Wayly Contribution Estimator: What Will You Pay Under Support at Home?

Support at Home splits services into three streams, and each stream carries a different contribution. Clinical Care, which includes nursing and allied health, is fully funded by the government, so you contribute nothing. The other two streams are means tested.

For Independence services, a full pensioner contributes 5 per cent, while a self funded retiree without a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card contributes up to 50 per cent. For Everyday Living services, the range runs from 17.5 per cent for a full pensioner up to 80 per cent for a self funded retiree. Part pensioners and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders sit in between, based on an income and assets assessment by Services Australia.

The contribution is a percentage of the service price. You pay your share and the government pays the rest directly to the provider.

A significant change is coming. From 1 October 2026, personal care moves from the Independence category into Clinical Care. That means tasks like showering, dressing and non clinical continence support become fully government funded, with no contribution.

For many families this will cut out of pocket costs noticeably, because personal care is often one of the most used services. The change applies to services delivered from 1 October 2026 onwards, so services before that date still attract the usual contribution.

There is a ceiling on how much you can be asked to contribute over your lifetime. Once you reach it, you stop paying contributions for non clinical services and the government covers the full cost from there.

For new participants the lifetime cap is 135,318 dollars and 69 cents, as at 20 September 2025. For people in the no worse off cohort, those who were on or approved for a Home Care Package on or before 12 September 2024, the cap is lower at 84,571 dollars and 66 cents. Both figures are indexed twice a year, on 20 March and 20 September. The cap is combined with the non clinical contribution for residential care, so it follows you across settings.

The Wayly Contribution Estimator turns these rules into a personal estimate. You enter your parent's pension status, income and assets, and Wayly models the contribution across the three streams.

The Wayly Contribution Estimator applies the right percentages for a full pensioner, a part pensioner, a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holder or a self funded retiree, and shows what that means for the services your parent actually uses. It factors in the 1 October 2026 personal care change, and it tracks progress towards the relevant lifetime cap.

For couples, the Wayly Contribution Estimator handles the dynamics that come with a partner's income and assets, which is where a lot of confusion sits. The aim is a realistic figure you can plan around, not a vague sense that it will cost something.

Robert Kowalski is on Support at Home Level 6 with Sunrise Community Care in Coffs Harbour. He is married to Margaret, and as a couple their income and assets are assessed together, which affects his contribution rate.

Robert's daughter wanted to understand what the family would pay before committing to a fuller schedule of services. Using the Wayly Contribution Estimator, she entered Robert and Margaret's pension status and their combined income and assets. The Estimator showed that Robert pays nothing for his clinical care, including the physiotherapy on his statement, a means tested percentage for his Independence services, and a higher percentage for Everyday Living help like domestic assistance.

It also showed the effect of the 1 October 2026 change, since Robert uses personal care, which will become free from that date. And it tracked his progress against the 135,318 dollar and 69 cent lifetime cap that applies to him as a participant under the new arrangements. With those numbers in front of her, the family could plan Robert's services around a budget they understood rather than a surprise invoice.

Replace the guesswork with a number. Enter your parent's circumstances into the Wayly Contribution Estimator and see what they are likely to pay across each stream, with the lifetime cap and the October 2026 change built in.