Aussies don’t have to battle alone: Home support for seniors

Older Australian man holds groceries next to a giant helping hand

Written by James Jennings for Australian Seniors

Australians are proud of the Aussie battler archetype – the person who ‘makes a go of it’ despite the obstacles. Their prevailing traits of working hard, quiet determination and resilience in the face of adversity are all admirable, but it’s also resulted in a post-war generation of older Australians who have a ‘don’t make a fuss’ mindset.

This means they’re less likely to ask for help when they need it and are more likely to dismiss offers of assistance, even when it makes ageing at home far easier. Patricia Sparrow, CEO of Council on the Ageing (COTA), says that older Australians’ reluctance to ask for help is a common reaction when their ability to remain fully independent is called into question.

“We all like to be as independent for as long as we can be, so putting your hand up to say that you need help can be hard for people,” Patricia says.

“There are supports to help people stay at home, but the idea behind them is that they help you to maintain your independence.

“I think when people think about aged care, they mostly think about residential care or going into a nursing home. They usually don’t know enough about those things and that you can actually get support to help you to stay living independently at home.”

Patricia recommends registering with My Aged Care for an assessment to ascertain what support you’re eligible for, with two main forms being available: the Support at Home program (which replaced Home Care Packages and Short-Term Restorative Care on 1 November 2025), and the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP), which will be integrated into the Support at Home program in 2027.

“The CHSP offers more base-level, locally based support if you need a little bit of help with things like cleaning and gardening or community transport,” Patricia shares.

“The Support at Home program provides a package, so you might be getting three or four different things to help you stay at home. You get an annual budget that’s allocated to you, then you work with your service provider to go through what sorts of supports you need and how they can provide it.”

New home support options from the government

The Support at Home program offers eight budget levels (the top level is $78,000). Two short-term care pathways have also been introduced:

Restorative Care if you’ve had a setback caused by an illness or an injury, and an;
End-of-Life package (up to $25,000) for those who want to die at home.

“They have also introduced some funding for home modifications and assistive technology,” Patricia adds. This is the third short-term pathway: Assistive Technology & Home Modifications (AT-HM).

Currently, funding is available for wheelchairs and other aids that can help you stay mobile at home, as well as for home modifications like rails and ramps. This support is assessed based on individual needs, with funding provided across different levels – ranging from smaller amounts for basic equipment through to higher levels (around $15,000 or more) for more complex assistive technology or modifications.

“The other thing that’s changed is the co-contribution arrangements where people are asked to financially contribute. The government pays the full cost for everybody, regardless of their income, for clinical care services like nursing and allied health, and then people are asked to pay scaled co-contributions for other types of services based on their income. An assessment is done by Services Australia and how much it will cost you will depend on your personal financial circumstances.

“There’s a group of services called ‘Independence’, and that might include things like showering. The other category is called ‘Everyday living’, and that’s things like cleaning and gardening, and people are asked to pay a percentage amount within those.

“If you look on My Aged Care, there is a fact sheet that will tell you more about the services under each type and what the percentage of co-contribution might be. It’s also worth noting there’s a $130,000 lifetime cap, and after that the government picks up all the cost,” Patricia says.

Be sure to start the application process early

There can be significant wait times for packages, so Patricia recommends getting assessed as soon as possible. “The Australian government has committed to releasing 83,000 new home care packages, which will help, but you do have a lot of people waiting for packages or an assessment,” she says.

“Some people have been waiting for months, some over a year, and that’s why it’s good to have a conversation as early as you can because if you wait till you really need it and there’s a wait, you can sometimes not get the services you need.”

Community support

For First Nations people, culturally and linguistically diverse people, and those from regional areas – Professor Tracy Comans, director at National Ageing Research Institute (NARI) – says there are various systems in place to help them find support.

“There’s the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program, which funds culturally safe aged care services,” she says.

