Personal Care at Home: What It Includes and What It Costs

What is personal care at home?

Personal care is the hands-on help that supports someone with the basics of daily living. A worker comes to your home and helps you stay clean, comfortable and safe. It is one of the most common types of support older Australians ask for.

The everyday tasks personal care covers

Personal care usually includes:

• Showering, bathing and keeping clean
• Getting dressed and undressed
• Grooming, such as hair, shaving and skin care
• Help with the toilet and continence support
• Moving safely around the home, including help to stand, walk or transfer
• Support with eating and drinking

The worker fits the help to your needs. Some people want a hand a few mornings a week. Others need support every day.

Personal care versus clinical care versus home help

It helps to know the difference between three types of support.

• Personal care is hands-on help with your body and daily routine.
• Clinical care is health treatment from a qualified professional, such as a nurse changing a wound dressing.
• Home help (also called domestic assistance) covers tasks around the house, like cleaning, laundry and meal prep.

These are priced and funded in different ways, so it pays to keep them separate when you compare costs.

When personal care is the right fit

Personal care suits people who are still living at home but find some daily tasks harder than they used to be. If a slippery shower feels risky, or buttons and zips have become fiddly, a little regular help can keep you safe and independent for longer.

How personal care is funded under Support at Home

What Support at Home is and the 8 classifications

Support at Home (SaH) is the Australian Government program that helps older people get care in their own home. It began on 1 November 2025 and replaced the old home care packages.

Your needs are matched to one of 8 classifications. Classification 1 carries the lowest funding and classification 8 the highest. You can read more about the 8 Support at Home classifications and what each level provides.

To get a classification, you first contact My Aged Care, the government's starting point for aged care. Call 1800 200 422 or visit myagedcare.gov.au. They arrange an assessment of your needs. Higher needs are usually checked by an ACAT (Aged Care Assessment Team), and lower needs by a RAS (Regional Assessment Service).

Where personal care sits in your budget

Your classification comes with a quarterly budget. Personal care is paid from that budget at an hourly rate, alongside other services you use. To see the current budget amount for your classification, check My Aged Care.

A Care Management fee is also drawn from the budget. It covers the work of organising and reviewing your care, and is capped at 10% of your quarterly budget. There is no longer a separate package management fee.

Do you pay a participant contribution?

Some services carry a participant contribution. This is a part-payment worked out from a financial assessment of your means. Personal care usually sits in the Independence group of services, so it may attract a contribution. The Everyday Living group, which covers things like cleaning, meals and gardening, generally carries the highest contribution.

Clinical care, such as nursing, is different. It is funded in full within your budget, with no contribution.

What does personal care at home cost?

Why we use ranges, not fixed prices

There is no single national price for personal care. Rates change by provider, by location, and by whether you self-manage or choose full service. The Commonwealth has deferred price caps for now. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and My Aged Care show indicative prices the government has published, which we display on the site for comparison. These are indicative figures, not price caps or recommended prices. Because rates vary, we talk in ranges so you can plan with realistic numbers.

Self-managed pricing and the 10% self-management loading

With self-managed care, you choose your own worker from the local community and agree a price together. The provider then onboards that worker so they meet Commonwealth standards.

Self-managed rates often sit close to everyday market rates. On top of the agreed rate, a 10% self-management loading applies. That loading covers workforce checks and assurance, plus paying the worker's invoices on your behalf. For many families, self-managed care is the lower-cost path.

Full-service pricing and what the higher rate buys

With full service, the provider employs the workers and gives you a fixed price list. You do not have to find or manage anyone yourself.

That convenience costs more. Based on prices published on this site, full-service hourly rates for everyday services such as personal care typically sit 50% to 100% above the matching self-managed rate. The higher rate pays for the provider's staffing, rostering, cover when your usual worker is away, and any added coordination.

Weekday versus weekend and after-hours rates

Why weekend and public holiday hours cost more

Most providers charge more for help outside standard weekday hours. A Saturday shower visit, an evening call, or support on a public holiday usually costs more than the same help on a Tuesday morning. This reflects the higher pay rates workers receive for those shifts.

If your needs are flexible, booking regular help in weekday daytime hours can stretch your budget further.

A simple worked example of weekly cost

Say you book a few short personal care visits across the week. Picture this rough pattern:

Two things drive your weekly total: how many hours you use, and when you use them. Shift more hours into weekday daytime, and the same care costs less. We have kept this example in plain terms on purpose, because actual rates vary by provider and area.

Self-managed versus full-service: which suits you?

Choosing and onboarding your own worker

Self-management gives you the most control. You can pick someone you trust, perhaps a worker a friend already uses, and agree hours that suit you. The provider handles the checks, the paperwork and the payments. It works well for people who feel confident making a few simple decisions, or who have family helping out.

When full-service is worth the extra cost

Full service can be the better choice when you want everything handled for you. If you would rather not interview workers, manage a roster, or arrange backup cover, the fixed price list and provider support may be worth the higher rate. It also suits people with complex needs who value close coordination.

There is no single right answer. The fuller picture is set out in our guide to self-managed versus full-service care.

How to compare personal care prices fairly

Checking the rate, the loading and any extra fees

When you compare providers, look past the headline hourly rate. Ask three questions:

• What is the base hourly rate for personal care, on weekdays and weekends?
• Does a self-management loading apply, and is it the standard 10%?
• Are there extra fees, such as travel costs?

A provider with a slightly higher hourly rate but no extra fees can work out cheaper overall. Comparing like with like is the only fair way to choose.

Using the published indicative prices as a guide

The indicative prices the government has published, shown by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and My Aged Care, give you a sensible yardstick. They are indicative figures, not price caps or recommended prices. If a quote sits well above the indicative figure, ask why. If it sits below, check what is included so there are no surprises later. Use the indicative price as a reference point, not a target.

Questions about this topic

What is included in personal care at home?

Personal care covers hands-on help with daily living. This includes keeping clean, getting dressed, moving safely around the home, and help with eating and drinking. It does not include clinical treatment like nursing, or domestic tasks like cleaning. Those are funded and priced separately.

How much does personal care cost per hour in Australia?

There is no single fixed price. Rates vary by provider, location, and whether you self-manage or choose full service. Self-managed rates often sit close to everyday market rates plus a 10% self-management loading. Full-service rates typically run 50% to 100% higher. Weekend and after-hours visits cost more.

Is personal care cheaper if I self-manage?

Often, yes. Self-managed care lets you agree a price directly with your chosen worker, usually near everyday market rates, with a 10% self-management loading on top. Full-service rates are typically higher because the provider employs the workers and handles rostering and cover for you.

Do I have to pay for personal care or does the government cover it?

Your Support at Home budget funds your care. Personal care usually sits in the Independence group of services, so it may carry a means-tested participant contribution worked out from a financial assessment of your means. From 1 October 2026, personal care becomes fully government-funded, with no participant contribution from that date. Clinical care, such as nursing, is funded in full within your budget with no contribution.

Why does weekend personal care cost more?

Workers are paid higher rates for weekend, evening and public holiday shifts, and providers pass that through in their pricing. If your needs are flexible, booking help during weekday daytime hours usually costs less for the same support.

See what care costs in your area