Home care shake-up continues ahead of CHSP deadline
Councils exit home care ahead of reforms
- Council exits: Two councils leave home care services
- Support at Home: New rules drive provider concerns
- Service transition: Clients moved to new providers
- Sector warning: CHSP merger faces growing opposition
With the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) set to be rolled into Support at Home next year, two more councils have made the decision to exit home care services.
Mornington Peninsula Shire and City of Monash have committed to a 30 June 2027 end date for delivery of home care, saying the proposed reforms make their services no longer possible.
The Federal Government introduced Support at Home on 1 November 2025, and have committed to rolling CHSP services into the program “no sooner” than 1 July 2027.
As The Weekly SOURCE has reported, Support at Home has already put greater administrative and legal obligations on providers than the previous Home Care Packages program, and has significantly higher requirements that the existing CHSP program.
In the years leading up to the introduction of Support at Home, dozens of councils exited home care, the majority in Victoria, in anticipation of the changes.
Reforms “unworkable”
Both councils said rolling CHSP services into Support at Home would require significant changes to structure, funding, and regulation.
The organisations say that they have reviewed their situations carefully and come to the same conclusion – the Federal Government will assist with the transition of their home care services to new providers.
“After taking a close look at the new system, Council realised it would be unworkable for the Shire to continue to deliver these services,” said Mornington Peninsula Shire Acting Mayor Cr Paul Pingiaro.
The decision means that Mornington Peninsula Shire, which has 6oo home care clients, will cease delivering Meals on Wheels after 50 years – a fact that Pingiaro said was causing “sadness” in the community.
Monash Mayor, Cr Stuart James said his Council, with 1,600 home care clients, is not the best organisation to meet the requirements of the new model.
He said Monash is “well positioned” to transition services to new providers, with a number of Not For Profit and private aged care operators in the area better able to deliver the range of services required under Support at Home.
Both councils said clients will not be impacted in the short term as services continue as usual, and they will assist with a smooth transition to the new providers by 1 July 2027.
Senate Inquiry reports next week
A Senate Inquiry into the Transition of the CHSP into Support at Home is due to report on 23 June 2026.
Nearly 130 submissions were made to the inquiry and two hearings were held in February with providers, Ageing Australia, and the Inspector-General of Aged Care, among many others, appearing.
A clear message from stakeholders was that Support at Home remains a work in progress. Many said the program should be operating smoothly before the 850,000 CHSP clients are brought into the system, while others questioned the logic for merging the two programs altogether.
Watch this space then.
