Home care costs are complex. It can be confusing trying to work out what fees you need to pay and what services you can afford with the funding available to you.
Your home care package provider must actively support you to understand any fees and charges by giving you all necessary information. They also have an obligation to provide you with a monthly statement of your fees and charges, but sometimes these statements are unclear and difficult to navigate.
There are a number of valuable tools and resources to help you understand how it all works (see below).
Informing yourself about government contributions, service provider costs and out-of-pocket fees will enable you to get the best out of your home care.
If you are having problems understanding fees or costs, OPAN has a team of aged care advocates and Financial Advocacy Officers who can support you.
Documents and external links
Learn more about home care costs. These documents and websites offer help, strategies, and practical information. Brief descriptions are provided for each document or link.
Commonwealth Home Support Programme costs
Home care package costs
View the My Aged Care webpage for in-depth information on home care package budgets, fees breakdown and government contributions.
My Aged Care fee estimator tool
Monthly statement for Home Care Packages
This Australian Department of Health and Aged Care webpage provides information on monthly statements for people receiving home care packages. The statements show their available funds, how the funds are being spent and the amount of unspent funds.
Home Care Packages pricing update fact sheet
Aged care workforce wage rise – Home Care Packages Program – Care recipient fact sheet
This fact sheet from the Department of Health and Aged Care provides Home Care Package (HCP) Program care recipients information about the increase to worker wages from 30 June 2023.
Letter to Home Care Package recipients about wage subsidy increase
The Department of Health and Aged Care is sending a letter to all Home Care Package recipients to let them know that their package will increase by 11.9% from 1 July 2023 to cover the cost of the Fair Work Commission’s 15% award wage increase and other increases in prices.
What can I do if my provider changes my home services arrangement? Consumer Guidance Fact Sheet
This fact sheet from the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission provides guidance for people who access home services through the Home Care Packages Program and what you can do if your provider wants to make changes to your home service arrangement.
