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 carries no contribution, regardless of income, assets or pension status (it is still paid for out of your budget):
- Nursing care
- Allied health & other therapeutic services
- Nutrition (prescribed dietary products)
- Care management
- Restorative care management
- Personal care
Personal care joined this category for services delivered from 1 October 2026. That covers all three personal care service types: help with daily living (showering, dressing, eating, hygiene), support with taking your own medication, and non-clinical continence support such as help changing aids. There is no contribution where personal care is in your support plan and you have funds available. It still draws on your budget, and personal care delivered before 1 October is charged at the old Independence rate even if it is invoiced later. Here’s exactly what changed.
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):
- Social support & community engagement
- Therapeutic services for independent living
- Respite (in-home/community)
- Transport
- Assistive technology & home modifications
In home care, or approved for it, on or 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.
Personal care sat in this category until 30 September 2026 and moved to clinical supports from 1 October — see above. 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 is contribution-free from 1 October