Personal care, help with showering, dressing, grooming and staying continent, is among the most essential and most used of all aged care services. It’s also one where the cost is about to change significantly. From 1 October 2026, personal care under Support at Home becomes fully funded. Understanding how these contributions work, and what’s changing, helps you know exactly what you should pay. Here’s the plain-language guide.
What Personal Care Actually Covers
Personal care is the hands-on help with daily living that many older Australians need to stay safely and comfortably at home. It includes assistance with bathing and showering, dressing and grooming, toileting and continence, and mobility around the home.
For many people, this is the difference between managing at home and not, which is exactly why how it’s funded matters so much. It’s dignity-preserving, everyday support, not a luxury.
How Contributions Have Worked
Under Support at Home, services fall into contribution categories, and what you pay depends on which category a service sits in and on your means. Personal care has, until now, sat in the “independence” category, meaning participants contributed toward it based on a means assessment conducted by Services Australia.
That’s why two people could pay different amounts for the same help: their means differ. Full pensioners contributed a smaller share, while self-funded retirees contributed considerably more, up to around half the cost of some independence-category services.
What Changes on 1 October
Here’s the key change. From 1 October 2026, personal care moves from the “independence” category into the “clinical supports” category. Because clinical supports are fully government-funded, with no participant contribution, personal care becomes free for eligible participants, regardless of means.
The reasoning is a deliberate principle: the most fundamental, dignity-preserving care shouldn’t depend on what someone can afford to pay. Clinical care such as nursing was already fully funded; from October, personal care joins it.
Who Benefits Most
Everyone eligible benefits, but the size of the benefit varies. Because self-funded retirees have been contributing more toward personal care, they see the largest dollar saving when it becomes free. Full pensioners, who contributed less, save less in absolute terms but still benefit.
If the personal-care co-payment has been a genuine barrier, someone rationing showers or help they need because the contribution stretched their budget, that barrier lifts entirely from October. It may be worth revisiting your hours once it does.
What You Need to Do
Reassuringly, nothing. There’s no form, no application, no eligibility test. If you receive personal care under Support at Home, the change applies automatically from 1 October. Your services continue exactly as they are, same provider, same schedule; only the cost on your statement changes.
Your provider may contact you beforehand to update your service agreement to reflect the new arrangement. That’s routine, but read anything you’re asked to sign rather than signing on the spot. And be alert that periods of change are when scams circulate, the government and My Aged Care will never phone asking for bank details to “process” this.
The Fine Print
Two important details. The change isn’t retrospective, you keep paying any personal-care contributions right up until 1 October, with no refunds for payments made before then. And it applies specifically to personal care; other services like domestic assistance, gardening and some social supports still carry means-tested contributions. So October expands the fully-funded core, it doesn’t make everything free.
What to Check on Your Statement
Three practical steps. Before October, check your current statement to see exactly what you’re paying for personal care, so you know what you’ll save. If the co-payment has limited the help you accept, plan to revisit your hours once it’s free. And after October, check your statement to confirm the personal-care charge has genuinely disappeared, because errors happen and you’re the person most likely to catch one. Details and official webinars are on the My Aged Care news page.
The Bottom Line
Personal care is essential, everyday support, and from 1 October it becomes free for eligible Support at Home participants as it moves into the clinical supports category. Everyone eligible benefits, with self-funded retirees saving the most. You pay until then with no refunds, other services still carry contributions, and there’s nothing to apply for. Just read what your provider sends, and check your October statement to confirm the change landed. This is general information, not aged care, medical or financial advice.
Epik Wire covers aged care in plain language for older Australians and their families. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed.
