The HCP to Support at Home transition checklist

Have you checked each participant’s no-worse-off eligibility against the 12 September 2024 criteria?

No-worse-off contribution arrangements apply to people who, on 12 September 2024, were receiving a Home Care Package, on the National Priority System, or approved as eligible for a package. Transitioning from HCP alone does not establish eligibility: people first approved after that date use standard contribution arrangements.

Is the grandfathered status visible to the billing team and the care coordinators?

It can't live in a single spreadsheet. Every contribution calculation, every quarterly budget check, every claim must apply the correct rules per participant — which means the flag has to be on the participant record in the operating system.

Have you applied the cap for the participant’s confirmed contribution arrangement?

From 20 September 2026, the Support at Home lifetime contribution cap is $140,652.80 under standard arrangements and $88,934.57 under the no worse off principle. Caps are indexed on 20 March and 20 September.

Is the cumulative lifetime contribution running total tracked per participant?

Reconcile the contributions that count toward the participant’s applicable cap, including relevant prior HCP contributions. Do not include unrelated charges such as accommodation payments. Keep the Services Australia advice and reconciliation evidence with the participant record.

Do you have alerts when a participant approaches their lifetime cap?

Once the cap is reached, the participant pays no more contributions. The transition to zero-contribution must be seamless or the participant feels every overcharge personally.

Have you imported each participant's unspent HCP balance at the 1 November 2025 transition date?

Retained HCP funds are a separate balance, not the opening quarterly allocation. Reconcile the transition balance and subsequent use against source records. The quarterly carryover limit does not apply to retained HCP funds.

Is the source documentation for each retained balance on file?

Retain final HCP statements and reconciliation records as evidence of the retained balance and subsequent use.

Have you distinguished transitioned HCP classifications from ongoing SAH classifications?

There are four transitioned HCP classifications and eight ongoing SAH classifications. Transitioned participants retain equivalent funding unless reassessed for a higher classification. Record the confirmed classification and effective date; do not automatically convert every transferred participant to a level from 1–8.

Is the original HCP package level retained for the audit trail?

Keep the original HCP level, transitioned classification and any later ongoing classification together, supported by the participant’s funding advice and aged care assessment decisions.

Does the quarterly funding record match the confirmed classification and funding allocation?

Check current indexed funding, any interim allocation and subsequent reassessment decisions before planning services. Keep retained HCP funds separate from the quarterly budget. For providers also delivering residential care, keep residential care-minute targets separate from Support at Home funding checks.

Have you issued updated SAH-compliant service agreements to transitioned participants?

The original HCP agreement is in force during the transition window but doesn't satisfy SAH agreement content requirements indefinitely. You need updated agreements that meet the SAH framework's prescribed content areas.

Does the updated agreement preserve the participant's chosen care plan?

Continuity of care matters. The legal framework can change without disrupting the actual care being delivered.

Is the consent and signature workflow auditable end-to-end?

From offer through review to signature, every step needs to be in the participant's record with timestamps.

Does each contribution use the service category, delivery date and participant’s assessed arrangements?

Apply the participant’s Services Australia advice. Standard Independence rates are 5–50% and Everyday living rates are 17.5–80%; no-worse-off arrangements differ. Clinical supports have no participant contribution.

Are part pensioners and CSHC holders using individually-assessed rates from Services Australia?

Use the individually assessed rate from Services Australia, with its effective date and contribution arrangement. A midpoint default can produce an incorrect bill.

Have you checked the personal-care contribution change against the service delivery date?

For contribution purposes, personal care moves from Independence to Clinical supports for services delivered from 1 October 2026. Participants pay no contribution for approved personal care when Support at Home funds are available; the cost is drawn from their government-funded Support at Home budget. Services delivered before that date retain the applicable Independence contribution, even if claimed later. This changes the contribution category only; service IDs, worker qualifications and delivery requirements remain unchanged.

Are contributions itemised on the monthly participant statement?

Participants must see the service, the category, the rate, the contribution amount, and the government-funded portion — every service, every month.

Have you stopped applying HCP-era care management percentages (15-25%) to transitioned participants?

For ongoing Support at Home services, the 10% allocation funds a branch-level care-management pool. Review the funding arrangement rather than treating this as an individual spending ceiling.

Can you review care-management activity against the applicable funding pool?

Record eligible activities, minutes and review status, and reconcile claims with the relevant funding account.

Have you assigned a named Care Partner to every transitioned participant?

Confirm responsibility for ongoing care discussions, planning and reviews, including the monthly direct care-management activity described in Department guidance.

Does every transitioned participant now have at least one documented wellness and reablement goal?

SAH care plans must be goal-based and reablement-oriented. HCP care plans were typically service-driven, not goal-driven. The transition is your opportunity to shift the model.

Are services traceable back to a goal?

An ACQSC assessor will ask 'why is this service being delivered to this participant?' The answer should be a participant goal, not 'because it was on the HCP plan'.

Is there a goal review schedule per participant?

The Care Partner is responsible for periodic goal reviews. Without a schedule, reviews get skipped.

Is your claim file generation producing ACPP-compliant SAH claims?

Claims now flow through the Aged Care Provider Portal (ACPP) under the SAH framework. Pre-submission validation should catch service category errors, price cap breaches, classification mismatches and overlap before the file is uploaded.

Are claims reconciled monthly against Services Australia payments?

Monthly reconciliation, not quarterly. The carry-over rules and the lifetime cap make month-three discrepancies very expensive to unwind.

Have all clinical records, care plans and progress notes carried across without gaps?

The participant's clinical history should be unbroken — pre-transition records and post-transition records in one continuous timeline.

Are advance care directives and substitute decision-maker authorisations still on file?

These are the most important documents and the easiest to lose in a system migration. Verify each one personally for high-risk participants.

If you also run CHSP, are its grant, contribution and reporting records kept distinct from SAH?

The government announced on 21 August 2026 that CHSP will be extended to 30 June 2029. This is not a universal July 2029 migration date. Use current CHSP requirements, not SAH quarterly budgets or contribution categories.

Have you checked each CHSP service against the current CHSP activity and reporting definitions?

Review the provider's funded activities, the client's approved services and the relevant DEX mapping. A shared client record does not establish a shared funding or reporting rule.

Do you have a single transition record per participant showing the migration journey?

Grandfathered status, retained balance, original HCP level, transitioned or subsequent ongoing classification, agreement variations, contribution framework switch, pooled care-management funding review — all in one auditable record per participant.

Is the transition documentation accessible during ACQSC assessment contacts?

Assessors will ask about the transition for the next 12-24 months. The documentation should be one click away from the participant's profile, not buried in a finance folder.