The Support at Home program manual (program manual) will replace the current Home Care Packages Program operational manual, with the transition of Home Care Packages Program and the Short-Term Restorative Care Programme on 1 July 2025, and later, the Commonwealth Support Home Program.

The program manual helps registered providers understand and comply with their obligations and provides guidance on entry and access, budget and contributions, care management, exits, changing providers, self-management, and provider claiming and payment arrangements.

With the Aged Care Act 2024 (Cth) set to commence on 1 July 2025, the 200-page program manual offers detailed information on the Support at Home program. However, details may change after the Aged Care Rules are finalised. Below are some of the key takeaways.

Governance

All Support at Home providers must be registered under the Act and the program manual outlines their obligations under the new framework. Providers must:

• Take all reasonable steps to deliver services compatible with the Statement of Rights;
• Support participants to maintain or improve their physical, mental, cognitive, and communication capabilities, and help them remain at home where possible, in line with the Statement of Principles;
• Comply with the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards;
• Note that, while worker screening requirements remain the same as under the current framework, the Department is working with states and territories to ensure a consistent approach; and
• Note that continuity of care arrangements, previously known as security of tenure, must align with the conditions of registration and other obligations in the Act and Rules.

Service delivery

The program manual outlines key operational information for providers. This includes:

• Principles underlying Support at Home: Providers must implement a wellness and reablement approach to service delivery. This means supporting participants to maintain or improve their physical, mental, cognitive, and communication capabilities, and helping them remain at home where possible. Providers are required to support older people to exercise dignity of risk to achieve their goals and maintain independence and quality of life.
• Assessment and access to Support at Home: The program manual details the process for participants to begin receiving Support at Home services. Providers must take specific actions after an individual has been assigned funding and before they can start delivering services.
• Service agreements: A participant and provider must enter into a service agreement before services can be delivered. Providers must ensure these agreements do not contain unfair contract terms and must protect participants' rights under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth). In a 'step up' in expectations, Support at Home agreements should ensure appropriate consumer protections for participants, consistent with Australian Consumer Law.
• Care management: All participants receiving services under Support at Home must receive care management. Participants receiving ongoing services will have 10% (instead of the current capped 20%) deducted from their quarterly budget for care management. This will be allocated to the provider’s care management account and pooled with funding from other participants to provide a flexible and responsive approach to meet changing care needs. The program manual contains a list of care management activities that can be claimed by providers from their care management account. This represents a notable change from the current position, as Home Care Package providers are not required to charge care management fees.
• Price caps: For the first year of Support at Home, providers will set their own prices for services, consistent with the current approach. These prices must be within any legislated caps, be reasonable, and include all costs associated with delivering the service in the unit price. The Department will offer pricing guidance to assist providers and will monitor the prices charged during the first year of the Support at Home program to ensure they are reasonable and provide value for money. From 1 July 2026, services and activities in the service list will have a capped price set by the Government and informed by the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority.
• Exits and stopping services: Participants may need to temporarily stop services for certain periods, such as during a hospital stay or for residential respite care, due to the absence of leave arrangements under Support at Home. If the maximum period of four consecutive quarters (one year) and 60 days is reached, it may affect a participant's eligibility for funding. Certain obligations apply to providers when commencing or ceasing services. For example, a ceasing provider must agree on an exit date with the participant and notify the commencing provider of the participant's financial balances.

Consultation on the Rules will continue until April 2025 and will inform the operation of Support at Home. The program manual will be updated with additional content once the Rules are finalised. We understand providers are keenly anticipating information to help with the transition to the new legislation. Our team is dedicated to keeping you informed as new developments arise and have created various resources to support you, including updated Support at Home agreements and frameworks.

To ensure a smooth transition to the new Support at Home program, please review the Support at Home program manual and reach out to our team if you have any questions or need assistance with the new requirements. We are here to support you every step of the way.