CHSP Explained: Home Support for Over-65s (Australia 2026)

The Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) is the Australian Government's entry-level in-home aged care program. It is designed for older people who need some help to keep living independently and safely in their own home and community, rather than ongoing, complex care.

Think of it as the first rung on the ladder. It is built around a 'wellness and reablement' approach, which means the goal is to help you stay capable and do things for yourself for as long as possible, not to do everything for you. Many people use just one or two CHSP services, like a fortnightly clean or weekly transport, for years.

CHSP is funded by the Australian Government and delivered by more than 1,300 providers across the country, including government, not-for-profit and non-government organisations. You contribute a small amount toward the cost, and the government subsidises the rest.

This is general information to help you understand the program. It is not personal or financial advice. For free help tailored to your situation, call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422.

You can be eligible for the CHSP if you need support to keep living independently and you are:

• Aged 65 years or over; or

• An Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person aged 50 years or over; or

• Aged 50 years or over (45 or over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) and homeless, or at risk of homelessness, on a low income.

Meeting the age criteria is the starting point, not an automatic entitlement. A free aged care assessment decides whether CHSP services are right for you and which services you can access. You do not need a doctor's referral to begin, though a GP can help you start the process.

If you are already approved for CHSP, even from a few years ago, you keep your services. Under the new Aged Care Act 2024 (which started 1 November 2025) you must have been assessed as eligible to receive subsidised CHSP, and the vast majority of existing clients were transitioned automatically with no action required.

CHSP covers a broad range of practical, social and clinical supports. Depending on what your assessment identifies, these can include:

• Domestic assistance: general house cleaning, laundry and help with shopping.

• Personal care: help with washing, dressing, grooming and managing your own medicines.

• Meals: help with food preparation or delivered meals.

• Transport: getting to appointments, shopping and social activities.

• Home maintenance and repairs, and gardening, to keep your home safe.

• Home modifications and goods, equipment and assistive technology: things like grab rails, ramps, and self-care, mobility, communication and reading aids.

• Nursing care and allied health and therapy: podiatry, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, dietetics and more.

• Social support and community engagement: individual and group activities, cultural support and digital education to reduce isolation.

• Planned respite (community, cottage or centre-based) to give a family carer a break.

• Specialised support: continence, dementia, and hearing and vision advisory services, plus help for hoarding and squalor situations.

Your assessment and support plan set out which of these you can access and roughly how much.

CHSP is heavily subsidised. The core principle, set by the Government, is that you pay a contribution toward your services but are never asked to cover the full cost, and a provider can never charge you more than the actual cost of the service.

Every provider must have a client contribution policy. The intent is fair: people who can afford to contribute do so, while the most vulnerable are protected. Crucially, you cannot be denied services simply because you are unable to contribute. Providers must track contributions so clients do not end up in financial hardship.

Fees can only change if you understand and agree to the change, and the provider must be satisfied it will not cause you hardship. If money is tight, ask your provider directly about the hardship provisions in their policy. There is no shame in this, it is built into the rules.

This is general information, not financial advice. For free, independent help understanding fees and how they interact with your pension or assets, contact the Services Australia Financial Information Service (FIS) on 132 300, Monday to Friday.

Everything starts with a free aged care assessment, arranged through My Aged Care. You can apply online at myagedcare.gov.au or call 1800 200 422 (Monday to Friday 8am-8pm, Saturday 10am-2pm). Have the person's Medicare card handy.

Since December 2024, assessments run through the Single Assessment System using the Integrated Assessment Tool, which replaced the older separate assessment workforces. An assessor talks with you (often at home) about how you are managing day to day, your health, your home and your goals, then builds a support plan.

You can have a family member, friend or advocate with you, and you can ask for an interpreter. If you would prefer face-to-face help to get started, you can book an appointment with an Aged Care Specialist Officer at a Services Australia service centre by calling 1800 227 475.

Once approved, you connect with a provider. Ask your assessor to refer you, or use 'Find a provider' on My Aged Care to search by suburb or postcode, compare up to 16 providers on a shortlist, and contact them directly. With more than 1,300 CHSP providers nationally, it is worth ringing a few to compare availability, services and fees.

These are two different programs for two different levels of need. CHSP is the entry-level option for people who need a bit of help to stay independent. Support at Home is for people with greater, ongoing or more complex needs.

On 1 November 2025, Support at Home replaced the old Home Care Packages Program and the Short-Term Restorative Care Programme. It provides ongoing funding through one of 8 classification levels (set by your assessment), plus separate pathways for assistive technology and home modifications and for short-term restorative care. Budgets are allocated quarterly, and participants can carry over unspent funds up to $1,000 or 10% of the quarterly budget, whichever is greater.

CHSP did not change program on 1 November 2025. It continues as the simpler entry-level program and will not move into Support at Home any earlier than 1 July 2027. Existing CHSP clients keep their services without disruption and do not need to do anything.

If your needs grow beyond what CHSP can provide, for example you start needing daily personal care, you can be reassessed to see whether Support at Home is a better fit. Start that conversation by calling My Aged Care on 1800 200 422.

You do not have to navigate this alone, and the best help is free and independent of any provider.

• My Aged Care, 1800 200 422: the front door to assessment, services and the 'Find a provider' tool.

• Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN), 1800 700 600: free, independent and confidential advocacy to understand your rights, navigate the system and resolve issues with a provider (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 10am-4pm).

• Services Australia Financial Information Service (FIS), 132 300: free help understanding fees, pensions and the financial side of aged care.

If you are unhappy with a provider, you can first raise it with them directly, and you can ask OPAN to support you. You also have the right to complain to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission on 1800 951 822 (free call), which oversees provider standards. Interpreters are available through TIS National on 131 450.

This guide is general information only and not personal, financial or legal advice. For decisions about a parent's care, lean on these free official services first.