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GOLD COAST AND THE NORTHERN RIVERS BORDER

Support at Home on the Gold Coast, explained without the jargon

On 1 November 2025 the program that funds in-home aged care changed completely. What it means from Coomera to Coolangatta, the eight funding levels, what you actually pay and the questions specific to a city built along sixty kilometres of coast.

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Support worker helping client

What Support at Home Actually Is

The most significant alteration to in-home aged care since it was established, and much of what you'll see online still refers to the old rules.

The Australian Government's in-home aged care program is Support at Home. It started on 1 November 2025, replacing the Home Care Packages Program and Short-Term Restorative Care, and is governed by the new Aged Care Act 2024.

It wasn't a re-brand. The old system offered four tiered packages, with the cost of management fees ranging between 30 and 40 percent, and the prices were difficult to compare between providers. These issues were detailed in the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. Support at Home is the structural solution to them.

It works in four ways. There are eight funding types instead of four packages, resulting in funding closer to the assessed need. The money comes in quarterly budgets, and there's limited carry-over. Services are categorised into three types and each has a different contribution rule. Care management is limited to 10 per cent of your budget, as opposed to the previous scheme which allowed for an unlimited level of fees.

The program is national, therefore the rules apply as they do throughout Australia. The variables in any given area are the market delivering it (which providers actually do have workers nearby), the hourly price they charge and the wait time involved. How much care your funding buys is determined by that local reality, and it's what national guides neglect to mention.

Who Can Get It

Specifically: aged 65 or over (50 or over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people), living in their own home rather than a residential aged care facility, an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and assessed through My Aged Care as requiring assistance to keep living independently. Qualification is based on assessed care needs, not on income or assets, because your means have an impact on how much you pay, not whether you are eligible for the program.

The Three Service Categories

This is the most important thing to know, as it determines the payment amount for a service due to the category that it falls into.

Clinical care

You pay nothing

Nursing, wound management, medication management, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, podiatry, dietetics, continence and nutrition support. Fully funded regardless of income and assets, a real improvement, and certainly one that helps the self-funded retirees who previously paid for clinical care.

Independence services

5% to 50%

Personal care, showering, dressing and grooming, assistance with continence and mobility, plus respite, social support, therapeutic services, transport and equipment and home modifications under the AT-HM scheme. The rate you would be charged in that bracket would be based on your means assessment.

Everyday living

17.5% to 80%

Domestic assistance and cleaning, meal preparation, gardening, minor home maintenance and shopping. They attract the highest contributions because they are the farthest removed from health care and the closest to the normal cost of running the household.

The logic is intentional. The more a service is close to health care, the more the government pays. The more it aligns to convenience of the home, the higher its price.

A Date Worth Marking: 1 October 2026

Personal care becomes a clinical support, which is fully funded for all and no contribution is needed in your allocated budget. That's a pretty significant saving on a fixed date for a self-funded retiree who pays 50 percent toward daily showering assistance today. October is the month when cost may no longer be a constraint on people rationing personal care.

The Eight Classifications

Your classification is determined by an aged care assessment and your annual budget is determined by your classification. Funding is received in four quarterly payments.

Annual funding by classification

The difference between the lowest and the highest is over seven times. Rates displayed are as per 1 November 2025, funding will be indexed on 1 July, please check current rates.

1 $10,731 2 $16,034 3 $21,966 4 $29,696 5 $39,697 6 $48,114 7 $58,148 8 $78,106
Level Annual Quarterly Typical level of support
1 $10,731 $2,682.75 Mostly independent; occasional light domestic help and transport
2 $16,034 $4,008.61 Low-level support; help with dressing, showering, social activities
3 $21,966 $5,491.43 Regular personal care, mobility support, household tasks
4 $29,696 $7,424.10 Daily personal care plus domestic and community support
5 $39,697 $9,924.35 Substantial daily support with allied health involvement
6 $48,114 $12,028.58 Intensive daily support, several services coordinated
7 $58,148 $14,537.04 High needs; comprehensive daily care and clinical input
8 $78,106 $19,526.59 Complex, high-intensity needs including palliative support

Figures include the 10% allocated to care management. Annually indexed 1 July (check current amounts with My Aged Care).

Actually, there are two things about that table that are more important than what they look like.

