Unspent Support at Home funds: why it pays to check your balance before 30 June
A quiet government correction this month means some Support at Home clients now have extra funding in their accounts, in some cases more than $1,000. The catch is that much of it needs to be used before the quarter closes on 30 June. Here is what has happened and how to check whether it affects you.
If you or someone you care for receives in-home aged care through Support at Home, it is worth taking a few minutes this fortnight to check your funding balance. A behind-the-scenes correction by the government has topped up some accounts, and the way the program's quarterly rules work means there is a window to put that money to use before it rolls off.
What has actually happened
In recent weeks, Services Australia revised the rollover amounts from the November to December period and carried the corrected figures into the current April to June quarter. In plain terms, an earlier rollover error has been fixed, and for some people that fix has arrived as extra dollars in their Support at Home account.
"Many Support at Home clients are being credited with hundreds of extra dollars, with some receiving credits of more than $1,000," Trilogy Care CEO Luke Traini said. "These amounts could make a real difference for someone's care, and the worry is that many older Australians won't even know about it."
Because the change has not been widely communicated, the onus is largely on clients and their families to notice it. The good news is that there is nothing to claim or apply for. Affected budgets are corrected automatically in the Aged Care Provider Portal, so the only thing to do is to make sure the funding is used in time.
Why the 30 June deadline matters
Support at Home works in quarterly budgets, and there are limits on how much unspent funding can carry forward. As a general rule, only $1,000 or 10 per cent of your quarterly budget, whichever is greater, rolls over into the next quarter. Anything above that does not carry across.
"June 30 marks the end of this quarter, when only $1,000 or 10 per cent of the budget will be rolled over, so people will need to act swiftly to use the additional funding or they may lose it," Mr Traini said.
That is why this correction is time-sensitive. A credit that lands now sits inside a quarter that closes on 30 June, so it is sensible to plan how to use any surplus before the cap applies.
How to check whether it affects you
The simplest step is to check in with your in-home aged care provider. Some providers offer a portal connected to the funding balances held by Services Australia, so clients and their authorised representatives can see up-to-date information on what is available.
Contact your provider and ask whether your Support at Home balance has changed in the past week.
Check your portal if your provider offers one, as this is often the fastest way to see your current balance.
Plan your spend for any surplus before 30 June, focusing on services you genuinely need rather than spending for the sake of it.
It is the hours of support that count, not just the dollars
It is easy to judge the value of a package by the dollar figure on paper, but that number only tells part of the story. What really matters is how many hours of support that funding buys, and how far you can make it stretch.
"The value of your funding is in hours of support, and how far you can make that funding go," Mr Traini said. "It's ideal if you manage your budget well before each quarterly rollover cap kicks in, to make sure you get as much support as possible within your allocated funding."
He acknowledged the system is not always easy to follow. "The government's system is a maze of difficult-to-understand calculations washed through a series of rollover calculations," he said. If the mechanics feel confusing, you are not alone, and your provider should be able to help you make sense of your own balance.
Self-managed versus fully managed care
How far your funding goes also depends on the model of care you choose. With hourly service rates rising since the introduction of Support at Home, more Australians are looking closely at how their package is managed.
"The legacy model of in-home care is fully managed. This is where the provider supplies all the services from cleaning to healthcare at their set rates," Mr Traini said. "This can be very convenient, and in many cases it's a necessary level of support, but the pricing model is not competitive."
"For older Australians who can shop around and compare pricing, using a self-managed provider is one of the most effective ways to stretch your funding dollars further and increase the hours of support you can receive, often even doubling those hours."
The bottom line
If there is a chance you have received unexpected funding this month, a quick conversation with your provider is worth having before 30 June. Check your balance, understand what is available, and put any surplus towards the support that helps you live well at home.
