For many older Australians, staying at home is not just a preference — it’s dignity. It means choosing who comes through the front door, deciding how support is delivered, and protecting independence for as long as possible.
Over the past few years, one model of care has become especially popular with older people and their families: self-managed home care. In this approach, you (or someone you trust) take the lead in deciding who delivers your support, when they come, and how government funding is used. It’s personal, familiar, and often more cost-effective.
But a major change is coming.
On 1 November 2025, Australia will introduce a new program called Support at Home. This program will replace the current Home Care Packages system and reshape how in-home care is funded, delivered, and monitored.
Many families are now asking the same urgent questions:
“Will I lose control?”
“Will my costs go up?”
“Will my preferred care worker still be allowed to support me?”
“Who can actually help me make sense of all this?”
This guide answers those questions in plain language. It explains how Support at Home will expect self-managed care to work, what protections are being added, and how you can prepare — with help from Support Services Connect Australia (SSCA) and our free Care Finding service in Melbourne.
Let’s go through this step by step.
“Will I still be able to direct my own care?”
Short answer: Yes — but the way you do it will feel more structured than it does today.
Under the current Home Care Package model, self-management means you take responsibility for organising your own supports, such as help with showering, meal preparation, transport to appointments, and mobility assistance. You decide who provides that help and when they attend. You approve invoices. You track spending. You take on a coordinator’s role.
That overall idea — you being in the driver’s seat — is not going away.
Support at Home still allows you to shape what your day looks like. You will continue to have a say in:
• Which services you receive
• Who provides those services
• When they’re delivered
• How funding is allocated across different types of support
However, Support at Home adds a layer of oversight that hasn’t always existed before.
Instead of operating almost entirely on trust between you and your chosen workers, there will be clearer expectations about:
• Whether the services you are buying are actually in your approved care plan
• Whether the person delivering support is appropriately registered and insured
• Whether the hours and costs being claimed are reasonable and recorded properly
This is not designed to take control away from you. It is aimed at making sure the care you are paying for is safe, necessary, and consistent with government rules. The goal is that older Australians can keep choice without being left to “figure out the system” alone.
In practice, that means self-management becomes less “do everything yourself and hope it’s compliant” and more “work in partnership with a recognised provider who can help you stay within the rules.”
That partnership brings us to the next concern most families have.
“Will I be forced to change my care workers?”
This might be the most emotional part of the transition for many families.
Right now, some people who self-manage hire their own support workers directly — often someone they trust deeply. It could be the same person who has been helping with showering for two years, or the driver who takes them to the shops and knows exactly how to assist them in and out of the car.
Under Support at Home, all services must be delivered by, or through, an approved Support at Home provider.
That means the person who helps you cannot simply be “a private worker you pay in cash on the day” unless they are operating in line with the new program’s requirements (for example, being registered or subcontracted through an approved provider and meeting safety and insurance standards).
Why is this happening?
The intention is to protect older people from risk. It means:
• Workers must meet basic safety and quality expectations.
• There’s a record of who is in the home and what they’re doing.
• If something goes wrong, there is accountability.
Does this mean you have to say goodbye to your trusted worker? Not necessarily.
In many cases, that same person can continue to support you if:
• They are willing to be linked to, subcontracted by, or engaged through an approved provider; and
• The services they deliver match what appears in your support plan.
This is why it’s important to start talking now. Ask the person who supports you:
• Are you planning to work through an approved provider once Support at Home begins?
• Are you aware that the rules are changing in November 2025?
If they’re not sure, that’s a sign to begin exploring other provider options early. You do not want a last-minute scramble where essential support stops because someone isn’t approved under the new program.
This is exactly the kind of situation where older Australians and families tell us they feel overwhelmed. SSCA can assist by helping you compare providers who understand self-managed care and who are willing to work with the people you already trust.
“Will care become more expensive for me?”
For many people, cost is the biggest source of anxiety.
Under today’s Home Care Package model, charges can vary widely. Two people with the same level of funding can end up paying very different amounts in management fees, administration charges, or hourly rates for support workers.
Support at Home is aiming to clean that up.
Here are the key money-related changes coming:
(a) A cap on care management fees
Even if you self-manage, you will be assigned someone in a care management role. This person’s job is to check that the services you’re buying match your assessed needs and to help keep things compliant.
Under Support at Home, the amount you pay for this care management function will be capped at 10% of your Support at Home budget.
Why this matters:
Some Australians currently see 20–40% of their package disappear into administration and coordination. A 10% cap gives you more predictability and should protect you from excessive overheads.
(b) More transparent pricing
From November 2025, providers will have to clearly publish their prices (for example, hourly personal care, transport support, meal preparation assistance). By late 2026, the government intends to introduce price caps for most common services.