A fair increase in the ceiling compared to the previous level. The maximum price for a Home Care Package Level 4 was approximately $62,000 per year. Classification 8 sits at $78,106, roughly $16,000 more. That can add up to a few more hours of support each week, and sometimes the difference between being able to live at home and going into a residential facility, for a Gold Coast home supporting a person with advanced dementia or significant physical care needs.

Ten percent of it gets lost before you spend any money. Care management is deducted from each quarterly budget prior to the purchasing of services. About $3,970 a year on Classification 5, at about $992 per quarter. Your usable budget is 90 percent of the headline amount, and any reasonable calculation of hours should begin there.

The Quarterly Rollover Trap

Only $1,000 or 10 percent of your budget for each quarter, whichever is higher, can be carried over. That which is above that comes back to the government at the end of the quarter.

On Classification 6 at $12,028 a quarter, someone who spends $7,000 can carry about $1,203 and gives up about $3,825 forever. It's the most costly and avoidable error in the new system. Budgets reset in July, October, January and April; if a quarter is running under, use the services before the next reset, not after.

Which Group Are You In?

The amount you contribute varies by when you were first approved. There are three groups and depending on your group, you will know what you're paying.

Approved on or before

Grandfathered

12 September 2024

Under the 'no worse off' principle. Contributions do not rise above the amount you would be paying with your package. No matter how they reclassify it, if you haven't paid any fees before, then you won't pay any of them.

Approved between

Transitional

13 Sep 2024 – 31 Oct 2025

Authorised a Home Care Package at this time. Not subject to the no worse off rule. Normal contribution criteria are followed according to income and assets (unless hardship assistance is granted).

Approved on or after

New participant

1 November 2025

Entered Support at Home directly. Put into one of 8 classifications with a quarterly budget, and the full standard contribution structure will be used from the beginning.

How to check which group applies to you

  • Note the date of your Home Care Package or Support at Home first approval (not the date services commenced).
  • Access your My Aged Care online account to view your approval history and status.
  • Review letters from Services Australia or the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
  • Contact My Aged Care on 1800 200 422, or your provider to confirm in writing.

Money in your unspent package remains untouched. Legacy Home Care Package balances carry over in full and sit apart from the quarterly budget; there is no balance carry forward limit for them. They can be used for assistive technology and home modifications, and for extra services once your quarterly budget is spent. They are also transferred to you when you switch providers. Make sure to request the exact amount in writing from your provider, it could be thousands of dollars of untapped buying power for some families on the Gold Coast.

What You Contribute

Your contribution will be a percentage of each service's cost, determined by an income and assets assessment by Services Australia.

Contribution rates by circumstance

The standard rates apply to those approved after 12 September 2024. Part pensioners are on a sliding scale, with the highest end displayed.

Clinical care Independence Everyday living Full pensioner 0% 5% 17.5% Part pensioner (upper end) 0% 50% 80% Self-funded, no health card 0% 50% 80%

Grandfathered rates, for comparison

Circumstance Clinical Independence Everyday living
Full pensioner 0% 0% 0%
Part pensioner or health card holder 0% 0–25% 0–25%
Self-funded retiree 0% 25% 25%

Do Not Skip The Means Assessment

Services Australia will not have your income and assets details if you don't provide them, therefore you are classified as "means not disclosed" and charged the maximum rate regardless of your situation. Others forgo it out of pride, and end up paying self-funded-retiree rates on a pension income. A costly form to shun.

Services Australia may provide hardship assistance to cover some or all of your contributions if they are not affordable. The cost should not be the reason why someone is not receiving the care that they need.

What Care Actually Costs Per Hour in Gold Coast

Your contribution will be based on a percentage of the service fee (the fee charged by your service provider determines how many dollars you contribute). Very few aged care websites have this. Here it is.

The same hour of support can be $58 or $85, depending completely upon the manner in which the worker is engaged.

A support worker helping an older client at home on the Gold Coast
The same hour of support can be $58 or $85, depending completely upon the manner in which the worker is engaged.
Service Engaged directly Full-service agency
Personal care, weekday $40–$65/hr $65–$85/hr
Domestic assistance $40–$58/hr $60–$80/hr
Social support and community access $40–$60/hr $62–$82/hr
Overnight sleepover Flat rate, from ~$250 $250–$400/night
Registered nurse visit $90–$140/hr $110–$180/hr

Indicative Gold Coast ranges for 2026. Usually 25–50% additional loadings are added on weekends and public holidays.

