What Aged Care Support Is Available for Your Parents in Australia? From Help at Home to Residential Aged Care

Older parents do not have only two choices: manage alone at home, or move into an aged care home. Australia’s government-subsidised aged care system includes help with everyday tasks, ongoing support at home, restorative care, respite, transition care and residential aged care. The useful first step is to understand what kind of help your parent needs now.

Many Chinese Australian families first encounter aged care because something has changed. Mum is no longer comfortable doing the grocery shopping. Dad is unsteady in the shower and the family worries about falls. Your parents can still live at home, but cooking, cleaning, medicines and medical appointments are increasingly dependent on adult children. Or a hospital admission makes everyone ask: can they really return home and live as before?

It can feel as though there are only two options: keep relying on family, or consider an aged care home. In fact, there are many layers of support in between. My Aged Care is not simply an aged care home application service. It is the main entry point for government-funded aged care: learn about options, have an assessment, find a provider and begin services.

Before trying to memorise programme names, ask one question: what does Mum or Dad need help with now? If they manage most things but a few tasks are becoming difficult, CHSP may be relevant. If they need more ongoing help at home, consider Support at Home. A recent loss of function may point to Restorative Care. Equipment or home changes may make home safer. Families may need respite; people leaving hospital may need Transition Care; and some people at the end of life may prefer to remain at home. Residential Aged Care is usually considered when home is no longer safe even with support.

This is more useful than starting with acronyms. The practical question is not, “Which programme does my parent fit into?” It is, “Which parts of everyday life can they no longer manage as easily as before?”

CHSP stands for the Commonwealth Home Support Programme. You can think of it as entry-level support at home. It suits people who are still fairly independent but need help with one or two everyday tasks. For example, Mum may manage well but no longer find vacuuming or mopping easy. Dad may look after himself but no longer drive and need transport support. Other help can include meals, shopping or social support.

My Aged Care describes CHSP as entry-level care that helps people who need low-level support remain living safely and independently at home. It is commonly used when only one or two basic services are needed. CHSP has been extended until 30 June 2029.

If the situation is more than arranging an occasional cleaner, Support at Home may be relevant. From 1 November 2025, Support at Home replaced the former Home Care Packages Program and Short-Term Restorative Care Programme. If you still hear people refer to Home Care Package Levels 1–4, that is language from the previous framework.

Support at Home is for people who need more regular, coordinated or complex help at home. Depending on their needs, this may include nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, personal care, transport, shopping, cleaning, gardening, meal preparation and social support. There are eight ongoing classifications as well as short-term support pathways.

Put simply, CHSP is closer to “I need a little help with a few things.” Support at Home is closer to “I want to stay at home, but I now need a more complete support system.”

Restorative Care is easy to confuse with long-term home care. Imagine Dad’s walking has become noticeably worse after a fall, but his doctor and care team think he may regain some ability. The focus may not be arranging permanent help with everything; it may be using physiotherapy, occupational therapy, nursing and coordinated support to help him rebuild function.

The Support at Home Restorative Care Pathway is designed for this situation. It uses short-term allied health and nursing support to help older people improve function and maintain independence. Aged care is not only about doing tasks for someone; where possible, it is also about helping them continue to do what they can.

4. An unsafe home does not automatically mean an aged care home

Sometimes the biggest problem is the environment: showering is becoming unsteady, getting out of bed is difficult, there are steps at the entrance, or the bathroom was never designed for reduced mobility. The answer may be Assistive Technology and Home Modifications, known as AT-HM, rather than moving out.

Following assessment and approval, this can include walking frames, wheelchairs, shower chairs, grab rails, ramps and stair lifts. AT-HM sits within Support at Home. If your parent says, “I do not want to go into an aged care home; I want to stay in my own home,” do not assume that is unrealistic. First ask whether the home can be made safer.

This is especially important for women in midlife. Many people feel that because these are their parents, they should keep caring no matter what. Eventually, the carer becomes unwell too. Respite Care exists so both the older person and their carer can have a short break.

Respite is not simply “sending someone to an aged care home”. It can be provided at home, in the community or in an aged care home, for hours, days or weeks. If the main carer is suddenly in hospital, ill or dealing with an emergency, emergency respite may be available through Carer Gateway on 1800 422

737. Asking for respite is not a failure of filial care; it can help family care remain sustainable.

An older person may have been managing reasonably well before pneumonia, a fracture, surgery or another illness, then become very weak after hospital. Families often worry when discharge is approaching but they do not know how the person will manage at home.

Transition Care may be relevant. It provides short-term care and rehabilitation after hospital, with the aim of helping the person regain function, confidence and independence rather than moving straight into permanent residential care after one admission. It may be provided at home, in the community or in a residential setting. If your parent is in hospital, discuss this with the hospital team before discharge.

7. At the end of life, staying at home may still be possible

Support at Home also includes an End-of-Life Pathway. For eligible people expected to have around three months or less to live and who want to remain at home, it can provide higher-priority support alongside state or territory palliative care services. Aged care is not only about deciding where someone goes; it is also about respecting how they want to live, including in the final stage of life.

Residential Aged Care is what many people mean by an aged care home. It is usually considered when, even with family assistance and services at home, a person can no longer live safely and sustainably at home. They may need around-the-clock support, while personal care, mobility, medicines and clinical care are becoming increasingly complex.

An aged care home can provide accommodation, meals, cleaning and laundry, as well as personal care, nursing and clinical or allied health services as needed. It is more useful to ask, “Can this home environment and the support available still safely meet their care needs?” than to frame it as children being unwilling to care for a parent.

So where do you start?

If you are still unsure which type of support fits, that is normal. You do not have to decide on your own. The starting point is a My Aged Care assessment. Eligibility and service types are assessed based on age, practical needs and personal circumstances. In general, people aged 65 and over who are experiencing changes in daily function, memory, mobility or family care arrangements may benefit from finding out about an assessment. The usual age threshold is lower for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

You only need to begin with: “What has become harder for Mum or Dad than it used to be?” The assessment helps translate those changes into possible services.

Is My Aged Care free?

Government-subsidised does not mean completely free. What someone pays can depend on the service type, provider, services used and, in some programmes, income and assets. CHSP commonly involves a provider contribution rather than the full cost. Support at Home contributions vary by service category and financial situation. Residential Aged Care has separate fees and accommodation rules. Do not let fee tables stop you at the beginning: first understand the support your parent needs, then look at costs.

A note about NDIS

NDIS and My Aged Care are different systems. NDIS is primarily for eligible disability support. To become a new NDIS participant, a person must be under 65 on the day they apply. If someone entered the NDIS before 65, their later options can be more complex; they do not automatically move to My Aged Care at their birthday. This will be explored separately in the series.

Liora summary

If you remember one thing from this article, let it be this: needing aged care support does not automatically mean moving into an aged care home. Australia has many layers of support between a little help with housework or transport and Residential Aged Care. Start by looking at what is becoming difficult, then use a My Aged Care assessment to identify appropriate support.

This article provides general health and aged care education to help families understand the Australian aged care system. It is not individual medical, legal, financial or aged care eligibility advice. Eligibility, service approval and fees depend on My Aged Care, Services Australia, the NDIS and relevant official assessments.