08 Sep Personal Care Services – the wait for a bath is almost over..
In April, the Australian Government realised that personal care is an essential service that supports a person’s health, dignity and independence. But your clients have had to wait until the 1st of October for approved Personal Care services to be fully funded for eligible Support at Home participants.
Personal Care services include support with activities such as:
- showering
- non-clinical continence management
- dressing
- eating
- personal hygiene
- assistance with self-administration of medication.
From 1 October 2026, these services will fall under the Clinical supports category of the Support at Home program which have no associated client contribution. The Australian Government will cover the full cost.
What does this mean for providers?
It means a lot.
Moving Personal Care into the Clinical category for client contributions may mean that your clients will choose to have a regular shower, so they feel fresh and ready for the day. They will no longer be out of pocket for this basic human need.
Given there is no longer a passive income stream for providers (set % Care and Package Management fees under the HCP program), you now have the opportunity to increase the rate of package utilisation through increased delivery of Personal Care services without the barrier of clients being unable to afford the client contribution.
The StewartBrown report into the first 6 months of Support at Home noted a 10% drop in package utilisation. Now you can turn this around.
What else do I need to know?
- The service type remains Personal Care SERT-0008
- The Business Service IDs remain the same- these are the three claiming codes impacted by this change –
- SERV-0020 -Assistance with self-care and activities of daily living
- SERV-0021 – Assistance with the self-administration of medication
- SERV-0022 – Continence Management (non-clinical)
- The definition and scope of personal care do not change.
- Personal care can still be delivered by personal care workers.
- There are no changes to workforce roles, qualifications or delivery models.
- What changes is the participant contribution category.
But remember that –
Your client must still be approved for Personal Care in their Support Plan (or be a transitioned HCP client)
They need to have sufficient available Support at Home funding.
What do I need to do?
Here is a checklist so you are ready to make the most of this decision-
1. Review your client list and ascertain who has Personal Care as an approved service
2. Request a Support Plan Review for clients who do not have Personal Care as an approved service and now require it due to increased needs. And remind your care team to do this ongoing.
3. Advise all clients of the removal of client contributions for Personal Care in all interactions – newsletter, email, flyer, via staff and managers and keep repeating the message across platforms. Here is a government-produced easy read guide.
4. Review client Care Plans to update the services they require
5. Revise client budgets to ensure clients have the right balance of care supports the package can afford considering all service categories where contributions still apply – Independence and Everyday services
6. Update Service Agreements for clients choosing to receive additional Personal Care
4. Check your admin systems are ready for the change as the removal of client contributions for Personal Care impacts –
- Claiming – there is no change to the codes but these 3 Personal Care codes will have no client contribution applied – SERV-0020, SERV-0021 and SERV-0022
- Client Statements – there should be a $0 contribution showing on the Client statement
- Budget- ensure your budget tool shows the burn down of a client’s package for the Support at Home quarter including what the client will be expected to pay in contributions for all services. The budget needs to calculate for all planned services – whether they are allocated on the roster or not. And your system’s budget tool needs to “know” there are no longer client contributions against those three Personal Care service codes
- Services Australia payment statement – check the payment statement after claiming to ensure services claimed under the 3 Personal Care codes involved are receiving the total entitlement. I don’t know about you, but we have found errors at Services Australia.
And anything else?
Transitioned and Grandfathered clients are going to keep coming through the system. As a reminder –
- Anyone who was approved for an HCP package prior to 24/09/2024 is considered Grandfathered – no fees under Support at Home (unless they were assessed as paying an Income Tested Care fee- in which case that amount remains capped)
- A client approved for an HCP package after 24/09/2024 and before 1/11/2025 is Transitioned – they need to pay fees under Support at Home
Participants who transitioned from the former Home Care Packages program into Support at Home with a Level 1–4 package have automatic approval to access all eligible service types across the Support at Home service categories until they are reassessed into a new Support at Home level.
This means that if your “old” HCP clients would like to start or increase Personal Care services from 1 October 2026, you can –
- Update the Care Plan
- Revise the Service Agreement,
- Check the client has sufficient funding in either their Quarterly Support at Home allocation or their HCP Unspent funds and that the service mix is right for their budget
If your Transitioned clients were paying a client contribution for Personal Care, this will no longer apply.
For your Grandfathered clients, those paying an Income Tested Care fee under the HCP program will no longer have Personal Care included in the make-up of that fee- so they may be less likely to reach their cap.