They want to stay home. There is a whole path for that.

Almost everything else on this site quietly assumes the person is going into a residential home. Most people do not want that, at least not yet — they want to stay in their own house, with help brought in. There is a government program for exactly this, and it is the default most families never get told about while a hospital is talking about beds.

It is called Support at Home. It began on 1 November 2025, replacing the old Home Care Packages and Short-Term Restorative Care. It is the main way older Australians get funded help to keep living at home — with everyday things like cleaning, meals, shopping and getting around, and with clinical care like nursing and physiotherapy when it is needed.

The door in is the same door as everything else: a My Aged Care assessment, on 1800 200 422 or online, using the single assessment system. If the person is in hospital, the discharge planner can start it. The assessor works out what they need and, if they are approved for ongoing support, assigns one of eight funding levels — replacing the old four Home Care Package levels — matched to how much help they need.

Two things are worth holding onto from the start. First, clinical care — nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy — is fully funded by the government, with no contribution from the person, whatever their income or assets. The contributions, where they apply, are for everyday-living and independence services, and they depend on an income and assets assessment. Second, there is a separate pool of funding, on top of the care budget, for equipment and home modifications — rails, ramps, a shower chair — through what is called the Assistive Technology and Home Modifications pathway.

Staying home is not a lesser option or a holding pattern. For a great many people it is the right one for years. This is the path to it.