The Support at Home program came in last year, 1 November, and replaced the Home Care Packages Program, as well as the Short-Term Restorative Care Programme. It went off on a rocky start and there are still a lot of uncertainty coming from participants. It seems the Commonwealth Home Support Program is also set to be replaced by SAH, but not just yet.
Ageing Australia, the Council on the Ageing Australia, and the Older Persons Advocacy Network have made submissions and testimonies for the transition of CHSP to SAH. The Senate has then recommended that CHSP be separate from SAH, and that funding will be extended beyond July 2027, possibly until 2030.
There are over 840,000 older Australians who rely on CHSP services. Moving this to SAH before it is operating smoothly can possibly create risks to its participants.