What in-home aged care actually covers
In-home care brings funded support to your house so you can stay independent for longer instead of moving into a residential home. Depending on your assessed level, a package can fund:
- Personal care. Help with showering, dressing, grooming and toileting.
- Domestic help. Cleaning, laundry, meal preparation and home maintenance.
- Clinical care. Nursing visits, wound and continence management, medication support.
- Allied health. Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry and dietetics.
- Mobility and transport. Aids, equipment, and transport to appointments and shopping.
- Social support. Companionship and community access to reduce isolation.
Two funding streams cover this. The Home Care Package program funds people with ongoing or complex needs through a coordinated budget. The Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) covers lighter, entry-level needs for over-65s, with a small co-contribution.
The four Home Care Package levels (2026)
Each level carries a different annual government subsidy. The level reflects the complexity of your care needs, set by an ACAT assessment, not your age or income.
| Level | Care need | 2026 annual subsidy | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Basic | ~$10,271 | Occasional cleaning, social support, transport |
| Level 2 | Low | ~$17,991 | Regular personal care, meals, home maintenance, allied health |
| Level 3 | Intermediate | ~$39,191 | Nursing visits, continence management, frequent personal care and therapy |
| Level 4 | High | ~$61,440 | Daily personal care, dementia support, clinical nursing, intensive case management |
For who qualifies for each level and how the level is decided, read Home Care Package levels explained.
What it costs you
The government subsidy covers most of the package. Your own contribution can include:
- Basic daily fee. An optional daily contribution providers may ask for, set as a percentage of the single Age Pension.
- Income-tested care fee. Applies to Level 2 to 4 packages if your income is above the threshold. Full Age Pensioners are generally exempt. The fee is capped annually and over a lifetime, and the caps are indexed.
- Out-of-package extras. Anything beyond what the package funds, paid privately.
Compared with residential care, in-home care is far cheaper. Residential care carries a Refundable Accommodation Deposit, often several hundred thousand dollars, plus a daily fee and means-tested care fee. See RACF vs home care cost comparison 2026 for the side-by-side numbers.
CHSP vs Home Care Package: which one
| Feature | CHSP | Home Care Package |
|---|---|---|
| Who it suits | Over-65s needing a little help | Ongoing or complex needs |
| Funding | Per-service, subsidised, small co-contribution | Coordinated annual budget (4 levels) |
| Assessment | RAS (Regional Assessment Service) | ACAT |
| Waitlist | Generally short | Can be long for Level 3 and 4 |
Many people start on CHSP and move to a package as their needs grow. Both are arranged through My Aged Care.
How to start (and the waitlist reality)
- Call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422. Free. Request an ACAT assessment (or RAS for CHSP).
- Have the assessment at home. A nurse or social worker spends 1 to 2 hours and approves a level or CHSP services.
- Wait for assignment. Approval is not assignment. Lower levels are assigned quickly; Level 3 and 4 can wait many months on the national queue, with median Level 4 waits historically exceeding twelve months in some states. Use interim CHSP or a lower package while you wait.
- Choose an approved provider. Compare on price, services and how much of the budget goes to care versus administration.
- Start services and review. Your package is reviewed as needs change, and you can be reassessed for a higher level.
To compare approved in-home providers locally, start with in-home care in Perth, then book any short break through respite care in Perth. If a home becomes the safer option later, an aged care placement service in Perth can shortlist homes with current vacancies.
When in-home care is no longer enough
In-home care works well, often for years, but it has a ceiling. The usual triggers to move to a residential home are advanced dementia with wandering risk, repeated falls, or a need for 24-hour registered-nurse coverage. At that point compare residential homes by their government star rating rather than by marketing. See in-home care vs residential care: making the decision.