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From 1 October 2026, the Australian Government will fully fund personal care for eligible Support at Home participants.
Changes to Support at Home personal care
If your support plan approves you for the personal care service type and you have available Support at Home funding, you will be able to receive personal care services at no out‑of‑pocket cost.
Personal care services include help with tasks such as:
- showering
- dressing
- non‑clinical continence management.
Moving personal care from the independence category to the clinical supports category recognises personal care as an essential service that supports your health, dignity and wellbeing – not an optional extra.
How this change will help you
By removing out‑of‑pocket costs for personal care, this change will help you maintain your personal hygiene without placing additional financial pressure on you, your family or your carers.
This reform delivers on the Government’s commitment to ensure older people receive high‑quality, accessible care if living in their own home, or in residential aged care.
What’s next
You don’t need to do anything right now – the changes to personal care do not apply until 1 October. It does not apply to services delivered before this date.
We will provide further guidance on what this change means to all Support at Home providers soon.
More information
The changes to personal care were part of a range of recent announcements on aged care.
To learn more, read the Minister for Health and Ageing’s media release.
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