Support at Home pricing: Are pricing recommendations on the way?

When the Department of Health and Aged Care released new insights into Support at Home pricing through new resources such as the summary of indicative prices, there were lingering questions amongst the sector.

This includes when providers can expect to see concrete service pricing recommendations. Hint: Price caps may not be implemented all at once. More on that later. 

Initially, the department uploaded, removed and reuploaded the Summary of indicative Support at Home prices document within hours of publication. This move attracted plenty of attention from keen observers who wondered whether something had been missed or incorrectly included. 

Ultimately, it was neither, as a spokesperson for the department told Hello Leaders, “The Summary of indicative Support at Home prices was updated to ensure that the indicative prices referenced were not interpreted as the participant co-contribution amount.”

An excerpt of the updated text is as follow:

This is a summary of indicative prices providers may charge for Support at Home services, not the co-contribution to be made by individual participants. The co-contribution to prices that an individual pays will depend on the service category and an individual’s means assessment/status. Importantly, no one will pay any co-contributions for clinical care services. A calculator, to be published shortly, will assist consumers to estimate their co-contributions. 

Some questions over the pricing’s relevancy were also raised. Over 300 Home Care Package (HCP) providers responded to the survey, representing over a third of all eligible providers. This is a significant portion of the HCP cohort. 

However, the data has been presented in a way that simply states a national median price, lower range and upper range for unit prices linked to services such as a registered nurse, podiatrist, care management, or meal delivery. 

There is no additional breakdown of how these prices relate to a provider’s location, size or client base. 

With over one third of all HCP providers included, the department is confident that the prices capture those variables well.

“Statistical analysis concluded that the response sample was additionally representative of the broader population of providers. The document only includes indicative prices for services where a statistically valid sample was recorded in the survey,” the spokesperson stated.

Providers can expect to receive more detailed information in the coming months based on critical location data reported by providers through My Aged Care.  

“The prices shown in the table are representative of prices for services delivered across metropolitan, rural, and regional areas. From July 2025, the department intends to publish pricing data for providers by their Modified Monash Model (MMM) region, similar to the way that Home Care Package prices are published on the National Summary of Home Care Package Prices,” the spokesperson added. 

Following the release of indicative pricing based on MMM regions, providers can also expect tangible government pricing recommendations at some stage over the next 12 months.

Under the Support at Home program, providers will continue to set their own prices for services until July 1, 2026. This process is no different to what is currently occurring under the HCP program. 

From mid 2026, price caps will be set, informed by advice from the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA). 

By publishing indicative pricing that older people, their families, carers and advocates can see now, “The Department of Health and Aged Care and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission will ensure that these prices are reasonable and transparent.”

Yet this is where it gets interesting. The department spokesperson also told Hello Leaders that “The government is staging the introduction of price caps on services in the new Support at Home program.” 

There is no concrete information around that process, but it is likely that the department, Commission and IHACPA will all be watching what prices Support at Home providers set in the second half of 2025. 

The prices set will also have notable differences to the published indicative prices as they must incorporate overheads such as package management, transport and a margin to cover the cost of capital used in delivering the service.  

The department provided more information on this in its Guidance for setting Support at Home price. You can visit the department’s website to view all of the Support at Home pricing resources.