More Home Care Packages fast-tracked
Delivery of 20,000 packages well under way before Support at Home launch date, says Minister.
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The Federal Government is well on its way to delivering an extra 20,000 Home Care Packages before the once-in-a-generation reforms commence on 1 November 2025, with many of the promised packages already in the hands of older Australians.
Minister for Aged Care and Seniors, Sam Rae, said that, as of Monday 6 October, 6,665 packages had been allocated, and releases later last week were expected to take that number to half of the additional 20,000 packages.
Mr Rae said the remaining packages are on track for allocation before the Home Care Packages program transitions to the new Support at Home program on 1 November.
Demand for in-home care has more than doubled in the past five years, with an anticipated 320,000 people to have a Home Care Package allocation by 31 October 2025, compared to around 155,000 in 2020.
In the coming weeks, the Federal Government will continue to release even more new Home Care Packages to meet this unprecedented demand and get more care to the older Australians who need it most.
This batch of 20,000 Home Care Packages is just the start. An additional 63,000 Support at Home places will be made available by 30 June 2026.
Packages will continue to be released on a weekly basis in line with the National Priority System which allocates care on an individual needs basis.
Every person identified as high priority and requiring urgent support will continue to receive their package within one month, Mr Rae said.
He said the government was “responding to the growing demand for in-home care by delivering once-in-a-generation reforms that will deliver better aged care to more older Australians”.
“Older Australians deserve the care these packages will deliver and we’re proud to be getting more care to more people, even faster,” he said.
Mr Rae said delivery of these packages “means more older Australians will get the care they need, when they need it, taking pressure off our hospital system and giving so many the world-class care they deserve in the places they love”.
For more information about the Support at Home and Home Care Packages programs, visit the My Aged Care website.
