Personal care becomes free on 1 October 2026: what changes for you

The short version

From 1 October 2026, the Australian Government covers the full cost of personal care under Support at Home. Your contribution for personal-care lines drops to $0. This applies to every Support at Home recipient regardless of classification or means-test result.

This is a deliberate policy choice to remove the financial barrier to the most essential everyday care — the help people need to keep living safely at home.

What counts as "personal care"

Personal care is the help you receive with everyday tasks of daily living. Under Support at Home, it specifically includes:

• Showering, bathing or sponge bathing
• Dressing and undressing
• Toileting and continence management
• Eating and drinking assistance
• Mobility help (getting in and out of bed, transferring between chair and wheelchair, walking with assistance)
• Skin and nail care
• Hair washing and grooming
• Help with medication prompting (note: medication administration by a nurse is classified separately)

What's not personal care:

• Cleaning, laundry, meal prep (these are domestic assistance)
• Wound care, injections, complex medication (these are nursing)
• Physiotherapy, occupational therapy (these are allied health)
• Companionship visits, outings (these are social support)

The distinction matters because only personal care becomes free on 1 October. The other categories still attract your usual means-tested contribution.

How your statement will change

From your October 2026 statement onwards, you should see:

• A separate "Personal care" section listing every visit
• Each line showing the service cost (paid by the government to your provider)
• $0 in your contribution column for those lines
• Your classification budget still draws down at the full rate — the government pays the provider, but the service still counts against your budget

If a provider tries to charge you for a personal-care line after 1 October 2026, that's an error. Query it in writing immediately and escalate to ACQSC (1800 951 822) if it isn't credited.

What this means in dollars

The average Support at Home recipient uses around 3–6 hours of personal care per week. At pre-cap prices, that translates to roughly $200–$450 per week in services previously partly funded by your contribution. From October 2026, that contribution disappears — depending on your means-test outcome, you'll save anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand per year.

The savings stand on their own. The Australian Government deferred the planned 1 July 2026 national provider price caps indefinitely in May 2026, so don't expect a parallel price drop on capped services — providers continue to set their own rates. The personal-care change still removes your contribution for that category from October 2026, regardless of pricing.

What to do in the lead-up

1. Note the date. Mark 1 October 2026 in your calendar — that's when the change takes effect.
2. Check your current ratio. Look at your latest statement. What percentage of your budget goes to personal care? That's how much of your contribution will disappear.
3. Don't switch providers in panic. Some less-scrupulous providers may try to reclassify "personal care" as another category to keep charging you. Watch for sudden category changes on your statements.
4. Read your October 2026 statement carefully when it arrives. The $0 contribution column on every personal-care line is your confirmation the change has been applied correctly.

Edge cases

What about personal care delivered alongside other services?

If a worker spends an hour with you doing personal care and light cleaning, the provider should split the line — personal care at $0 contribution, cleaning at your usual rate. Ask for split billing if you only see a single combined line.

Does it apply to top-up personal care above the budget?

No. The $0 contribution applies only to personal care within your classification budget. If you self-fund extra personal care above the budget, you pay the provider's full rate (the Australian Government deferred the planned national price caps indefinitely in May 2026, so providers still set their own rates).

What if I'm on CHSP, not Support at Home?

CHSP recipients aren't covered by this change yet — CHSP doesn't fold into Support at Home until at earliest 1 July 2027. Until then, CHSP fees stay as they are.

Where to verify

• Department of Health Support at Home page: health.gov.au/our-work/support-at-home
• My Aged Care: myagedcare.gov.au
• ACQSC for billing complaints: agedcarequality.gov.au · 1800 951 822
• OPAN advocacy: opan.org.au · 1800 700 600