Support at Home Prices: Using the National Price Summary

In May 2026 the Government paused Support at Home price caps and chose transparency instead. Support at Home prices charged by providers across the country are now gathered into a quarterly national summary that shows the median and range for each service, so participants, families and advocates can see how one provider compares with the rest.

A participant who thinks your hourly rate looks high can now check it against a published figure, often with a funded advocate beside them. This article explains what the summary is, how to benchmark your own prices against it, how to respond when a price is questioned and what your board should see.

Key Takeaways

Price caps for Support at Home were paused in May 2026, but providers must still set reasonable prices, publish the price they most often charge on My Aged Care and keep records showing what each price includes.
The national summary of Support at Home prices is published each quarter and reports a median and a range for each service, so participants can see where your price sits.
A price well above the median is not unlawful on its own, but you should be able to explain it from your costs, quickly and in plain language.
The Commission is investigating a provider that folded care management costs into its service prices, which shows that how a price is built matters as much as its size.
Boards should see a quarterly comparison of published prices against the national summary, with any outliers and the reasons for them recorded.

Why Price Caps Were Paused and What Replaced Them

Price caps were paused to give providers more time to adjust to the new funding and pricing models, but the Government replaced them with a package of transparency and monitoring measures. According to the Department's May 2026 announcement on new consumer protections for Support at Home, the package has four parts that providers should understand.

Published benchmarks - a national summary of prices released each quarter; median and range per service
Funded advocacy - extra funding for OPAN to expand financial advocacy; extra funding for COTA Australia to educate older people on consumer protections, service agreements, rights and how to compare prices
A working group - OPAN, COTA Australia, Ageing Australia and the Commission working together on pricing concerns
Active monitoring - the Department and the Commission monitoring prices and taking regulatory action where required, with specific attention on personal care as it moves into the clinical care category

Existing obligations stay in place. Providers must continue to set reasonable prices based on the costs they incur to deliver a service, publish the price they most frequently charge for each service on the My Aged Care website and keep records that show what their prices include. The pause on Support at Home price caps removed a ceiling, not the accountability. This article is general information, not legal advice.

YourLifeChoices, reporting on the same announcement, added that the Commission will be able to direct refunds for overcharging and that providers are encouraged to limit price changes to twice a year. Treat those points as reported, not settled legal detail.

What the National Summary Shows

The summary is a national snapshot of what providers actually charged, broken down by service, with a median and a range for each. The first edition, the national summary of Support at Home prices for November to December 2025, was published by the Department in May 2026, and further editions are due every quarter.

The spread can be wide. The Long View, an independent sector publication, reported a wide gap between the 25th and 75th percentiles for care management. The summary also reports what was charged, not what is reasonable, so a median is a reference point, not a target.

How Participants and Advocates Will Use It

Participants and their advocates will use the summary to ask one simple question: why is this provider's price different from the national figure? COTA Australia has funding to teach older people how to compare prices, and OPAN has funding to expand financial advocacy, so expect more participants to arrive with the summary already in hand.

Most of these conversations happen before signing, when a monthly statement shows an unexpected charge, or when a price changes. Your staff need to be ready for all three.

Benchmarking Your Own Published Prices

Benchmarking means placing each of your published prices against the latest national median and range, then documenting why each one sits where it does. The goal is not to match the median. It is to know your position before a participant or regulator points it out.

Pull your current published prices from your My Aged Care listing, not an internal list.
Match each service to its line in the latest national summary.
Flag any price that sits near or above the upper end of the range, or well below the median, since low prices can signal costs you have not captured.
Write a short reason for each flagged price that links back to your costing evidence, such as travel in rural areas, after-hours delivery, award wage increases or specialist staff.
Decide an action for each flag: keep and explain, adjust at the next scheduled price review, or investigate further.

The costing evidence itself belongs in a separate file. Our guide to proving your prices are reasonable covers the legislated test and how to build that file. The benchmark is the outside view; the costing file is the inside view.

The Cautionary Example: Care Management Hidden in Service Prices

The Commission's Quality Bulletin #8 of 2026 shows what happens when price structure goes wrong. Following a Support at Home prudential review, the Commission is investigating a provider that did not comply with consultation and service agreement requirements and had included care management costs in its service delivery prices. The Commission said this means the provider is not complying with the Aged Care Act.

The lesson for care management pricing is direct. Care management is funded separately within each participant's budget, and the Department states that 10% of the budget is allocated to it. Building those costs into hourly rates inflates service prices, hides the true cost of care management from the participant and distorts any comparison against the national summary.

Check that every published price covers only the costs of that service, with care management charged and explained separately. Your service agreement policy should state how prices are set out and agreed with the participant before services begin.

Responding When a Participant Questions a Price

When a participant questions a price, the best response is a prompt, plain explanation backed by records, not a defence of the number. Treat the question as feedback, record it and follow a set process.

Acknowledge - thank the participant, confirm which service and price they are asking about; log it in your feedback register
Compare openly - show where your price sits against the national median and range; do not dismiss the comparison
Explain the build - describe what the price includes in plain language, drawing on your costing file
Offer options - a different service mix, scheduling or a review of the budget with the participant where that genuinely helps
Escalate where needed - refer unresolved concerns to a manager, and remind the participant of their right to an advocate and to complain to the Commission

Record the outcome. Repeated questions about one service signal that the price, or its explanation, needs review. Your fee transparency and financial governance policy is the natural home for this process, so staff follow the same steps every time.

The Governance Record Boards Should Keep

Boards should treat pricing as a standing risk item, reviewed each time a new national summary is published. A short quarterly report can cover:

Each published price against the latest national median and range, with outliers flagged
The documented reason and costing reference for each outlier
Participant price questions and complaints received, with themes and outcomes
Any planned price changes, their timing and how participants will be consulted
Confirmation that care management is priced separately from service delivery

Minute the board's decisions, not just the tabling. A dated trail of quarterly reviews is far stronger evidence than a costing spreadsheet alone. Governa's policy templates and Norma, the AI assistant, can help map these records to your obligations.

Related Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Support at Home price caps gone for good?

The Department's May 2026 announcement describes the caps as paused, to give providers more time to adjust to the new funding and pricing models. Providers should not assume caps will never return, and should keep pricing in a way that would stand up if they did.

Is it a breach to charge above the national median?

Not in itself. The obligation is to set reasonable prices based on the costs you incur. A price above the median should be explainable from your costing evidence, and you should expect participants and advocates to ask about it.

How often is the national summary published?

The Department has said it will publish a new summary each quarter. The first edition covered prices charged in November and December 2025 and was published in May 2026.

Can we change our prices after reviewing the summary?

Yes, but consult participants and follow your service agreement terms first. As reported by YourLifeChoices, providers are encouraged to limit price changes to no more than twice a year, so a scheduled review cycle is sensible.

Should care management be included in our hourly service rates?

No. The Commission is investigating a provider that included care management costs in its service delivery prices, and said this does not comply with the Aged Care Act. Price and explain care management separately.

Know Where Your Prices Sit

Every participant can now see how your prices compare. Providers that benchmark quarterly, keep a clear costing trail and answer price questions openly will handle that scrutiny well. Before the next edition is released, pull your published prices, set them against the latest median and range, and table the results at your next board meeting.

Support at Home Prices Are Now Public: How to Use the National Price Summary