Key Takeaways
- Support at Home has eight Classifications (1-8), replacing the old four HCP Levels.
- Annual budgets range from roughly $10,731 (Classification 1) to $78,106 (Classification 8) for 2025-26.
- Your Classification is decided by the Single Assessment System after an in-home assessment.
- If your needs increase substantially, you can request reassessment through My Aged Care.
- Classifications 7 and 8 are reserved for participants with very high or complex needs, they're not the default high tier.
The single most-asked question we get from readers is some version of: "My mum's been told she's Classification 4. What does that actually mean?"
The honest answer is: it means a budget. Specifically, it means a defined annual amount that the government will pay your provider on your behalf for a defined level of need. The eight Classifications under Support at Home replaced the four Levels of the old Home Care Packages program with finer granularity at the higher need bands, which is mostly an improvement.
Here's what each Classification looks like in practice.
How Classifications are decided
When you register with My Aged Care, an assessor from the Single Assessment System visits you at home. They ask about:
- Personal care (showering, dressing, toileting, eating)
- Mobility and transfers
- Cognition and memory
- Mood and mental wellbeing
- Continence
- Social activity and isolation
- Carer presence (and carer stress)
- Home environment safety
- Existing health conditions
That assessment generates a needs profile, which the assessor maps to one of the eight Classifications. The decision is communicated by letter, usually within 4-6 weeks of the assessment visit.
You can challenge the outcome if you think it's wrong. The reassessment process is described later.
The eight Classifications
The numbers below are indicative annual budgets for 2025-26. They're indexed annually, so check myagedcare.gov.au for the current figures.
Classification 1 (~$10,731 / year)
The lightest tier. Designed for people who need a small amount of help to live independently, typically domestic assistance and some social support, with occasional allied health.
What life looks like: 1-2 hours of weekly support, often a combination of cleaning and shopping. Many Classification 1 participants don't yet need personal care and may live alone with family checking in.
Common services: Domestic cleaning, laundry, shopping support, lawn mowing, occasional transport.
Classification 2 (~$15,470 / year)
A small step up. People in this band typically need help with two or three core tasks each week.
What life looks like: 2-3 hours of weekly support. Some people start adding personal care here, usually one or two showers a week with assistance.
Common services: Domestic cleaning, light personal care, social outings, transport to appointments.
Classification 3 (~$22,148 / year)
Where the need profile becomes more substantial. Often people who've recently had a fall, hospital admission, or who are showing early signs of dementia.
What life looks like: 3-5 hours of weekly support. Personal care is more regular, and clinical visits (nursing, allied health) become routine.
Common services: Personal care 2-3 times a week, domestic, allied health (physio, OT), nurse check-ins.
Classification 4 (~$30,180 / year)
The middle band. This is where many people land after their first comprehensive assessment.
What life looks like: 5-7 hours of weekly support. Daily personal care is feasible, and the package can support more substantial allied health programs.
Common services: Daily or near-daily personal care, weekly nursing visits, regular physio or OT, social support.
Classification 5 (~$40,212 / year)
The point where the package starts feeling spacious. Suitable for people with multiple chronic conditions or moderate dementia.
What life looks like: 7-9 hours of weekly support. Multiple visit days per week. Care management is more structured.
Common services: Personal care most days, complex medication management, regular allied health, respite for carers.
Classification 6 (~$52,310 / year)
A higher need band, often for people who'd previously have been on HCP Level 3. People here typically have either high physical care needs or moderate cognitive needs that require structured support.
What life looks like: 9-12 hours of weekly support. Daily care is the norm, with multiple workers across the week.
Common services: Twice-daily personal care for some, complex wound management, palliative-adjacent care, comprehensive allied health, regular respite.
Classification 7 (~$63,758 / year)
A very high care band. Reserved for participants with substantial care needs, typically people who would otherwise be considering residential care.
What life looks like: 12-15 hours of weekly support. Often two visits per day, occasionally with night care arrangements.
Common services: Multiple daily personal care visits, complex nursing, dementia-specific support, intensive carer respite.
Classification 8 (~$78,106 / year)
The highest Classification. Designed for participants with the most complex care needs that can still be safely managed at home.
What life looks like: 15-18+ hours of weekly support. Frequently includes night care or extended day care.
Common services: Multiple daily care visits, intensive clinical management, complex behavioural support, sustained respite for carers.
How clinical services interact with your budget
This is where SAH genuinely changes the picture. Clinical services, nursing, physio, OT, podiatry, dietetics, speech pathology, are 100% government-funded. They do not come out of your Classification budget.
In practice, that means a Classification 4 participant can receive substantial allied health support on top of their $30,180, without it eroding the personal care or domestic budget. Under the old HCP scheme, every nurse visit was deducted from your package, so people were often gatekept away from clinical services to preserve hours.
Take advantage of this. If you have chronic disease, complex wounds, falls risk, or rehabilitation needs, ask your provider explicitly to schedule the clinical input.
What Classifications don't include
A few important exclusions:
- Residential aged care: not covered by SAH. Different scheme.
- Hospital-grade equipment: covered through separate assistive technology funding.
- Major home modifications: also separate funding pool, not your Classification budget.
- Palliative care in the last 12 weeks of life: separate end-of-life support pathway.
The Classification budget is for ongoing services. Major one-offs are handled through dedicated funding pools.
Reassessment: when your Classification changes
Your Classification is not permanent. If your needs increase substantially, you can request reassessment. The trigger events that justify reassessment include:
- Hospital admission for a major event (stroke, fall with fracture, cardiac event)
- Diagnosis of dementia or progression of dementia
- Loss of a primary carer (spouse death, family relocation)
- Significant decline in mobility or cognition over months
- New chronic disease diagnosis (Parkinson's, heart failure, COPD)
The process: ring My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 and request reassessment. They'll usually arrange a visit within 6-8 weeks. Reassessment is free.
A common mistake is to wait until things are critical. If you've noticed two or three trigger events in the last 12 months, get reassessed now. The new budget takes effect from the date of approval, not the date you first asked.
Going backwards: when Classifications decrease
Classifications can also decrease, usually after rehabilitation, surgery recovery, or treatment of a reversible condition. This is rarer than upward changes but does happen. You wouldn't lose funding mid-package; the change applies at your next scheduled review.
What to do if your Classification feels wrong
If you've had your assessment outcome and you don't think it reflects your needs:
- Call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 within 28 days of the decision letter and ask for reasons.
- Request internal review, a different assessor reviews the original decision.
- If still unhappy, escalate to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
Genuine errors do happen, and they're correctable. Don't simply accept a Classification you think is wrong.
Quick reference table
| Classification | Indicative budget | Typical hours/week | Common pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ~$10,731 | 1-2 | Light domestic + occasional social |
| 2 | ~$15,470 | 2-3 | Domestic + some personal care |
| 3 | ~$22,148 | 3-5 | Regular PC, allied health enters |
| 4 | ~$30,180 | 5-7 | Daily PC feasible |
| 5 | ~$40,212 | 7-9 | Multiple visit days, structured |
| 6 | ~$52,310 | 9-12 | Daily care norm |
| 7 | ~$63,758 | 12-15 | Twice-daily often |
| 8 | ~$78,106 | 15-18 | Most complex home-managed |
Compare what your Classification actually buys
A given Classification budget buys very different amounts of care depending on the provider. The Home Care Prices comparison tool lets you see, for your specific Classification, how many weekly hours of personal care or domestic support the budget will purchase across providers in your suburb. The differences are often striking.