The number between those two columns is the most significant number on this page. Activities are the same, someone showers them, prepares their meal, cleans up. The structure is what is different. An agency rate is the fee charged for recruitment, rostering, supervision, office, coordinator, compliance and margin, and the worker gets anywhere from $32 to $42 of an $80 rate. Engaged directly, most of the rate will go directly to the worker and the total will be even less.

Four costs that quietly reduce your care

  • Minimum shift lengths. With the 2 hour minimum charge, a 40-minute morning visit becomes a 2 hour charge. Across daily visits that is a large hidden cost.
  • Travel charges. Some of the providers charge for the travel of their workers, this is significant along the Gold Coast and the NSW/QLD border. Inquire if it is from your budget.
  • Cancellation terms. Check what happens if you go into hospital. There are some contracts which require full payment for short notice.
  • Weekend loadings. Personal care doesn't take breaks on the weekend. Use the real weekly rate, not the weekday rate.

What Happened To Price Caps

The majority of the pages that you will read on this are outdated. This one is not.

The government introduced price caps for all Support at Home services, due to come into force from 1 July 2026. Under caps, no provider could charge more than the maximum amount set for each service type.

In May 2026, the measure was postponed. The program is running with an independent pricing study at the same time and no new start date has been announced. Provider sites and comparison sites will continue to confidently claim caps are in effect from July 2026. They do not.

In effect: providers are required to have a complete price list available for public view; they can't charge separate administration, entry or exit fees; and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has the power to request refunds if the provider has overcharged.

What this means for you

If there is no cap, provider prices are variable, both legally and in some instances significantly, and this difference translates directly into hours of care received. At present the only safeguard you have is to compare published price lists.

Getting More Hours From The Same Budget

Support at Home sets the amount of funding you receive. How you use it determines the level of care you will receive.

Let's take a Classification 5 participant, with $39,697 per year, or $9,924 per quarter. About $8,932 per quarter is left to spend on services after the care management deduction.

Hourly rate paid Hours per quarter Hours per week
$80 — full-service agency 111.6 about 8.6
$58 — engaged directly 154 about 11.8

That's 42 more hours per quarter, or about 3.25 more hours per week, with the same amount of funding. When comparing to Classification 7, the result is almost 5 additional hours per week.

This is the impact of self-management. It does not add to your funding; it just adds to what you get for the funding, because the agency margin is taken off the top of the hourly rate. A registered provider still retains all the funding and manages compliance, claims and payments. That is, you select your own support workers, and you and they agree on the rate.

It's not for all. It requires 30 to 45 minutes per week for some basic administration and an interest in participating in the selection of workers. Many Gold Coast arrangements are managed not by the person receiving care but by an adult son or daughter, and this is quite fine.

Five other ways to stretch a budget

  • Take advantage of clinical services to the fullest extent, these services are free. Nursing, physiotherapy, OT and podiatry cost you nothing and your contribution is not affected. During an OT home assessment, you may find changes that will decrease the number of hours you need to pay for.
  • Complete your means assessment so you are not charged at the maximum rates by default.
  • Keep an eye on the quarterly rollover. Underspending, above the cap, is not saving. It is lost funding.
  • Use the AT-HM stream for equipment, so walkers, rails and ramps don't run up your service budget.
  • Check the minimum shift length. Sometimes, restructuring when help arrives is the same support at a lower cost.

Support At Home Along The Gold Coast

The program is a nationally based program. Its market is the long, narrow city that lines sixty kilometres of coastline and has one of the highest numbers of pensioners in Queensland.

The Gold Coast is one of the fastest-growing areas in Queensland, and so too has the proportion of older people in the area increased. Many people who come here retire, and many are now in their seventies and eighties, for whom the retirement lifestyle matters greatly and who often do not live near their grown-up children.

That one fact has a significant impact on aged care here. Families are often arranging support from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. The informal support networks are less developed than in urban areas with three generations in a few suburbs. And the person being cared for is often not as socially connected as their postcode would indicate; a twenty-four storey apartment block two blocks from the beach can be a very lonely place at eighty-four.

It is also important to take into account the geography. The Gold Coast does not have a compact city with a centre; it is a long strip. A worker in Coomera and a client in Currumbin are the better part of an hour apart in traffic, and the reality of whether a provider has employees who live nearby is more significant here than anywhere else in Queensland.

A residential street on the Gold Coast
The availability of workers is quite different from the Gold Coast to the northern NSW border, and is the question to ask first.

