Home Care Package Levels

There are four different levels of Home Care Packages. Before we dive into the specifics of how you can benefit from the services these Aged Care Packages fund, we’ll first explain more about what a Home Care Package actually is.

What is a Home Care Package?

The government’s Home Care Package Program provides older Australians with generous funding to help them stay living independently at home for as long as possible. There are different levels of My Aged Care Packages available and this funding can either fully or partially cover the cost of your in-home care needs, so you’ll be able to stay living safely and well in your home. A government-subsidised Home Care Package gives you choice and flexibility around Home Care services. Learn more about – what is a Home Care Package?

How many levels of Home Care packages are there?

There are 4 levels of Home Care Packages and each level is designed to cover different care needs.

HCP Level 1 : Basic Care Needs

HCP Level 2: Low Care Needs

HCP Level 3: Intermediate Care Needs

HCP Level 4: High Care Needs

Let’s understand the different levels of My Aged Care Home Care Packages in detail, what type of in-home support services are available, and how much funding they offer.

Home Care Packages Level 1-4 Funding

Each level of Home Care Package has a different amount of funding. Depending on your needs, you may be eligible for up to $61,440.45 each year from the Australian Government. The funding in a Home Care Package is used to subsidise in-Home Care Services, from a Home Care Package provider of your choice.

Learn more about each level of Home Care Package below.

What is a Level 1 Home Care Package?

A Level 1 Home Care Package is designed to support people who have basic level Home Care needs. The amount of funding per year for this level of Aged Care Package is $10,588.65.

Those with a My Aged Care Package Level 1 are still independent and are able to perform most day-to-day tasks on their own. Some of the common services used by those with a Level 1 Home Care Package are:

Domestic assistance
Social support
Meal preparation
Shopping
Transport
Personal care

A Level 1 Centrelink Home Care Package will give you approximately 4 hours of support per fortnight, depending on your chosen provider’s fees. Most of the customers we speak to choose to use this for weekly household cleaning and fortnightly or monthly gardening duties.

Find A Level 1 Provider

What is a Level 2 Home Care Package?

A Level 2 Home Care Package is aimed at supporting people who have low-level care needs. The amount of funding received by those with a Level 2 Aged Care Package is $18,622.30 per year.

Those who have a Level 2 Home Care Package require a little bit of care, but are still able to perform a lot of tasks around the home themselves. A Level 2 My Aged Care Home Care Package can be used for services such as the following (as well as much more):

Personal care
Domestic assistance
Loan of basic care equipment
Social support
Meal preparation
Shopping
Transport
Basic home & garden maintenance
Some nursing care

This amount of funding will give you approximately 7-8 hours of care and support fortnightly, depending on your chosen provider’s fees. Most of the customers we speak to choose to use this for some personal care, household cleaning, transport and gardening duties.

Find A Level 2 Provider

What is a Level 3 Home Care Package?

A Level 3 Home Care Package supports people who have intermediate level care needs and need quite a bit more support than Levels 1 and 2 home support packages in order to remain safely in their home.

With a Level 3 My Aged Care Package, you’ll receive $40,529.60 per year to go towards your Home Care, and might choose to access the following:

Personal care
Domestic assistance
Household assistance
Assistance with aids and appliances
Social support
Meal preparation
Medication management
Nursing support
Allied health support
Shopping
Transport
Support with changes to memory and/or behaviour

A Level 3 Home Care Package will give you approximately 16-17 hours of support per fortnight, depending on your provider’s fees. Generally, those with a Level 3 Package will access more personal care, nursing, or allied health support than those with lower-level packages.

Find A Level 3 Provider

What is a Level 4 Home Care Package?

A Level 4 Home Care Package is intended to support people who have high level care needs. This level of package will give you $61,440.45 worth of funding per year. This works out to be approximately 25 hours of care per fortnight, depending on your particular provider’s fees.

If you or a loved one has high-level or complex care needs, you may be eligible to receive assistance with:

Personal care (showering/dressing etc)
Domestic assistance (laundry/cleaning etc)
Assistance with aids and appliances
Social support
Meal preparation
Medication management
Nursing care
Allied health support
Shopping
Transport
Support with changes to memory and/or behaviour

Level 4 My Aged Care Packages are often allocated to people who are living with dementia, or Parkinson’s disease or where more specialised care or support is required.

Find A Level 4 Provider

Wait times for Level 3 and 4 Home Care Packages

Unfortunately, the wait time for Level 3 and 4 packages can be quite long. If you’ve been approved for a Level 3 or 4 Package, you might be offered a lower-level package while you wait for your higher-level to become available.

We recommend that you use all the available funds given to you with the lower-level package, as this will show that you do in fact require a lot of care. If you aren’t using all your available support, it may appear that you do not need a high amount of care.

Learn more about Home Care Package wait times here.

Make sure you’re getting the most out of your Home Care Package!

Do you want guidance on how to make the most of your Home Care Package funding? Contact CareAbout Today!

CareAbout is Australia’s leading Home Care placement service. We’ve helped thousands of families choose the right Home Care Packages provider for their needs and we would love to help you.

Call us today and get free, no-obligation access to our team of Aged Care Specialists.