Support at Home Level 4: Funding, Services and Who It Suits
Level 4 is the most common classification for participants with moderately complex needs. The annual budget of $30,528.15 (effective 1 October 2026) is paid as a quarterly budget of roughly $7,632.
Who Support at Home Level 4 Suits
Older Australians with moderate complex needs, including those at risk of falls, with early cognitive change, or recovering from a major health event. Often the level where families start to think about a reassessment.
What Services Level 4 Typically Funds
- Daily personal care, sometimes with multiple visits a day
- Weekly cleaning, laundry, meal preparation and shopping
- Regular nursing or allied health support
- Assistive technology and home modification budgets carried separately
A typical Level 4 plan funds daily personal care, a weekly cleaner, fortnightly podiatry and physiotherapy, and a quarterly review by an occupational therapist. The Wayly Budget Calculator helps families confirm the plan actually uses the funding rather than leaving an underspend at quarter end.
What Level 4 Means for Your Money
Level 4 pays an annual budget of $30,528.15, split into four quarterly budgets of about $7,632. Here is how that money actually behaves once the plan is running.
- Care management: about $763 of each $7,632 quarterly budget (10%) is set aside to pay your provider to coordinate services. That leaves roughly $6,869 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 4 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 with moderate complex needs, including those at risk of falls, with early cognitive change, or recovering from a major health event. Often the level where families start to think about a reassessment.
Support at Home Level 4 provides $30,528.15 per year, effective 1 October 2026. That is paid as a quarterly budget of roughly $7,632, 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.