How coverage varies along the coast

North corridor, Coomera, Pimpama, Ormeau, Upper Coomera. The city's fastest growing area, and the area where demand has been most outpaced by the local labour force. The more recently built suburbs and the younger population mean fewer support workers live locally. Be patient, and clearly inquire about travel fees.

Central, Southport, Labrador, Ashmore, Benowa, Bundall. The area with the most providers and the closest to Gold Coast University Hospital, this is the best-served part of the Gold Coast. If you are here, you can afford to shop around on price.

Central-south, Broadbeach, Mermaid Beach, Robina, Varsity Lakes, Burleigh Heads. Excellent coverage, high proportion of retired people and the most retirement villages and over-50s communities on the coast.

Southern end, Palm Beach, Currumbin, Tugun, Coolangatta, Bilinga. There's adequate coverage, but a smaller number of workers, and travel from the central Gold Coast starts to become a reality. Close to Tweed Heads provides some cross-border possibilities.

Hinterland, Nerang, Mudgeeraba, Tamborine Mountain, Springbrook, Canungra. That is where availability is the limiting factor. Winding roads, longer travel times and low density of workers mean that a provider providing coverage in the coastal strip may not have any true capacity up the range.

If you live in a retirement village

A large portion of older Gold Coasters live in retirement villages or over-50s communities, and there is ongoing confusion about the interplay between Support at Home and these villages.

The answer is no, it doesn't impact your Support at Home eligibility or funding. A retirement village is your home. You are evaluated, placed and financed just as you would be in a home in Ashmore. Your village operator is your landlord and, typically, may also provide some communal services, they are not your aged care provider unless you separately choose them. Here are two practical implications. First, you don't have to use the care provider your village recommends or has an arrangement with. You can choose your provider; villages sometimes present an in-house or preferred provider in a way that implies otherwise. Second, confirm what your village fees include and then don't pay for the same again, some village charges may include garden, maintenance or emergency call services which you may otherwise be paying for with your Support at Home budget.

Living near the border

The Gold Coast meets Tweed Heads, and thousands of families on the Gold Coast have care arrangements that span the state line.

The good news is that Support at Home is a Commonwealth program not dependent on borders. Your classification, budget and contribution rates remain the same whether you live in Coolangatta or Tweed Heads, and a worker can cross the border to support you without impacting your entitlement. The border has an impact on the actual market. Some of the providers are only available for one side and will reduce your choices if you accept it. If you reside at the southern end of the coast, ask explicitly if they serve both sides of the border, this will mean you have more workers available for your needs.

SouthportLabradorAshmoreBenowa BroadbeachMermaid BeachRobinaVarsity Lakes Burleigh HeadsPalm BeachCurrumbinTugun CoolangattaNerangMudgeerabaHelensvale CoomeraPimpamaOrmeauRunaway Bay Paradise PointHope IslandTamborine MountainOxenford

Wait times

Most Gold Coast families feel the system in the approval to funding gap. Waits nationally are typically 3-6 months and, depending on assessed priority and place availability, can be longer than this.

Two practical points. Don't wait until you really need it (the most frequent regret we hear is waiting until you are in a crisis, and that is particularly expensive here where your adult children are interstate and are not able to drop what they're doing). If funding is delayed after approval, ask about interim funding (which is 60 percent of your classification amount) until you receive it.

Why Gold Coast Is Different

60 km

The Gold Coast is a long stretch from Pimpama to the border, which makes worker location a significant factor here, more than in nearly any other place.

26

Queensland's home care admission rate per 1,000 Queenslanders aged 65 and over, the highest of any state or territory.

$78,106

maximum annual funding under Support at Home, approximately $16,000 above the old package ceiling.

How To Apply In Gold Coast

In order, 6 steps. The whole process runs through My Aged Care.

Contact My Aged Care

To use the eligibility checker, visit myagedcare.gov.au, or call 1800 200 422. Even if you're not sure you need help yet, do it anyway, as it's usually a lengthy process and the clock starts once you register.

Complete the assessment

A home assessor comes to your home. It typically takes 1 to 3 hours and focuses on how you do everyday tasks, how well you are able to move and whether you need any support to remain safely at home.

Receive your Notice of Decision

This will include your classification, quarterly budget, approved services and any short-term pathway approvals such as equipment funding or restorative care.

Complete your income and assets assessment

Through Services Australia. Skipping it means paying the highest contribution rate by default.

