Grandfathered clients

With Silverchain, your transition to Support at Home will be smooth. We will provide you with a new budget, an updated Care Plan, and a new Agreement to ensure your services continue as usual.

As a grandfathered client, your new Support at Home budget will be split into quarters across the year to pay for the services you need, and the amount of funding will be same as what you received in three months, from your Home Care Package.

If you don’t spend all your Support at Home budget in one quarter, you can roll up to $1,000 over or 10% (whichever is higher) into the next quarter to buy the things you need.

To understand more about your Support at Home budget, visit our Funding for Support at Home Services page or to understand more about the key changes as a Home Care Package client, visit our Transition to Support at Home page.

Co-contributions

As a grandfathered client, you will not have to make any more co-contributions towards the cost of your care, even if you are re-assessed, and need more care as your needs change.

For example:

• If you did not pay an Income Tested Fee under the Home Care Package program, you won't have to pay it under the Support at Home program.
• If you are a part pensioner or self-funded retiree who paid an Income Tested Fee, the amount you pay under the Support at Home program will be the same, or less.

It's important to know that if Silverchain has been waiving this fee for you in the past, you will now need to pay under the Support at Home program. This is because the Government now decides who receives fee waivers, not Silverchain. 

You will only pay for services you have received and the amount you have to pay won't change.    

For grandfathered clients, there is a $82,000 lifetime cap, which means if you have paid this amount towards your care, you do not have to pay any more contributions towards the care you receive.

HCP unspent funds

As a grandfathered client, if you have unspent Home Care Package funds by 31 October 2025, you can use these under Support at Home, even if you move onto a new Support at Home classification.

Your unspent funds fall into two categories. The first is the ‘Commonwealth portion’, you can use these funds to pay for services you have been approved for after your quarterly Support at Home budget has been fully used. These funds are your accumulated subsidy.

The second category is the ‘Participant portion’ which includes the sum of HCP care recipient fees you paid to your provider eg income test care fee

If you have questions about how Support at Home affects you, contact us at 1300 650 803 or complete our enquiry form today.  For more information, see our aged care frequently asked questions.