Support at Home Level 1: Funding, Services and Who It Suits
Level 1 is the entry classification on Support at Home. It funds enough regular help to keep someone at home safely when their needs are still modest. The annual budget of $11,010.01 (effective 1 July 2026) is paid as a quarterly budget of roughly $2,753.
Who Support at Home Level 1 Suits
Older Australians who are largely independent but need a small amount of regular help to stay safely at home. Often a starting point after the first My Aged Care assessment.
What Services Level 1 Typically Funds
- About one or two visits a week of personal care, domestic help or social support
- Light cleaning, laundry and basic meal preparation
- Occasional transport to medical appointments
- Allied health check-ins (clinical care is fully government funded)
A typical Level 1 plan might cover a one-hour cleaner each week, a fortnightly garden tidy, and a social visit. Clinical Care services like nursing or physiotherapy come on top, with no contribution from the participant.
What Level 1 Means for Your Money
Level 1 pays an annual budget of $11,010.01, split into four quarterly budgets of about $2,753. Here is how that money actually behaves once the plan is running.
- Care management: about $275 of each $2,753 quarterly budget (10%) is set aside to pay your provider to coordinate services. That leaves roughly $2,477 a quarter for hands-on support.
- Rollover: you can carry over the higher of $1,000 or 10% of the quarterly budget (here $1,000) into the next quarter. Anything unspent above that is returned to the system, so an underspend at this level can quietly cost you money.
- Your contribution: Clinical Care is free for everyone. For Independence and Everyday Living services you pay a share of the published rate based on your pension status, with full age pensioners paying the least and self-funded retirees the most. From 1 October 2026, personal care becomes fully government funded.
- Watch the hourly rate: because your contribution is a share of the rate, a provider charging above the published rate means you pay 100% of the gap. On a budget this size, a small rate rise accelerates your burn and can leave you short before quarter end.
Check Whether Level 1 Still Fits
Needs change. If your parent's care plan keeps running short or family is filling more gaps than a year ago, it may be time to review the level.
Frequently Asked Questions
Older Australians who are largely independent but need a small amount of regular help to stay safely at home. Often a starting point after the first My Aged Care assessment.
Support at Home Level 1 provides $11,010.01 per year, effective 1 November 2025. That is paid as a quarterly budget of roughly $2,753, with 10% of each quarter set aside for care management.
Request a support plan review through My Aged Care on 1800 200 422. The Wayly Classification Self-Check helps you decide if a review is worth requesting, and the Wayly Letters & Follow-ups tool drafts the formal letter to send.