Wayly's interactive tools (Statement Decoder, Budget Calculator, Contribution Estimator) are built for the Support at Home program. CHSP works differently, so the figures on this page are general guidance drawn from Australian Government sources. Always confirm fees and eligibility with your provider and at myagedcare.gov.au. CHSP contribution amounts vary by provider.

Your Parent Is on CHSP and You Don't Know What to Do: A Plain English Guide

By Wayly Editorial · Published 4 June 2026 · Last reviewed 4 June 2026

Your parent is on the Commonwealth Home Support Programme. A cleaner turns up on a Tuesday, or a van takes them to an appointment, and somewhere there was a letter from My Aged Care that nobody fully read. Now you are the one fielding the calls, and you are not sure what any of it means.

You are in the right place. This guide explains what CHSP is, what it pays for, what your parent actually pays, and what to do when their needs grow. Plain English, no jargon, no pressure.

Key facts at a glance

CHSP is Australia's entry-level home care program. It is for people who need a little help, not round-the-clock care.
Your parent qualifies if they are 65 or over, or 50 or over if they are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
The government pays most of the cost. Your parent pays a small contribution for each service.
There is no income or assets test. Nobody checks your parent's bank account for CHSP.
Your parent can use a different provider for each service.
CHSP will move into the Support at Home program no earlier than 1 July 2027. For now, nothing changes.

What CHSP actually is

CHSP stands for the Commonwealth Home Support Programme. It is the first rung on Australia's aged care ladder. The idea is simple: give older people a bit of help with the tasks that have become hard, so they can stay in their own home and stay connected to their community.

The program works on a "doing with you, not for you" approach. It is built around keeping your parent independent, not taking over. That is why most people on CHSP only use one or two services. If your parent needs a lot of coordinated help across many areas of life, that is a different program (Support at Home), and we will come back to that.

One thing that trips families up: CHSP is funded differently from the newer program. The government gives providers a block of grant money to deliver services in their area. The Government provided $3.1 billion to 1,273 CHSP providers in 2024-25, which the ANAO described as "one of the Australian Government's largest grants programs." Your parent does not get a personal budget or a pool of dollars. They get access to specific services, and they pay a small contribution each time they use one.

The services your parent can get

CHSP covers a wide range of everyday help. Your parent will not get all of it. They get what their assessment approved. Here is the full menu so you know what is possible.

Domestic assistance. Help with cleaning, laundry and light household jobs.
Personal care. Help with showering, dressing, grooming and getting around.
Meals. Delivered meals (the service many people still call Meals on Wheels) or help preparing food at home.
Transport. Lifts to medical appointments, shopping and social outings.
Social support. One-on-one visits or group activities to keep your parent connected.
Home maintenance. Minor repairs, gutter cleaning, light gardening to keep the home safe.
Home modifications. Things like grab rails, ramps and non-slip surfaces.
Allied health. Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry, where a provider offers it.
Nursing. Basic community nursing such as wound care or medication support, in some areas.
Respite. Short breaks for you or whoever is the main carer, at home or at a centre.

Not every provider offers every service, and availability varies a lot by location. Domestic assistance is the most common service nationally, used by about 40% of CHSP clients (AIHW), so if your parent has a cleaner, they are in good company.

What your parent pays

This is the question every family asks first. The honest answer is "it depends on the provider," but there are clear guidelines.

CHSP is not free, but it is cheap, and your parent will never be asked to cover the full cost. Each provider sets its own contributions within national ranges published by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Fees must be agreed in writing in a Service Agreement before services start, and a provider cannot charge more than the actual cost of the service.

Here are the reasonable contribution ranges for 2025-26, taken from the Department's CHSP National Unit Price Ranges (Appendix E). These are guides, not fixed prices.

CHSP service contribution ranges for 2025-26
Service type	Typical client contribution (per hour or per service)
Domestic assistance	$7.06 to $13.40
Personal care	$7.06 to $13.40
Meals (delivered)	$4.71 to $13.40 per meal
Transport	$2.35 to $13.50
Social support (group)	$2.35 to $4.50
Home maintenance	$9.41 to $22.30
Nursing care	$4.71 to $11.15
Allied health and therapy	$5.83 to $16.78

Two important points. First, there is no formal means testing. The fee is not based on a Centrelink assessment the way the Age Pension is. Second, if your parent genuinely cannot afford the contribution, they will not be cut off. Every CHSP provider must have a financial hardship policy, and they must publish it. If money is tight, ask the provider for their hardship policy in writing.

How your parent got on CHSP in the first place

Every CHSP client goes through an assessment arranged by My Aged Care, the government's front door for aged care. You may have heard of the "RAS" (Regional Assessment Service). That name is now history. On 9 December 2024 the government merged RAS and the old ACAT teams into one Single Assessment System, with a single national workforce using one tool. So your parent was assessed once, and the same system can reassess them later if their needs change.

If your parent has used aged care before, they were almost certainly carried across to the new arrangements automatically. If you are not sure whether they have ever been formally assessed, call their provider, because under the new Aged Care Act 2024 providers can only deliver CHSP to people who have an assessment on record.

When to ask for more help

CHSP is brilliant for "a bit of help." It is not designed for growing or complex needs. Watch for these signs that your parent has outgrown it:

They are using two or three CHSP services and still not coping.
A new diagnosis has changed the picture (for example, dementia, a stroke, a fall).
You are constantly topping up the gaps yourself.
A provider has told you there is a waitlist or no capacity for a service they need.

When that happens, the move is to request a reassessment through My Aged Care. A reassessment can lead to a Support at Home classification, which comes with a proper individual budget and far more flexibility. You do not need a new assessment just because of the 2027 transition. You need one when your parent's needs increase.

How Wayly fits in

Wayly's tools are built for the Support at Home program, so they will not decode a CHSP statement line by line yet. What Wayly can do today is help you work out whether your parent is ready to move up, and help you ask for it.

If you think your parent's needs have grown, run the Classification Self-Check to see roughly where they might land under Support at Home, then use the Letters & Follow-ups to produce a clear request to My Aged Care, including the new CHSP-to-Support-at-Home variant. And if you just have a question, Ask Wayly now understands CHSP and can point you in the right direction.

Frequently asked questions

Is CHSP free?

No, but it is heavily subsidised. Your parent pays a small contribution per service, often between about $7 and $13 an hour for domestic assistance, and the government pays the rest. Nobody is asked to cover the full cost, and hardship support is available.

Does CHSP look at my parent's income or assets?

No. CHSP has no formal means test. The contribution is set by the provider within national ranges, not by a Centrelink assessment.

Can my parent use more than one provider?

Yes. CHSP clients can use a different provider for each service. Each provider needs its own Service Agreement.

What is the difference between CHSP and a Home Care Package?

Home Care Packages no longer exist for new clients. They were replaced by Support at Home on 1 November 2025. CHSP is the entry level; Support at Home is for higher and ongoing needs.

How do I get my parent more help?

Call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 and ask for a reassessment, or use Wayly's Letters & Follow-ups to put the request in writing.

Will CHSP disappear in 2027?

CHSP will move into Support at Home no earlier than 1 July 2027. Your parent's current services continue until then, and the government has promised a supported transition.

This article is general information, not financial or care advice. CHSP contribution amounts vary by provider. Always confirm fees with your parent's provider and check details at myagedcare.gov.au.

Ask Wayly a CHSP question Classification Self-Check Letters & Follow-ups