Clinical, Independence, Everyday Living: which services cost you what
Every service under Support at Home belongs to one of three categories — and the category, not the service itself, decides what you contribute. Clinical supports cost every participant $0.00. Independence and everyday-living supports carry a percentage contribution set by your entry cohort and means status. Knowing which category a service sits in is half of understanding any quote, statement or budget.
Clinical supports — $0.00 for everyone
Care that keeps you medically well is fully government funded, regardless of income, assets or pension status:
- Nursing care
- Allied health & other therapeutic services
- Nutrition (prescribed dietary products)
- Care management
- Restorative care management
Allied health here is broad — physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry, psychology, speech pathology, dietetics and more, in person or by telehealth. Note that care management (10% of each quarterly budget) sits in this category too: it draws from the budget but never from your pocket.
Independence supports
Services that help you manage daily life carry a contribution — for people entering from 1 November 2025, rates run from 5% (full pensioners) up to 50% (fully self-funded):
- Personal care
- Social support & community engagement
- Therapeutic services for independent living
- Respite (in-home/community)
- Transport
- Assistive technology & home modifications
Entered before 12 September 2024? Your grandfathered rates are lower — $0.00 on everything for most full pensioners, and capped at 25% on these categories for everyone else under the no-worse-off arrangement.
The headline change in this category: from 1 October 2026, personal care moves to the clinical supports category and becomes fully government funded for everyone — here’s exactly what changes. Respite here means in-home and community respite; transport covers both driven services and taxi or rideshare vouchers.
Everyday living supports
Help with the household attracts the highest contribution rates — from 17.5% (full pensioners) up to 80% (fully self-funded):
- Domestic assistance
- Home maintenance & repairs
- Meals
Domestic assistance includes cleaning, laundry and shopping assistance; home maintenance covers repairs and essential safety-driven gardening; meals covers preparation and delivery, though the ingredients themselves are yours.
Why the category matters in practice
Two services can cost a provider the same to deliver and cost you wildly different amounts. An hour of nursing: $0.00 to you. An hour of cleaning at the same price: up to 80% of it, depending on your means. When reading a provider quote or a monthly statement, check each line’s category before judging the number — and if a clinical service shows a contribution, query it.
See what your own mix of services costs — the estimator applies the right category and rate to every line.
Estimate the costsRelated: what Support at Home costs in 2026 · personal care becomes free from 1 October