My Aged Care Support at Home Levels 1–8 Explained: A Simple Guide for Australian Families

If you've just heard the words "Support at Home" and your mind went completely blank — you are not alone. Australia overhauled its entire aged care system in 2025, and if you're trying to figure out what it actually means for your mum or dad, this is your plain-English starting point.

I remember the first time a My Aged Care operator mentioned "levels" to me. I had no idea what she was talking about. The old system had four Home Care Package levels. Now there are eight. The paperwork looks different. The language has changed. And nobody seems to explain it in a way that makes sense when you're already exhausted and overwhelmed.

So let me break it down for you — the way I wish someone had broken it down for me.

What is Support at Home?

Support at Home is the Australian Government's aged care program designed to help older people remain living at home for as long as it is safe to do so. It replaced the previous Home Care Packages system from November 2025.

Instead of four levels of support, there are now eight levels — based on how much assistance a person genuinely needs in daily life. Think of it as a care scale:

• Level 1 = low support needs (occasional help)
• Level 8 = high and complex care needs (daily, intensive support)

The higher the level, the more funding is allocated and the more services can be provided.

The 8 Levels Explained Simply

Levels 1–2: Low Support Needs

Occasional help to stay independent

This level is for people who are mostly managing on their own but could use a little light support. They're still independent in most areas — they just need a helping hand every now and then.

Typical services at this level may include:

• Basic household cleaning
• Light home support and maintenance
• Occasional transport assistance
• Social support services

Levels 3–4: Moderate Support Needs

Regular help is starting to become necessary

This is often the point where families start to notice things are slipping. Daily tasks are becoming more difficult and the gap between what your parent can manage and what they need to manage safely is starting to widen.

Typical services at this level may include:

• Regular cleaning and meal preparation support
• Help with showering or dressing
• Transport to medical appointments
• Basic personal care assistance

If you've been quietly filling those gaps yourself — the shopping, the cooking, the driving — this is the level that can start to genuinely take that off your plate.

Levels 5–6: High Support Needs

Daily support is required

At this point, your parent likely needs help most days — not just occasionally. Support needs to be consistent and structured for them to remain safely at home.

Typical services at this level may include:

• Daily personal care (showering, grooming, dressing)
• Medication support and monitoring
• Regular nursing visits
• Mobility assistance
• Coordinated care planning across multiple services

This is where having a good provider who truly coordinates care (rather than just scheduling visits) makes an enormous difference.

Levels 7–8: Complex Care Needs

High-level, intensive ongoing care at home

This is the highest level of home-based support. At this stage, care needs are significant and ongoing — often requiring multiple visits per day and coordination across health and personal care.

Typical services at this level may include:

• Multiple care visits throughout the day
• Complex nursing care and wound management
• Intensive personal assistance
• Advanced mobility and transfer support
• Coordinated multi-service care management

At this level, families often begin to have honest conversations about whether residential care may eventually be the safer option. That doesn't have to happen right away — but it's worth understanding the landscape.

One Important Thing: You Don't Choose the Level

This is the part that surprises a lot of families. You cannot apply for a specific level — and you can't lobby for a higher one just because it sounds better.

Here's how it actually works:

1. You apply through My Aged Care (1800 200 422)
2. An ACAT assessment is completed by a health professional who visits your parent
3. The assessor determines the level based on their actual health and care needs

The assessor looks at: health conditions and medical needs, mobility and fall risk, cognitive function and memory and how well they can manage the tasks of daily living. This is why it's so important to be honest during that assessment — not to make things sound worse than they are, but to accurately describe what a difficult day actually looks like. The government funds "bad day" needs, not "best day" performance.

I wrote a whole article about this — it's one of the most common places families trip up. Read my ACAT Assessments guide here.

What About the Cost? What Will My Parent Contribute?

Under the Support at Home program, what your parent contributes is based on a means-tested system — it's not a fixed percentage that applies to everyone. Their individual contribution depends on their financial situation and the type of services they use.

How the means test works

Services Australia (Centrelink) looks at:

• Income — Age Pension, superannuation income, rental income, investments
• Assets — savings, shares, investment properties, and other financial assets

The family home is often treated differently, depending on individual circumstances and exemptions — so it's worth getting proper advice before assuming how it will be counted.

Which services cost more?

The type of care matters too:

• Clinical care (nursing, medication management, allied health like physio) — typically heavily subsidised or fully government funded
• Personal care (showering, dressing, grooming) — may involve a moderate contribution depending on the means assessment
• Everyday living support (cleaning, gardening, domestic help) — more likely to involve higher contributions if income or assets are above certain thresholds

In simple terms: the more help you need medically, the more the government covers. The more domestic the support, the more likely there's a partial contribution.

Importantly — the system does not exclude people based on income. If your parent has low income and few assets, they may pay very little or nothing for certain services. If they have higher income or assets, their contribution will reflect that.

Important: If the means test is not completed, your parent may be charged the maximum contribution rate. So while it feels like yet another form to fill in, it's worth doing as early as possible.

What Most Families Don't Realise

From the families I've connected with through this community, there are a few things that come up again and again:

• The process takes longer than you'd expect. Even with urgent approval, getting services fully in place can take weeks. Starting early — before a crisis — makes a huge difference.
• Needs often change faster than the paperwork does. Your parent might be assessed at Level 3 today and need a review in six months. You can request a reassessment if their needs have significantly increased.
• The system is designed to be flexible. Services can be adjusted as needs change — it's not locked in forever.
• You can get interim support while waiting. Through the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP), some basic services can often start faster while you're waiting for full package approval.

A Simple Summary

I know this is a lot to take in. So here it is, as simply as I can put it:

• Support at Home is the new Australian government aged care program (from 2025), replacing Home Care Packages
• There are 8 levels of support — Level 1 is light support, Level 8 is complex daily care
• An assessment determines the level — you don't choose it yourself
• Contributions are means-tested — based on income and assets, not a flat fee
• Clinical care is heavily subsidised; personal and domestic support may involve a contribution
• Starting the process early — before a crisis — is always the better path

The system is genuinely complicated. It's okay if it takes time to understand. You're not behind — you're learning as you go, just like every other family navigating this. And that's exactly what this space is here for.

I'm here to support you.
Much love,
xBec