Consider a couple sitting at the kitchen table with a Support at Home approval letter and a familiar anxiety: is this going to cost us a fortune? They've heard mixed things — that it's free, that there are fees, that it depends on your assets — and they can't tell what actually applies to them. What they want is a straight, honest explanation of who pays for what.
This example is illustrative. Contribution rules and prices are set by the Australian Government and can change.
Cost is the question almost everyone asks, and the answer has a few moving parts. Here's how they fit together — with the honest caveat that exact figures are set by government and change over time.
The government funds most of it
The bulk of the cost of your care is covered by government funding, allocated to you based on your assessed needs. You don't pay for your funded services out of pocket in the way you'd pay a normal invoice — the funding is claimed on your behalf. How much funding you receive depends on your assessment, not on what you can afford.
Your contribution depends on circumstances
Depending on your situation, you may be asked to make a means-tested contribution towards some of your services. This varies from person to person, and the rules are set by the Australian Government. Our contributions explained guide goes deeper, and the definitive detail is on My Aged Care and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website.
Why we don't quote prices here: service prices and contribution rates under Support at Home are shaped by government arrangements that change. Quoting a number today risks it being wrong tomorrow — so we point you to current guidance and talk specifics with you directly.
Service prices and self-managing
The price of individual services is shaped by government price arrangements. One advantage of self-managing is that more of your budget can go to actual care rather than management overheads, because you coordinate your own support. With Partner with Care you keep control of your budget while we handle the claiming and compliance. Weigh it up with self-managed vs provider-managed fees and see how pricing works under Support at Home.
Working out your own numbers
The most reliable way to understand your costs is to look at your specific funding, your assessed contribution and the services you actually want. If you've been approved, we can walk through it with you. If you're not yet funded, start with am I eligible for Support at Home?