Choose a provider, and compare properly

Request a complete published price list, the minimum shift length, whether travel is charged, whether you will have a consistent worker and whether they support self-management. Answers are far more varied than the marketing.

Start services and watch the budget

Track your first month's quarterly spend. The rollover cap punishes underspending, and rectifying the course is easier in week 6 than week 12.

The most consequential advice on this page

Write about the most difficult day in an average week, rather than the easiest. The evaluations can frequently occur on a good morning. The person looks okay, family softens the picture to be protective, and a classification is given that is a reflection of a performance and not of a life. The family then lives on a budget that is not sufficient to meet its actual needs.

Estimate the amount of family support already provided. The facts that influence a classification are as follows: "My husband gets up four times a night" and "I have dropped to three days a week at work". Take written evidence with you from a GP or specialist if available.

Questions People Actually Ask

Is Support at Home available on the Gold Coast?

Yes. Support at Home is a national program that is run by the Australian Government and is the same throughout the Gold Coast, Queensland and Australia. Classification, budget and contribution rates are set nationally. What varies with the area you live in is the provider market, who the providers are around your suburb, how much they charge per hour, and how quickly they can get started.

Can I get Support at Home if I live in a Gold Coast retirement village?

Yes. Living in a retirement village does not affect your eligibility, classification or funding. Your village is your home for the purposes of the program. Importantly, you are not required to use a care provider recommended or preferred by your village, you have full choice of provider. It is worth checking what your village service fees already cover so you do not fund the same service twice.

I live near the NSW border, does that affect my funding?

No. Support at Home is a Commonwealth program, so your funding, classification and contribution rates are identical on either side of the Queensland–NSW border, and workers can cross the border to support you. What the border can affect is which providers operate where, so ask specifically whether a provider services both sides, it widens your pool of available workers considerably.

How long is the wait for Support at Home on the Gold Coast?

Wait times depend on your assessed priority and place availability, and nationally commonly run three to six months, sometimes longer. Queensland has the highest rate of home care admissions of any state or territory, so demand here is comparatively high. If your funding is delayed after approval, ask about interim funding at 60% of your classification amount.

What does care cost per hour on the Gold Coast?

Engaging support workers directly typically costs $40 to $65 an hour for personal care and domestic assistance, against roughly $65 to $85 an hour through a full-service agency. Weekend and public holiday loadings usually add 25 to 50 percent. Because price caps have been deferred, these rates vary between providers, comparing published price lists is your main protection.

How much is Support at Home funding in 2026?

There are eight ongoing classifications, ranging from about $10,731 a year at level 1 to about $78,106 at level 8. Funding is released quarterly and 10% of each quarterly budget is allocated to care management before services are purchased. Amounts are indexed every 1 July, so confirm current figures with My Aged Care.

Did Support at Home price caps start on 1 July 2026?

No. Price caps were legislated to begin on 1 July 2026 but were deferred in May 2026, and no new start date has been announced. Many websites still state that caps apply, they do not currently. Providers must still publish full price lists and cannot charge separate administration, entry or exit fees, and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission can order refunds where overcharging is found.

What happens to my Home Care Package?

If you were receiving a Home Care Package it transitioned automatically to Support at Home on 1 November 2025 with equivalent funding, and your care continued without a gap. Any unspent Home Care Package funds carried over in full and sit separately from your quarterly budget, with no carryover limit applying to them.

When does personal care become free?

From 1 October 2026, personal care, showering, dressing, grooming, continence assistance, is reclassified as a clinical support, making it fully government funded with no participant contribution for anyone within their allocated budget.

Am I eligible for Support at Home?

Generally you need to be aged 65 or over (50 or over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people), living at home rather than in residential aged care, an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and assessed through My Aged Care as needing support to keep living independently. Eligibility rests on assessed care needs, not on your income or assets.

What if I cannot afford my contributions?

Financial hardship assistance is available through Services Australia and can cover some or all of your contributions if you qualify. There is also a lifetime cap on total contributions. If cost is stopping you accessing care you genuinely need, raise it rather than going without.

Not Sure What Your Funding Will Actually Buy On The Gold Coast?

Every day we use Support at Home classifications and local hourly rates. Explain your classification and your needs to us, and we will let you know clearly what it covers, even if you might be better off elsewhere.

Call 1300 671 931

Monday to Friday. Free of charge and no strings attached.

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