Personal care under Support at Home from 1 October 2026

If you need help with showering, dressing or eating, the cost is a practical part of deciding how much support to arrange. From 1 October 2026, you will not pay a participant contribution for approved personal care under Support at Home when it is included in your Support Plan and you have enough funds available. The service still needs to fit within your budget.

The change applies to personal care

Personal care includes help with activities such as showering, dressing, eating and personal hygiene. The change removes the participant contribution for this service type from 1 October 2026. Contributions for personal care delivered before that date are not removed by the change.

Other services, including respite, domestic help and gardening, may still attract a contribution. If a visit includes different kinds of support, ask your provider to explain how each service is recorded and charged. Source: My Aged Care: Support at Home funding changes from 1 October 2026

You do not need to make a separate application for the contribution change itself. Arranging a new service is a separate conversation about your approved support, available funds and the care a provider can offer.

A service price and your contribution are different things

The service price is what the provider charges for the care. Your participant contribution is the part you personally pay under the program rules. Your available budget determines what can be arranged across your approved services. Removing a contribution does not make the service disappear from that budget.

When you look at a proposed care arrangement, ask to see both the price of each service and the effect on your remaining funds. A clear explanation should help you understand the whole arrangement, rather than leaving you to work it out from an hourly rate. Source: My Aged Care: managing your Support at Home budget

For example, you might want help getting ready on the mornings you have appointments. Before agreeing, ask how the proposed visits fit alongside your existing services and available funds. That makes the discussion about the support you need in your week.

If you already receive personal care

Ask your provider to show you how the change will appear in your budget and statements. If you have a bill covering dates before and after 1 October, check the dates of service when asking about a contribution.

This is also a useful time to say whether your current arrangement still works for you. Perhaps the support is helping, but the timing makes it difficult to keep an appointment or join a usual activity. Explain what you want to keep doing and what would make the assistance more useful. A funding change does not automatically alter your care arrangement.

If you need help but personal care is not in your plan

Start by describing what has become difficult. You might be managing a task yourself but finding it tiring, or relying on someone whose availability has changed. Your provider or My Aged Care can explain the appropriate next step if your needs have changed. WattleCare Services does not decide government eligibility or funding. Source: My Aged Care: managing your Support at Home budget

If you are still waiting for funding, ask what is available now and what remains pending. Approval, available funds and a provider being able to meet your needs are separate parts of arranging care.

Questions to take to your provider

• Is personal care included in my Support Plan?
• What funds are available for the services we are discussing?
• Which parts of my care will still have a participant contribution?
• What are the service prices, and how will the visits affect my budget?
• Can you give me the proposed services and costs in writing?

Note the answers and anything you want explained again. You can involve a person you trust if you would like support with the conversation.

Talking with WattleCare Services

WattleCare Services is accepting enquiries and referrals now. Before care begins, we work with you to understand your needs and confirm whether we can provide the support you require.

Our fees and funding information explains the starting points for a discussion about costs. You can also read about our personal care services. If you are unsure whether the support you need is personal care or nursing, our companion guide explains who does what.