Support at Home Personal Care Contribution Change Checklist

From 1 October 2026, personal care services under the Support at Home service list move from the Independence contributions category to the Clinical Supports contribution category for contribution purposes.

The Department says the Australian Government will fully fund eligible personal care services from that date. Participants will no longer pay contributions for approved personal care services if they have available Support at Home funding.

Claims for personal care services delivered before 1 October 2026 can still attract a participant contribution, even if the claim is made after 1 October. Coordinators should separate service date, claim date, and communication date in their records.

This change does not alter the definition of personal care, service scope, service IDs, workforce roles, delivery model, or registration category. The main preparation work is in systems, billing records, statements, budgets, service agreements, care plans, and client communication.

Step 1 - audit current templates. Check service agreements, attached budgets, monthly statement wording, invoice wording, price discussion records, personal care support plans, care plan review notes, and client letters for old contribution wording.

Step 2 - separate care instructions from contribution wording. Worker-facing personal care instructions should explain support tasks, preferences, prompts, risks, and escalation. Contribution questions belong in pricing, budget, invoice, statement, or care management records.

Step 3 - identify current personal care clients. Record who receives personal care now, whether their service date may fall before or after 1 October 2026, and whether they may want to discuss more personal care after the contribution change.

Step 4 - assign owners. A practical tracker should name owners for ICT settings, claiming workflow, monthly statements, invoices, service agreement wording, budgets, care plan review prompts, and client communication.

Step 5 - prepare discussion records. If a client or representative asks about personal care contributions, record the service period, question asked, source checked, response owner, written confirmation date, and next action. Do not bury this inside a routine progress note.

Step 6 - brief staff. Support workers do not need billing scripts. They need a short escalation path, so pricing or contribution questions are sent to the right coordinator or finance owner.

Common gaps include old contribution category wording in service agreements, budgets that do not show the new contribution rate, monthly statements that are hard to read, invoice notes that mix service delivery and contribution explanation, and client letters without an owner or checked date.

CaresLink templates can help teams start the review. Use the service agreement checklist, price discussion record, personal care support plan template, care management contact note, and training register as editable operational prompts.

This page is general operational information only. It is not pricing advice, claiming advice, billing advice, legal advice, clinical advice, compliance advice, or a decision about any participant's funding or service arrangement.