What it costs
Every rate we charge, and what the government funds, in text rather than buried in a picture.
Most aged care providers make you ring up to find out what anything costs. Below is our full price guide, version 2.1 dated 31 August 2026, alongside the government subsidy for each package level so you can see both halves of the sum.
The three contribution categories
Every service sits in one of three groups, and the group decides what you contribute. This is the part that makes an invoice confusing if nobody explains it, because two lines on the same bill can be charged very differently.
Clinical supports
Care management, restorative care management, nursing, and allied health: occupational therapy, physiotherapy, podiatry, dietetics and speech pathology.
No cost to youIndependence
Personal care, transport, respite, social support and therapeutic services. The things that keep you doing what you can still do for yourself.
Moderate contributionEveryday living
Cleaning, meals, gardening and home maintenance. Costs most households carry whether or not anyone needs care, which is the reasoning behind the higher share.
Highest contributionWhat the government funds
Your Support at Home classification sets an annual subsidy, released as a quarterly budget. Services are drawn against it.
| Level | Care needs | Approx. hours per fortnight | Annual subsidy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 8 | High care needs | 20–24 | $80,137 |
| Level 7 | High care needs | 16–20 | $59,660 |
| Level 6 | Intermediate care needs | 14–16 | $49,365 |
| Level 5 | Intermediate care needs | 10–12 | $40,730 |
| Level 4 | Low care needs | 8–10 | $30,469 |
| Level 3 | Low care needs | 6–8 | $22,537 |
| Level 2 | Basic care needs | 4–6 | $16,451 |
| Level 1 | Basic care needs | 4 | $11,010 |
If you transitioned from a Home Care Package
Anyone who held a package before 1 November 2025 moved across on their existing level. Those four levels continue to be funded at their own rates.
| Level | Care needs | Approx. hours per fortnight | Annual subsidy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 4 | High level support | 12–18 | $65,416 |
| Level 3 | Intermediate support | 9–12 | $43,149 |
| Level 2 | Moderate support | 3–5 | $19,822 |
| Level 1 | Basic support | 1–3 | $11,272 |
Our hourly rates
The rate is what a service costs. What you personally pay is that rate filtered through your contribution category and your assessed rate, so treat these as the input rather than the answer.
Clinical supports
Fully funded by the government. You contribute nothing towards anything in this table.
| Service | Weekday | After hours | Saturday | Sunday | Public holiday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Care managementHome support care management | $180.00 | $180.00 | $180.00 | $180.00 | $180.00 |
| Restorative care managementHome support restorative care management | $180.00 | $180.00 | $180.00 | $180.00 | $180.00 |
| Allied healthOccupational therapy | $239.40 | $239.40 | $239.40 | $239.40 | $239.40 |
| Allied healthPodiatry | $239.40 | $239.40 | $239.40 | $239.40 | $239.40 |
| Allied healthPhysiotherapy | $239.40 | $239.40 | $239.40 | $239.40 | $239.40 |
| Allied healthDietetics | $239.40 | $239.40 | $239.40 | $239.40 | $239.40 |
| Allied healthNursing | $201.60 | $201.60 | $201.60 | $201.60 | $201.60 |
| Allied healthSpeech and language pathology | $252.00 | $252.00 | $252.00 | $252.00 | $252.00 |
Independence
A moderate participant contribution applies, set by your income and Age Pension status.
| Service | Weekday | After hours | Saturday | Sunday | Public holiday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal careAssistance with selfcare and activities of daily living | $120.00 | $130.00 | $140.00 | $180.00 | $220.00 |
| Personal care, overnightAssistance with selfcare and activities of daily living | Please speak to your Care Partner | ||||
| TransportDirect transport, driver and car provided, up to 20km | $120.00 | $130.00 | $140.00 | $180.00 | $220.00 |
| TransportDirect transport, driver and car provided, over 20km | $150.00 | $160.00 | $170.00 | $210.00 | $250.00 |
| RespiteRespite care | $120.00 | $130.00 | $140.00 | $180.00 | $220.00 |
| Social supportGroup social support | $100.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 |
| Social supportAccompanied activities | $140.00 | $140.00 | $140.00 | $140.00 | $140.00 |
| Social supportIndividual social support | $140.00 | $140.00 | $140.00 | $140.00 | $140.00 |
| Therapeutic servicesOsteopathy | $239.40 | $239.40 | $239.40 | $239.40 | $239.40 |
| Therapeutic servicesRemedial massage | $239.40 | $239.40 | $239.40 | $239.40 | $239.40 |
Everyday living
The highest participant contribution, on the reasoning that these are costs most households carry anyway.
