Grandfathered Home Care Package Clients: Your Guide to Support at Home
If you were receiving, waiting for, or approved for a Home Care Package before 12 September 2024, you're what the Government calls a ‘grandfathered’ client. Your care hasn't stopped and your fees haven't gone up — but the system underneath your package has changed. This page explains exactly what ‘grandfathered’ means for you, what stayed the same, and what's now available that wasn't before.
What does ‘grandfathered’ mean for me?
‘Grandfathered’ is simply the Government’s term for continuity. If you already held Home Care Package funding, or were approved and waiting for a package, on or before 12 September 2024, you moved into Support at Home on 1 November 2025 automatically, without a new application or reassessment.
Your funding level carried across, and your day-to-day services haven’t needed to change unless you wanted them to.
Being grandfathered isn’t a lesser category. It’s a protection. It locks in the fee arrangements you already had, while still giving you access to the broader Support at Home service list.
The ‘No Worse Off’ principle, explained simply
The Government built a specific promise into the Support at Home reforms for grandfathered clients: you will not pay more than you were already paying, or already assessed to pay, under your Home Care Package.
What’s protected
- If you paid $0 in income-tested care fees under your Home Care Package, you’ll continue to pay $0 under Support at Home — even if your care needs increase.
- If you did pay an income-tested fee, your contribution rate under Support at Home will be the same or lower — never higher.
- Your lifetime contribution cap is protected at the lower, grandfathered rate, rather than the higher cap that applies to new participants. This cap is indexed twice a year, so ask your Care Coordinator for the current figure or check the My Aged Care fee estimator.
What can still change
- Your contribution can move if your income or assets change at your regular Centrelink or DVA review.
- Your contribution can change if your assessed care needs increase and you move to a higher Support at Home classification.
- Pension and fee thresholds are indexed each March and September, which can adjust your rate slightly either way.
The ‘No Worse Off’ principle protects your contribution rate — it doesn’t freeze your care plan. You’re still free to request more services, review your budget, or change how your funding is used.
How your grandfathered Home Care Package budget works now
The biggest practical change for grandfathered clients is how funding is released. Home Care Packages were budgeted annually. Support at Home budgets are released quarterly, in an amount equal to what your Home Care Package would have provided over three months.
- Each quarter you receive a fresh, dedicated budget for your approved services.
- If you don’t spend the full amount, you can roll over up to $1,000 or 10% of your quarterly budget — whichever is higher — into the next quarter.
- Any unused amount above that cap is returned rather than carried forward, so it’s worth reviewing your spending with your Care Coordinator each quarter.
Funding for transitioned HCP participants
The information below shows the quarterly and annualised amounts for transitioned HCP participants. This is indexed on 1 July each year.
What happens to unspent Home Care Package funds?
If you transitioned from a Home Care Package to Support at Home, any unspent HCP funds remain available for your care and support. These funds can be used for approved assistive technology, home modifications, or additional services once your full quarterly Support at Home budget has been used.
There is no carryover limit on unspent HCP funds. If you change Support at Home providers, your remaining balance will transfer to your new provider.
New services grandfathered clients can now access
Being grandfathered protects your fees, it doesn’t lock you out of the new Support at Home service list, which is broader than the old Home Care Package offering. You’re entitled to apply for these new pathways in the same way as any other Support at Home participant.
Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) Scheme
A dedicated funding pool of up to $15,000 for equipment such as walkers, shower chairs, rails and home safety modifications, with a simpler approval pathway than under the old package model.
Restorative Care Pathway
A structured, time-limited program of up to 16 weeks designed to help you rebuild strength and independence after illness, injury or a hospital stay. This replaced the old Short-Term Restorative Care program.
Fully funded clinical care
Nursing and allied health clinical services are now funded in full by the Government for all Support at Home participants, including grandfathered clients, with no income-tested fee applied to these services.
End-of-Life Pathway
Dedicated funding of up to $25,000 over 12 weeks (extendable to 16) to support palliative, home-based end-of-life care, including symptom management and family support.
None of these pathways are added to your plan automatically. You’ll need to request a Support Plan Review through My Aged Care to have them assessed and added — your Kanda Care Coordinator can help you start that request.
We'll help you make sense of it
Kanda has supported home care clients through funding changes for more than 25 years. If you're a grandfathered Home Care Package client and want a clear, no-obligation walkthrough of your new Support at Home budget, unspent funds or eligibility for new services, our Care Coordinators are ready to help.
What happened to applying for a Home Care Package?
Home Care Packages closed to new applicants when Support at Home began on 1 November 2025. If you or someone you know is not yet receiving funded home care, please visit our Support at Home page to find out more information.
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