The Commonwealth Home Support Program will remain a standalone scheme until at least mid-2029, as the government bows to pressure from providers, advocates and a Senate inquiry over the future of entry-level aged care.
The federal government has abandoned plans to fold the Commonwealth Home Support Program into Support at Home, extending the standalone scheme for another two years while it consults on its long-term future.
Federal health and ageing minister Mark Butler announced today that the CHSP would continue until 30 June, 2029, providing certainty for about 830,000 older Australians and 1300 providers.
Professor Kathy Eagar, cofounder of the CHSP Alliance, said the decision was “excellent, albeit long overdue”.
“The CHSP Alliance is delighted that the government has listened to us and expects to be fully engaged in the process of planning for a stronger and invigorated program,” she told HSD.
“Our immediate concern however is that today’s announcement did not include a significant increase in funding to meet the needs of the thousands of older people on CHSP waiting lists all over the country.
“We will be lobbying the government for a significant injection of funds in the MYEFO.”
The CHSP provides entry-level services including cleaning, meals, transport, home maintenance, social support and allied health, with almost 40% of its clients living outside major cities.
The program had been slated to transition into Support at Home no earlier than July 2027 as part of the government’s overhaul of in-home aged care.
But the government now says it believes the CHSP should remain a standalone program rather than be rolled into Support at Home, and will begin consultation this year on its longer-term design.
That work will include how block funding can continue, client contributions to the cost of home care and how the CHSP can be better integrated with Support at Home.
“We have listened to the feedback people have given us about CHSP, and we’re giving providers and older Australians the certainty they need to continue while the future of the program is developed,” Mr Butler said.
Aged care and seniors minister Sam Rae said block-funded community services fulfilled a role that Support at Home was not designed to perform.
“Block-funded, community-based services do something Support at Home was never designed to do – they keep people well and independent before they need more intensive support,” Mr Rae said.
“There is a continuing role for that system and we are going to design it properly, with the people who deliver it and the people who use it.”
The decision follows a Senate Community Affairs References Committee inquiry into the proposed CHSP transition, which recommended in June that the program remain separate and block funded rather than transition into Support at Home.
The committee had called for CHSP funding to be extended for three years beyond July 2027 to allow consultation and co-design and enable the operation of Support at Home and the Single Assessment System to be evaluated before any future transition was considered.
It also recommended an independent, publicly released cost-benefit analysis comparing the CHSP with Support at Home and residential aged care, including the funding required to meet current and future demand.
Other recommendations included immediate implementation of the Auditor-General’s May findings on the CHSP, a co-design process involving providers, advocates, older Australians, governments and experts, and automatic thin-market funding through direct subsidies for eligible providers.
The committee also called for the $15,000 lifetime cap on home modifications to be abolished and for funding and time restrictions on the End-of-Life Pathway to be replaced with a flexible, clinically guided and needs-based model.
Older Persons Advocacy Network chief executive Craig Gear welcomed today’s government decision.
“We welcome this decision as further consultation, collaboration and co-design with older people and the aged care sector is needed by the government before reform to the standalone program can occur,” Mr Gear said.
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“The decision also gives CHSP providers certainty, allowing them to remain in the market and plan their services into the future.”
But Mr Gear warned that extending the program would not resolve existing problems accessing services.
“There is also an urgent need for increased investment in the CHSP now so that it meets its objectives,” he said.
“OPAN member advocates continue to hear from older people who have been approved for CHSP but cannot access services, with providers telling them their books are full or closing.”
Ageing Australia also welcomed the decision, saying providers had spent the past year pushing the government to preserve community-based aged care.
Chief executive Tom Symondson said the CHSP supported more older Australians than any other single aged care program.
“We have said from the start that we must preserve what works well in the CHSP and avoid simply allowing it to be rolled it into a Support at Home (SaH) program that is not yet delivering for older people,” he said.
Mr Symondson said uncertainty over the CHSP’s future had forced some providers to consider closing or reducing services and called for existing funding arrangements to now be reviewed.
“It’s critical that we use this time to look at existing contracts, and make sure they’re sufficient to provide the support needed for local communities,” he said.
“Many are outdated with woefully inadequate funding to deliver for the needs of the community, which must be urgently addressed.”
Alex Lynch, the director of aged care at Catholic Health Australia, told HSD the decision was “sensible”.
“Retaining CHSP ensures continuity of a pivotal service, which is especially important for outer metropolitan and regional communities.
“A strong CHSP actually takes pressure off the more targeted and individualised Support at Home system. The two programs will work best when each is allowed to do what it does well. This decision removes the challenge of integrating these two programs by 1 July 2027.
“CHSP’s block funding model is particularly important in regional and rural Australia, where Catholic and not-for-profit providers deliver a disproportionate amount of care to older Australians.”
Silverchain’s executive director of aged care, Carolyn Bell said the CHSP should remain a strong, distinct, and sustainably funded part of Australia’s aged care system.
“We believe the program should remain focused on prevention, reablement, social connection, respite and lower-complexity support, while being strengthened through clearer service definitions, transparent reporting, stronger local planning and better integration with other parts of the health and aged care system,” she said.
“An improved CHSP must also recognise the realities of delivering care in rural, regional and other thin markets.
“This means sustainable funding that grows with demand, dedicated arrangements to maintain access where services would otherwise be unavailable, and clear pathways between CHSP and Support at Home.
“Older people should be able to move seamlessly to more intensive support when their needs become ongoing or complex, while preserving CHSP as an effective early-intervention program that helps prevent avoidable decline and reduces pressure on higher-cost care services.”
The government said councils and other providers had cited uncertainty about the CHSP’s future as a reason for withdrawing from the program.
“That excuse no longer exists,” it said, adding council contracts would continue without interruption until 2029.
Updated at 2.45pm, Thursday 20 August, 2026.