Defer Support at Home price caps by 12 months: Catholic Health Australia

Catholic Health Australia (CHA), the peak body representing 20% of home care services, says the transition to Support at Home last year shows there are “significant risks to major reforms in the aged care sector”.

In a 25-page submission to the Senate Inquiry into the Transition of the CHSP into Support at Home, CHA Director of Aged and Community Care Policy, Alex Lynch, writes that stronger safeguards must be applied to the future reform.

With more than 830,000 older Australians and over 1,200 providers working in the CHSP, even a modest disruption would have a material impact on access to care, he underlines.

CHA's recommendations:

Defer price caps by 12 months

In their submission, CHA states the introduction of Support at Home price caps, planned for 1 July 2026, could pose a risk to viability for some home care operators.

“These caps are due within months but they haven’t even been finalised, let alone tested in operation,” said Alex.

“We are calling for a sensible 12-month deferral that would allow IHACPA to assess prices while the new system is in operation before imposing the caps.”

Deferring the introduction of Support at Home price caps by 12 months would reduce delivery and market stability risks, CHA states.

CHA’s recommendation goes further than Ageing Australia, which called for a six-month deferral for price caps to no earlier than 1 January 2027 in its 2026-27 Pre-Budget Submission.

Increase allocation for care management to 15%

CHA believes that with more than 830,000 people expected to transition from the CHSP, the care management workforce will face considerable strain from the merger, a strain far more challenging than last year’s SaH reform.

CHA recommends the Government allocate up to 15% of Support at Home packages for care management, up from the current 10%.

Provide information six months before rollout

CHA is also asking the Government commit to providing clear and timely information to providers by 1 December 2026, or at least six months prior to the CHSP transition, and to minimise the number of revisions.

$400-$500 transition grants

CHA estimates transferring CHSP clients to Support at Home will require about three to five additional hours of administrative effort per client, based on feedback they have received from providers.

To compensate home care providers for the “unavoidable workload”, they recommend a transition grant of $400-$500 per client.

“Providers need this to cover the unavoidable costs of transition including IT system changes, workforce training and supervision, and the new service agreement and consent processes,” said Alex.

Retain grant funding

Key features of the CHSP that have proven effective should be preserved. For example, targeted grant funding should be retained alongside Support at Home packages for community/centre-based respite, transport, dementia and other specialised support services.

At the time of writing, 100 submissions had been published on the Senate Inquiry’s web page. Submissions closed on 30 January 2026.