Support at Home Staffing Margin Calculator for Providers

What Is the Support at Home Program?

The Support at Home program is Australia's unified aged care system for older people who want to keep living independently at home. It replaced the Home Care Packages (HCP) Program and Short-Term Restorative Care Programme on 1 November 2025. The program is administered by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.

Under Support at Home, each participant receives one of 8 funding classificationsfor ongoing services, determined by their aged care assessment. The classification framework improves upon the previous 4 Home Care Package levels by providing more granular funding aligned to clinical needs. The department analysed more than 22,000 assessments collected during the Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT) live trial conducted from April to July 2023 to inform the new framework.

In addition to the 8 ongoing classifications, Support at Home includes three short-term pathways: the Restorative Care Pathway (approximately $6,000 for up to 16 weeks), the End-of-Life Pathway (approximately $25,000 for 12 weeks, extendable to 16 weeks), and the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (AT-HM) Scheme (separate needs-based funding of $500 to $15,000+ for 12 months).

Source: Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing — Support at Home program. Information current as at July 2026.

Support at Home Classifications and Budgets (1 July 2026)

The following table shows the 8 ongoing Support at Home classifications with their quarterly and annual budgets, effective from 1 July 2026. These amounts include the 10% allocated for care management. Budgets are indexed on 1 July each year in line with indexation.

Source: Department of Health — Funding classifications for Support at Home. Current as of 1 July 2026. Funding amounts are indexed on 1 July each year.

Transitioned Home Care Package Recipients

Participants who transitioned from the Home Care Packages Program received a funding level equivalent to their previous HCP level. The following table shows the transitioned HCP classifications and their current budgets (as at 1 July 2026):

Source: Department of Health — Funding classifications for Support at Home. Current as of 1 July 2026.

How to Use This Support at Home Calculator

This calculator helps Support at Home providers estimate how many hours of care a participant's classification budget can fund, compare it against staffing costs, and see their potential margin. It's designed for registered aged care providers, care managers, and coordinators who need to understand funding and worker costs. Here's how to use it:

1. Select the Support at Home classification — choose the participant's classification (1-8) to see their quarterly and annual budget
2. Set the visit details — enter the hours per visit, visit frequency (1-7 visits per week), and day type (weekday, evening, night, Saturday, Sunday, public holiday)
3. Enter worker pay details — select the SCHADS classification level (Level 1.1 through Level 5.1) and employment type (permanent or casual). Check the on-costs box to include superannuation, workers compensation, and payroll tax
4. Set your charge rate — enter the hourly rate you charge the participant. There are no set price caps under Support at Home — providers set their own prices in agreement with participants
5. Review the results — the calculator shows the budget, hours of care it can fund, weekly and annual cost breakdown, and your provider margin as a dollar amount and percentage
6. Get a staffing quote — if you need staff for your Support at Home clients, click "Get a Staffing Quote" and we'll respond within 24 hours

SCHADS Award Pay Rates for Support at Home Workers (2026-27)

Support at Home workers delivering aged care personal care in a client's home are paid under the SCHADS Award (MA000100) Schedule F — Home Care Employees (Aged Care), which was introduced from 1 January 2025. This is a separate stream from the SACS rates used for NDIS workers, and reflects the Aged Care Work Value Case increases. The following table shows all 6 classification levels and their hourly rates from 1 July 2026. Casual rates include the 25% casual loading:

Source: Fair Work Ombudsman Pay Guide for MA000100, Schedule F — Home Care Employees (Aged Care), effective from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. Rates reflect the Aged Care Work Value Case increases. Saturday rates are 150% of base, Sunday 200%, public holidays 250%. Casual rates include 25% loading in lieu of paid leave. Afternoon shifts (finishing after 8pm Mon-Fri) add 12.5% and night shifts add 15%. These rates are different from SACS (Schedule B) and Home Care Disability (Schedule E) rates.

Worked Example: Classification 4 Mixed-Roster Margin

Here's a worked example for a Classification 4 participant with a typical mixed weekly roster — Monday, Wednesday, Friday (2 hours each weekday daytime) plus Saturday (1.5 hours) — using a casual Level 2 — Home carer worker, with weekday charge rate of $65/hr and weekend rate of $95/hr. On-costs (12% super + 3.5% WC/payroll tax = 15.5%) are included:

Over a full year (52 weeks), the annual projection is:

Note: In this example, the annual revenue ($27,690) slightly exceeds the usable budget ($27,421.66), creating a small shortfall of $268.34. In practice, the provider would either negotiate a slightly lower charge rate, reduce one visit, or absorb the difference from other participants' budgets. This illustrates why understanding the relationship between funding, staffing costs, and charge rates is critical for sustainable Support at Home service delivery.

Note: This is an illustrative example only. Actual margins vary based on worker level, shift type, charge rate, on-costs, and business overheads. The margin must cover coordination, training, insurance, administration, rent, software, and other business costs. Some providers also offer above-award pay to attract and retain quality workers, which reduces margin further.

What Does the Provider Margin Need to Cover?

Your provider margin isn't pure profit. It needs to cover all business overheads, including:

• Care management: assessment, care planning, coordination, monitoring, and review (10% of budget is allocated for this)
• Coordination and scheduling: rostering staff, managing shifts, handling cancellations
• Recruitment and onboarding: advertising, interviewing, police checks, reference checks, inductions
• Training and professional development: mandatory training, ongoing CPD
• Insurance: professional indemnity, public liability, workers compensation
• Administration: invoicing, compliance, reporting
• Technology and software: rostering systems, CRM, accounting software
• Office and equipment: rent, utilities, phones, computers, uniforms
• Compliance and quality: Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission audits, quality assurance

Support at Home vs Home Care Packages: Key Differences

The Support at Home program introduced several changes from the previous Home Care Packages system. Understanding these differences is important for providers transitioning to the new program:

Steps to Consider When Pricing Your Support at Home Services

Setting the right price for your Support at Home services involves balancing what the participant's budget can afford, what you pay your workers, and what covers your business overheads. Here are some steps to consider:

• Check the classification budget using the calculator above to see how many hours of care the participant can afford
• Calculate your total worker cost including base pay, penalties, and on-costs (superannuation, workers comp, payroll tax)
• Factor in the 10% care management deduction — this is mandatory and reduces the funds available for direct care
• Consider visit frequency and duration — longer, fewer visits typically convert more of the budget into care time
• Factor in overheads such as coordination, training, insurance, administration, and travel time
• Consider weekend and public holiday rates — SCHADS penalty rates significantly increase worker costs on these days
• Review annually — both Support at Home budgets and SCHADS rates change on 1 July each year
• Consider above-award pay — paying above the SCHADS minimum can help attract and retain quality workers, but reduces your margin

This is general information only, not legal or financial advice. Consider consulting a qualified workplace advisor, accountant, or the Department of Health for guidance specific to your business.

Who Is This Calculator For?

This Support at Home Staffing Margin Calculator is designed for:

• Registered aged care providers delivering Support at Home services who want to understand their funding and margins
• Care managers who need to plan services within a participant's quarterly budget
• New providers considering entering the Support at Home market and wanting to understand the economics
• Existing providers transitioning from Home Care Packages to Support at Home
• Support coordinators who help participants understand what services they can afford
• Aged care workers who want to understand their award entitlements

Frequently Asked Questions