.
Clinical Supports cover nursing, allied health (physio, OT, podiatry, dietetics, psychology), and care management. The government fully subsidises clinical care; you pay nothing, regardless of your income.
Independence covers personal care (showering, dressing), respite, transport, and social support. Full pensioners contribute 5%, whilst part-pensioners and self-funded retirees pay more, up to 50%, based on a means assessment by Services Australia.
Everyday Living covers cleaning, gardening, laundry, and meals. Co-contributions start at 17.5% for full pensioners and can reach 80% for self-funded retirees.
If you were on a Home Care Package on or before 12 September 2024, a “no worse off” guarantee applies, you’ll pay the same or less under the new system.
What happens to unspent funds?
Under the old system, unspent money could sit in your account indefinitely, but now that’s changed. Now, you can carry over whichever is greater: $1,000 or 10% of your quarterly budget. Anything above that doesn’t roll forward. And if you’re regularly running out before the quarter ends, that’s worth raising; it could mean you need a higher classification.
How is your level decided?
It comes down to one face-to-face assessment. A My Aged Care assessor, usually a registered nurse or allied health professional, visits you at home and uses the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT) to evaluate how you’re managing. They look at daily tasks, mobility, fall risk, personal care, cognition, social connections, and the safety of your home.
From there, you’re assigned one of the eight classifications and a priority level (urgent, high, medium, or standard) that determines how quickly funding comes through. You’ll receive a Support Plan outlining your classification and the services you’re approved for. If you don’t agree with the outcome, you can request a review.
Can your level change over time?
Absolutely. If your needs shift, in either direction, you or your provider can request a Support Plan Review through My Aged Care at any time. You’ll be reassessed using the IAT, and your classification adjusted to match.
If you were transitioned from a Home Care Package, your first reassessment moves you into the new 1–8 system. Your “no worse off” protections stay in place even after that.
There are also three short-term funding pathways that sit alongside your ongoing classification — so you don’t have to drain your regular budget for one-off needs. These include the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) scheme for things like handrails and wheelchairs, a Restorative Care pathway for intensive rehab after a fall or stroke (up to 16 weeks, around $6,000), and an End-of-Life pathway providing up to $25,000 in palliative support.
Support at Home vs. the NDIS — what’s the difference?
The NDIS supports people under 65 with a permanent and significant disability. It’s governed by the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013, provides uncapped individualised funding, and has no means-tested co-contributions.
Support at Home is for people 65 and over (50 and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples). It uses a capped eight-level structure and requires co-contributions based on income and assets.
If you entered the NDIS before turning 65, you can stay on it. But if you develop a significant support need after 65, you can’t access the NDIS; instead, you’re directed to the aged care system.
Not sure which applies? Call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 or the NDIS on 1800 800 110. A support coordinator can also help you work out where you sit.
How we can help
That’s where we come in. Here at St Jude’s, we’re an NDIS-registered disability and aged care provider that’s been supporting people across Western Australia and Queensland for over 40 years. We deliver both aged care and disability services as part of the APM Group, which means we understand both systems and can help you find the right path, whichever one applies.
We don’t provide government funding — that comes from the NDIA or the aged care system, depending on your situation. What we provide is the hands-on support that helps you make the most of that funding.
Our services include in-home support for daily living tasks, allied health therapies (OT, physio, speech pathology, psychology, and dietetics), support coordination to help you understand and get the most from your plan, community participation programs, residential aged care across WA and QLD, and support at home for older Australians who want to stay in their own home with the right help around them.
Whether you’re just starting to explore your support at home levels or you’ve been assessed and want help putting your plan into action, we’re here when you’re ready. You don’t need to have everything figured out before you reach out. Get in touch or call us in WA on (08) 9279 4343, or in QLD on (07) 2800 6050.
No, Support at Home is an aged care program for people 65 and over, funded under the Aged Care Act 2024. The NDIS is a separate disability support scheme for people under 65 with different eligibility, funding, and co-contribution rules. If you’re not sure which applies, call My Aged Care (1800 200 422) or the NDIS (1800 800 110).
There are eight ongoing classifications (Levels 1 through 8), each with increasing funding. Level 1 covers light domestic support like cleaning and transport, while Level 8 is designed for the most complex clinical care needs. Amounts are set by the Australian Government and indexed each July.
It depends on the type of service and your financial situation. Clinical supports like nursing and allied health are fully subsidised, and you pay nothing. Independence services start at 5% for full pensioners, and everyday living services start at 17.5%. Self-funded retirees pay higher, means-tested rates assessed by Services Australia.
Yes, you or your provider can request a Support Plan Review through My Aged Care at any time if your needs have changed. You’ll be reassessed using the Integrated Assessment Tool, and your classification adjusted up or down based on the results.
Home Care Packages were replaced by the Support at Home program on 1 November 2025. If you were on an HCP before that date, you were automatically transitioned at an equivalent funding level — no new assessment required. Your unspent HCP funds were preserved, and if you were approved on or before 12 September 2024, a “no worse off” guarantee protects your contribution rates.