Free tool · Support at Home

Support at Home calculator,
hours your budget buys.

Answer a few questions to see how many hours of each service a Support at Home budget covers, what the person contributes and what the government pays, and when the lifetime cap is reached.

Figures current from 1 October 2026 · Last reviewed 26 October 2026 by the AppliQ Team

Step 1 · Funding

This is on the Notice of Decision from the aged care assessment.

Step 2 · About the person

Approved for a Home Care Package on or before 12 September 2024?

If yes, the no-worse-off rule gives lower contributions and a lower lifetime cap.

Step 3 · Services each week

Prices are the Department's indicative weekday prices. Change them to your provider's prices.

ServicePer weekPrice ($)
  • Fully government funded from 1 October 2026 · per hour
  • Everyday living · per hour
  • Clinical supports · per hour
  • Clinical supports · per hour
  • Independence · per hour
  • Independence · per hour
  • Everyday living · per hour
  • Everyday living · per hour
  • Independence · per trip
  • Everyday living · per meal

Your estimate

Budget for services each quarter, after 10% care management

$6,868.84· $528.37 a week

This plan uses 92.7% of the budget.

$498.84 is left each quarter, about 0.4 more hours of personal care a week.

You pay each week
$33.25
Government pays each week
$456.75
You pay per quarter
$432.25
Lifetime cap reached in
50+ years

Hours the budget buys on its own

If the whole budget went on one service, per week.

  • Personal care5.3 hrs
  • Domestic assistance5.6 hrs
  • Nursing care3.5 hrs
  • Allied health and therapy2.7 hrs
  • Social support and community engagement5.3 hrs
  • Respite5.3 hrs
  • Home maintenance and repairs5.1 hrs
  • Meal preparation5.4 hrs
  • Transport7.5 trips
  • Meal delivery35.2 meals

Your plan, service by service

  • Personal care$300.00 a week

    3 hours × $100.00 · you pay 0% = $0.00

  • Domestic assistance$190.00 a week

    2 hours × $95.00 · you pay 17.5% = $33.25

An estimate only, not financial advice. The actual budget, rates and services are set by the aged care assessment, Services Australia and the provider's service agreement.

How it works

How the calculator
works it out.

  1. Start from the quarterly budget

    The classification sets the quarterly budget. 10% goes to care management, and the rest is for services. A quarter is counted as 13 weeks.

  2. Price the weekly plan

    Each service is priced at hours (or trips, or meals) per week times the price. The full price comes off the budget.

  3. Split who pays

    Each service's contribution category sets the person's rate: none for clinical supports, and the assessed rate for independence and everyday living. The government pays the rest.

  4. Check the budget and the cap

    The plan is compared with the budget to show what's left or how long it lasts, and contributions are counted towards the lifetime cap.

Contribution rates used

  • Clinical supports0% for everyone, including personal care from 1 October 2026
  • IndependenceFull pension 5% · self-funded 50% · part pension or CSHC 5% to 50%
  • Everyday livingFull pension 17.5% · self-funded 80% · part pension or CSHC 17.5% to 80%
  • No worse offFull pension 0% · self-funded 25% · part pension or CSHC 0% to 25%
  • Means not disclosedThe maximum rate applies

Figures and sources

Reviewed by

The AppliQ Team

AppliQ Technologies

The AppliQ Team builds Care Nexus, care management software for NDIS, Support at Home, CHSP and DVA providers. The team checks every figure in this calculator against the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing's published amounts and reviews them whenever they change.

Last reviewed 26 October 2026

For providers

Run these rules for every participant

Care Nexus applies budgets, contribution rates, hardship, grandfathering and the lifetime cap automatically, checks every booking and sends contribution invoices.

Support at Home software

For families

Follow the budget in the family portal

Participants and their nominated family members see the budget, services delivered and invoices, and book or change services, free.

See the client portal

Questions

Support at Home budgets,
answered.

This calculator gives an estimate, not financial advice. For an official estimate, use the Support at Home fee estimator on My Aged Care.

  • How many hours of support can I get with Support at Home?

    It depends on the classification, the services and the provider's prices. For example, Classification 4 is $7,632.04 a quarter. After 10% for care management, that leaves about $528.37 a week for services, or about 5 hours of personal care a week at $100 an hour. Use the calculator to try your own mix.

  • What are the Support at Home quarterly budgets?

    From 1 October 2026, ongoing budgets range from $2,757.89 a quarter for Classification 1 to $20,073.50 for Classification 8. People who moved from a Home Care Package keep a transitioned HCP level budget.

  • Why is 10% taken off the budget?

    Ten per cent of each quarterly budget goes to the provider's care management account to pay for care management, such as planning, coordinating and reviewing services. Participants don't pay a contribution for care management.

  • How much will I contribute?

    Clinical supports, such as nursing and allied health, are free. Personal care is also fully government funded from 1 October 2026. For independence services, full pensioners pay 5% and self-funded retirees 50%. For everyday living services, full pensioners pay 17.5% and self-funded retirees 80%. Part pensioners and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders pay a rate in between, set by Services Australia.

  • What is the no-worse-off rule?

    People who were receiving, or approved for, a Home Care Package on or before 12 September 2024 pay the same or less than under the old arrangements. Their contributions are lower and their lifetime cap is lower.

  • What is the lifetime contribution cap?

    Contributions for independence and everyday living services count towards a lifetime cap of $140,652.80, or $88,934.57 for no-worse-off participants, as at 20 September 2026. Once it's reached, the person pays nothing more. The caps are indexed each March and September.

  • What happens to budget I don't use?

    Unspent funds from a quarter can carry over to the next, up to $1,000 or 10% of the quarterly budget, whichever is greater. Services over the budget can be bought privately.

  • Does the calculator cover the short-term pathways?

    Yes. Choose the Restorative Care Pathway (about $6,000 for up to 16 weeks) or the End-of-Life Pathway (about $25,000 for 12 weeks) to see how far the funding goes. Contributions apply to independence and everyday living services on the pathways too.

  • Is this calculator financial advice?

    No. It's an estimate to help with planning. The actual budget is set by the aged care assessment, contribution rates by Services Australia, and prices by the provider's service agreement. My Aged Care also has an official fee estimator.

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