“For culturally and linguistically diverse communities, it just depends. In Melbourne, for example, there’s a health service set up for the Greek community and they have their own nursing home. I know there’s a Chinese community one in Brisbane. It just depends on the area, but in the cities, you will find that there are tailored services where there’s a large community.

“There’s also been a focus on catering for regional people who may not have services nearby. When you get to small rural towns, you’ll find that it tends to be more government provided, whereas in the cities you get a lot of for-profit and not-for-profit providers. When a place is smaller, the services will often be attached to the hospital or the health service clinic. But those services are actually very good – when we look at the national data in terms of quality and star ratings, those services actually perform better than the city services.”

How to discuss getting support for older Australians

Professor Comans says that discussing help with an older person can often be difficult, and warns not to expect instant results. “You may just say, ‘how are things going? how are you managing this particular task?’ then you may leave it for a few weeks and come back and say, ‘have you thought more about how you’re going to manage X, Y, and Z? Is there anything that might help with that?’ I think it’s worth introducing it slowly and letting them sit with it, because you often get resistance straight away.”

Craig Gear, CEO of OPAN (Older Persons Advocacy Network), agrees that older Australians can be resistant to asking for help. “I do often hear that people say, ‘I don’t want someone coming into my home, and I don’t want to actually admit that it’s got to the point where I need assistance’,” he says.

“What I do to encourage people is I talk about the word independence. ‘Do you want to stay independent?’ And I always get, 100%, ‘Yes, I want to stay living in my own home and stay connected to my community’.”

Craig recommends reminding older loved ones that they’re still in control of making their own decisions. “Talk about the risks and benefits. ‘If you want to stay at home, sometimes you need a bit of support to keep you living independently, and that’s what we’re trying to facilitate here. So how do you want those supports delivered? Who do you want to partner with you to deliver that care and support, and how do we keep you independent and being able to keep making those decisions about where you live and your lifestyle choices?’ Because every older person has the right to make those choices and do what’s best for them.”

Practical resources: Expert advice on where to get help

Professor Tracy Comans, NARI: “Look at the government’s My Aged Care website. That’s where you’ll be able to find a whole range of information, both on support at home and also residential care services. There’s also a phone number if you don’t want to do online forms – they will talk you through the options.”

You can call 1800 200 422.

Craig Gear, OPAN: “If people need help understanding their co-contribution fees to services and understanding the price structure which is being set by the providers, they should come to OPAN. We can explain everything to them through our independent aged care advocates. You can go to our website and have a look at our self-advocacy toolkit, and that steps you through information about how these programs work. It helps people think about what they might need 12 or 36 months ahead so they can continue to live independently and make their own decisions.”

You can call 1800 700 600.

The government has set up a website to explain the Support at Home program, the Commonwealth Home Support Program and more.

Managing nutrition and diet

Dr Karly Bartrim, lecturer in nutrition and dietetics at the University of Queensland, explains the fresh and frozen ready-meal options available for older people.

“There are a variety of meal providers out there that support older adults to continue to receive food and remain more independent. There’s support available through Support at Home packages, depending on what level of care people receive. That will be subsidised, and co-contributions may be required depending on the level of care.

Meals on Wheels plays an important role for older Australians. They’re great because they’re really well set up to ensure they’re also checking on and supporting older adults. But there’s a number of other meal providers out there now, which brings more variety to meet people’s different needs. It really depends on the preferences of the person, their nutritional needs, things like delivery, and how many meals they’re ordering. If you’re having to store meals for over a week, that would require a bit of fridge space, but some might do it just a couple of times per week.

Meal kits from companies like HelloFresh and Marly Spoon can also be great, particularly for those individuals who might be wanting to learn new skills or try new cuisines. From a convenience point of view, it’s quite good in terms of making sure that everything comes ready, and wastage is minimised.

Everyone’s different in terms of individual nutritional requirements, but overall, they’re a pretty good option, particularly if older adults are still wanting to have a freedom of choice and variety in their diet.

There are so many options out there to choose from, which is good, but work with a dietitian to make sure that what you’re picking is right for your needs.”

27 May 2026