Why this matters:
• You should be able to compare rates more easily.
• It will be harder for anyone to quietly overcharge you.
• “Hidden” extras like travel time and administration will be rolled into the single published service price instead of being scattered across separate line items.
(c) Less room for under-the-table arrangements
One big change is that you most likely won’t be able to privately negotiate a lower “cash rate” with an individual worker outside the approved system. That kind of side arrangement might have seemed cheaper in the short term, but under the new rules it may not be allowed — and you could end up personally out of pocket if it’s later deemed non-compliant.
In other words, Support at Home is trying to make pricing cleaner, more standardised, and easier to understand — but also more tightly controlled.
The important takeaway: you will still have input into how your budget is used, but it will sit within a more defined pricing framework. That predictability should make it easier to plan month to month.
“Is self-management going to become harder to handle?”
Self-management is not going away. But the expectations around record-keeping will become stronger.
Under Support at Home, people who self-manage are expected to:
• Keep clear records of who attended, on what date, for how long, and what support they provided
• Hold onto invoices and receipts that match the care plan
• Use a central system to track spend, services delivered, and available budget
This level of documentation is not designed to make life difficult. It exists so that:
• Your funding is protected
• Your services are consistent with what you’ve been approved to receive
• There is a paper trail if anything needs to be reviewed by the government
For families already doing a lot of coordination, this will feel familiar. For others, it may be new and a little confronting. The key message is: you don’t have to do it alone.
Support at Home is actually attempting to move self-management away from “you’re on your own with a spreadsheet” and toward “you are in charge of decisions, but you are partnered with someone who helps handle compliance.”
That “someone” is not meant to take power away from you. It is meant to make sure your independence does not come with unfair risk.
“Who can actually guide us through this without trying to sell us something?”
Understanding Support at Home is not just an aged care problem. It’s a family problem. Adult children, spouses, neighbours, and friends often become part of the decision-making, and everyone has questions.
Which provider is actually good at supporting self-managed care, instead of forcing everything into their own schedule?
Which organisation respects the older person’s preferences instead of just quoting policy lines?
Which providers in Melbourne are already preparing for Support at Home — not waiting until the last minute?
This is where Support Services Connect Australia (SSCA) can help.
Who we are
SSCA is made up of professionals who have worked in Australian home care and residential care for more than 25 years. We’ve seen how confusing the system can be — and how stressful it is when you’re told you have to “pick a provider quickly.”
What we do
Our Care Finding service is free.
We listen to what you need, where you live, and what you value.
Then we help you identify suitable providers — including providers who understand flexible, self-directed care and who are preparing for Support at Home.
Why that matters now
The new program is bringing more structure to self-management. That’s not automatically bad. In fact, it could protect older Australians from hidden costs, unclear invoices, or unsafe work practices.
But structure is only helpful if the provider you choose respects you.
Having someone independent help you compare options can save you from signing up with a provider who looks good on paper, but won’t work the way you or your loved one actually live.
How to protect your choice before November 2025
Here are practical steps you can take now to prepare for the shift to Support at Home:
- Talk to your current support workers
Ask if they plan to continue under the new rules and whether they will be linked with an approved provider. - Ask your current provider direct questions
Are they already preparing for Support at Home?
Will they support you to continue self-managing, or do they expect you to move to their standard model?
How will they handle the 10% care management cap? - Keep your paperwork
Get used to saving invoices, service dates, and what support was provided. This habit will make the transition smoother. - Start exploring alternatives now
If your provider doesn’t seem ready — or if you feel they’re not listening — don’t wait until the last minute to look elsewhere. You are not locked in. - Use free support
Reach out to a service like SSCA’s Care Finding service. It’s designed to reduce stress and help you understand your options clearly, using language that makes sense.
The bottom line
Self-managed home care was built on a simple promise:
“I want to stay in my own home, and I want a say in how that happens.”
Support at Home does not erase that promise. It reshapes how it is delivered.
You will still be able to direct your care.
You will still have a voice in who supports you.
You will still have the right to expect value for money.
But you will also see:
• Tighter safety standards around who is allowed to work in your home
• A cap on care management fees, to limit overheads
• Clearer, more public pricing
• Stronger record-keeping requirements
For some families, this will feel reassuring. For others, it may feel like a lot to take in.
Either way, you don’t have to navigate it alone.
Support Services Connect Australia (SSCA) offers a free Care Finding service to help older Australians and their families identify which approved providers can best meet their needs — including in and around Melbourne. With over 25 years of experience in Australian aged care, our team uses plain, respectful language and supports your right to make your own choices.
Your home. Your care. Your say.
Our role is to help you keep it that way.