Grandfathered SAH Clients: What You Need to Know

When the Australian Government designed the transition from Home Care Packages to Support at Home, the priority was clear: nobody who already had a package should end up worse off. The mechanism for delivering that promise is grandfathering, and if you were on a HCP on or before 12 September 2024, you're a grandfathered participant.

This guide explains what grandfathering protects, what it doesn't, and how to make decisions about reassessment, switching providers, and opt-in opportunities.

What "grandfathered" actually means

The 12 September 2024 cutoff isn't arbitrary. It's the date the government locked the cohort whose financial arrangements would be preserved through the SAH transition. Anyone who:

• Was already receiving services on a Home Care Package on or before 12 September 2024, OR
• Had been formally approved for a HCP and was waiting to take it up on or before 12 September 2024,

falls into the grandfathered group. Roughly 250,000 Australians.

Crucially: the grandfathered status follows the participant, not the provider. If you switch providers post-transition, your grandfathered protections come with you.

The "No Worse Off" principle

The cornerstone protection is straightforward: your fees won't increase as a direct result of the move from HCP to SAH. Specifically:

• Your basic daily fee is locked at the HCP-era rate (calculated as a percentage of the single age pension, indexed quarterly).
• Your income-tested care fee continues under the HCP rules, calculated annually based on Services Australia's assessment of your assessable income.
• You do NOT pay the new SAH service-category contribution rates (0% clinical / 0-50% independence / 0-80% everyday living).
• Your lifetime contribution cap is $82,018 (indexed), significantly lower than the $130,000 cap that applies to new SAH participants.

This is meaningful. For most grandfathered participants, the financial picture is materially better than for new participants, the transition has been managed deliberately to ensure that.

What still changes for you

Grandfathering protects fees, not service mechanics. Several things do change:

1. Your HCP Level becomes a SAH Classification

Old Levels translate roughly:

• HCP Level 1 to SAH Classification 2 or 3
• HCP Level 2 to SAH Classification 4 or 5
• HCP Level 3 to SAH Classification 6 or 7
• HCP Level 4 to SAH Classification 7 or 8

The government did this mapping automatically on 1 November 2025. You should have received a letter from My Aged Care confirming your new Classification. If you didn't, ring 1800 200 422.

2. The 10% care management cap applies to you

This is unambiguously good news. Even if you're grandfathered for fees, the new cap on what your provider can charge for care management (10% of quarterly budget) and package management (also 10%) applies to your package from 1 November 2025 onwards. If your old HCP had a 25-30% care management fee, your provider has already had to reduce it.

The result: more of your budget goes to actual care.

3. Service categories appear in your statements

Even though you don't pay the new contribution rates, your provider will categorise services as Clinical, Independence, or Everyday Living on your statements. This is a reporting requirement. It doesn't change what you pay.

4. Clinical services become 100% government-funded

For all SAH participants, including grandfathered, clinical services (nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry, dietetics, speech pathology) no longer come out of your package budget. The government covers them in full.

This is a significant practical change. Where previously a nursing visit ate into your weekly hours, now it doesn't. Use the freed-up budget for personal care, domestic support, or social activities.

When to consider opting in to new rules

In a small number of cases, the new SAH cost-sharing rules are more favourable than HCP-era rules, typically for participants whose means have changed substantially since their original HCP assessment.

You can request an opt-in transition. It requires:

1. A new Services Australia means assessment.
2. Modelling by your provider (or by Services Australia) of the cost difference.
3. A formal election to opt in.

Critically, the opt-in is one-way. Once you elect to move to new SAH rules, you cannot return to grandfathered status. This is permanent. So the opt-in only makes sense if the new rules are clearly better.

Most grandfathered participants are better off staying grandfathered. Opt-in is a niche path.

When reassessment is worth requesting

Your Classification can change even though you're grandfathered. If your needs have substantially increased, through a hospital admission, dementia progression, loss of a carer, or chronic disease decline, you can request reassessment through My Aged Care.

Reassessment is separate from grandfathering. You can:

• Move from Classification 4 to Classification 6, AND
• Keep your grandfathered fee structure.

Both at the same time. The new Classification gives you a larger budget; the grandfathered status keeps your contribution rules unchanged.

The trigger events that warrant reassessment include:

• Hospital admission for stroke, fall with fracture, or major cardiac event
• New diagnosis of dementia, or substantial dementia progression
• Loss of primary carer (spouse death, family relocation)
• Significant decline in mobility or cognition over months
• New chronic disease diagnosis

Ring My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 and request reassessment. The visit is free and usually scheduled within 6-8 weeks.

Switching providers as a grandfathered participant

You can switch providers without losing grandfathered status. The mechanics:

• Your funding is portable, full Classification budget moves with you.
• Your contribution rules continue under HCP-era terms.
• The lifetime cap of $82,018 applies as before (indexed).
• Your new provider must honour all grandfathered protections.

If a new provider claims they "can't accept grandfathered clients" or wants to charge different fees, they're misinformed or trying to push you onto new rules. Walk away.

Lifetime cap planning

Your $82,018 lifetime contribution cap (indexed) is a substantial benefit. Most grandfathered participants pay between $1,500 and $7,000 per year in contributions, depending on means. At those rates, even five-year participants typically don't approach the cap, but high-income participants with long care journeys do hit it.

How to track:

• Your provider must show your contribution year-to-date on every quarterly statement.
• Services Australia maintains the cumulative running total.
• Once the cap is hit, contributions stop. You continue receiving services without paying any further income-tested fee.

The cap is set in dollars, not in package value. So a participant who's been receiving $30,000 worth of services per year for ten years may have paid only $40,000 in contributions, well below the cap.

What to do if your provider gets it wrong

Despite the publicity around the SAH transition, some providers (particularly smaller ones) have struggled to apply grandfathering correctly. Common errors:

• Charging the new SAH contribution rates instead of HCP-era rates.
• Failing to apply the 10% care management cap.
• Categorising clinical services as Independence services and charging accordingly.
• Imposing exit fees (now banned under SAH).

If you suspect any of these:

1. Get a written fee breakdown for the most recent month.
2. Compare it to your previous HCP statements.
3. Raise it formally with the provider's complaints process.
4. Escalate to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission on 1800 951 822 if not resolved.

You're entitled to refunds for any overcharging, with interest where applicable.

Your priorities going forward

If you're grandfathered, the things to focus on are:

• Use clinical services freely, they're now free of charge to you.
• Watch your provider's care management fee, should not exceed 10%.
• Track your contribution year-to-date, know how close you are to the cap.
• Reassess promptly if needs change, bigger Classification, same grandfathered fees.
• Compare providers annually, even with grandfathering, the wrong provider costs you hours of care.

The SAH transition has been net-positive for grandfathered participants. The reforms have lowered overhead, freed up clinical care, and tightened consumer protections, all without changing your contribution rules. Take advantage of the new freedoms while keeping the protections you earned.

Compare hourly rates and care management fees in your area on Home Care Prices to make sure your current provider is still the right one for you.