| Service | Weekday | After hours | Saturday | Sunday | Public holiday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic assistanceGeneral house cleaning | $120.00 | $130.00 | $140.00 | $180.00 | $220.00 |
| Domestic assistanceHouse cleaning, third party | $144.00 | $144.00 | $144.00 | $144.00 | $144.00 |
| MealsMeal preparation | $120.00 | $130.00 | $140.00 | $180.00 | $220.00 |
| MaintenanceGardening | $120.00 | $120.00 | $120.00 | $120.00 | $120.00 |
| MaintenanceAssistance with home maintenance and repairs | Essential minor repairs, such as replacing a lightbulb or a broken door handle. Your Care Partner quotes it before any work starts. | ||||
| MaintenanceExpenses for home maintenance and repairs | The parts themselves, such as a door handle or a tap. Quoted the same way, before anything is bought. | ||||
Hourly rates, from the People First Healthcare Support at Home Price Guide, version 2.1, 31 August 2026. Additional services are available on request; you can also check the full list of what the program funds through My Aged Care.
What you actually pay
Two separate things decide your out-of-pocket cost, and they are easy to confuse.
The rate above is what the service costs. It comes out of your quarterly budget.
Your participant contribution is the share of that you pay yourself. Services Australia works it out from your income and Age Pension status, and it applies per category. Someone paying a high rate on cleaning still pays nothing for nursing, because nursing is a clinical support.
If you were assessed or approved for a Home Care Package on or before 12 September 2024, the no worse off principle applies and your out-of-pocket costs cannot go up.
If you have no package
You can pay privately at these same rates and start immediately, rather than waiting three to six months. People do this to hold a routine together during the wait, then move onto the package when it arrives without changing carers.
CHSP is priced differently
None of the above applies to the Commonwealth Home Support Programme. CHSP is not a package with a budget: the government subsidises the service and you contribute a modest amount set against your circumstances. Nobody is refused a CHSP service because they genuinely cannot pay.
Getting a real number
The tables give you the inputs. Turning them into a monthly figure needs your classification, your contribution rate and the mix of services you actually want, which is a ten-minute conversation.
Call 1800 434 002 and we will work it through with you. Whatever it comes to is written into your agreement before you sign anything.
Related
- Support at Home — classifications, eligibility and the assessment.
- CHSP — the entry-level programme, and how it differs.
- All services — what each of these rates actually buys.
Fee questions
Do I pay these hourly rates myself?
Usually not in full. If you have a Support at Home package the cost of a service is drawn from your quarterly budget, and you pay only your assessed participant contribution on top. If you are paying privately, without a package, then yes, the hourly rate is what you pay.
What is a participant contribution?
It is the share of a service you pay yourself, set by Services Australia from your income and your Age Pension status. It varies by category: clinical supports carry no contribution at all, independence services carry a moderate one, and everyday living services carry the highest. Your rate is calculated when your package is assigned and appears in your agreement before you sign.
Is care management charged separately?
Care management is billed at an hourly rate like any other service, and it sits in the clinical supports category, which means the government funds it in full and you contribute nothing towards it.
What counts as after hours?
Weekday visits outside ordinary business hours. Saturday, Sunday and public holidays are priced separately again, and each attracts a higher rate. Where a service shows no after-hours or weekend rate, it means we do not routinely deliver it at those times.
How much does CHSP cost?
CHSP works differently. It is not a package with a budget, so the rates on this page do not apply. The government subsidises the service and you contribute a modest amount set against your circumstances. Nobody is refused a CHSP service because they genuinely cannot pay.
Will my costs go up under Support at Home?
Not if you were assessed or approved for a Home Care Package on or before 12 September 2024. The no worse off principle means your out-of-pocket costs stay the same or go down, and if you paid nothing before you pay nothing now, even if your classification increases.
Get the numbers for your situation
Tell us where you're up to and we'll work out what it would actually cost. Prefer to talk? Call 1800 434 002.