Quarterly budget management is one of the most operationally significant changes that the Support at Home (SAH) program introduces for home care providers. Under the former Home Care Packages program, providers managed a single cumulative balance that rolled over indefinitely. SAH replaces this with a structured quarterly allocation model that requires real-time budget tracking, proactive service planning, and careful carry-over management.
How SAH quarterly budgets work
Under SAH, each client's annual budget (determined by their classification level) is divided into 4 equal quarterly allocations. The quarters align with the financial year: Q1 (July–September), Q2 (October–December), Q3 (January–March), Q4 (April–June).
At the start of each quarter, the client's quarterly budget becomes available for service delivery. Services delivered during the quarter are drawn from that quarter's allocation. Any client contributions (calculated per service based on the client's means-testing tier and service category) reduce the government-funded portion but do not reduce the total service value available to the client.
This quarterly structure means providers cannot front-load or back-load services across the year in the way that was possible under HCP. A client's July services must be funded from Q1's allocation, not from the annual total. This requires a fundamentally different approach to care planning and service scheduling.
Budget allocation by classification level
Published ongoing funding, effective 1 October 2026:
- Level 1: $11,031.56/year; $2,757.89/quarter
- Level 2: $16,483.55/year; $4,120.89/quarter
- Level 3: $22,580.93/year; $5,645.23/quarter
- Level 4: $30,528.15/year; $7,632.04/quarter
- Level 5: $40,809.27/year; $10,202.32/quarter
- Level 6: $49,461.91/year; $12,365.48/quarter
- Level 7: $59,776.80/year; $14,944.20/quarter
- Level 8: $80,294.00/year; $20,073.50/quarter
Source: Department funding classifications. Transitioned HCP classifications and short-term pathways have different arrangements. Use the budget calculator to explore an ongoing level.
Budget tracking best practices
Effective quarterly budget management requires real-time visibility into budget consumption. Best practices include:
- Real-time budget dashboards. Care coordinators should be able to see, at any point in the quarter, how much of each client's budget has been consumed, how much remains, and what the projected end-of-quarter position is based on scheduled services. Waiting until the end of the quarter to calculate budget position is too late.
- Alerts and thresholds. Set up automated alerts when a client's budget consumption reaches key thresholds — for example, 50% consumed by mid-quarter (on track), 80% consumed with 4+ weeks remaining (potential overspend), or less than 25% consumed at mid-quarter (potential underspend and carry-over forfeiture).
- Projected vs actual tracking. Compare scheduled services (projected cost) against delivered services (actual cost) to identify discrepancies early. Cancelled services, changed service durations, and unplanned additional services all affect budget position.
- Carry-over forecasting. Before the end of each quarter, calculate the projected carry-over amount and compare it to the carry-over cap. If carry-over will exceed the cap, consider whether additional services could be meaningfully delivered before quarter-end. If carry-over is well below the cap, the budget is being managed effectively.
- Client communication. Keep clients informed about their budget position. Under SAH, clients have a right to understand how their funding is being used. Regular budget statements build trust and support informed decision-making about service priorities.
What happens when budgets are exceeded
This creates a direct financial risk for providers. Under HCP, over-delivery against the package could be offset by unspent balances from previous periods. Under SAH, the quarterly structure limits this flexibility.
Providers should have clear policies for managing budget overruns, including: requiring care coordinator approval before delivering services that would take the client over budget; having a process for requesting reclassification when a client's needs consistently exceed their classification level; and documenting the clinical rationale when services must be delivered despite budget constraints (for example, in response to a health crisis).
In cases where a client's needs consistently exceed their classification level, the appropriate response is to request a reclassification assessment through the Aged Care Assessment Organisation. Continuing to absorb the cost of over-delivery without seeking reclassification is neither financially sustainable nor in the client's interest — a higher classification level provides more funding and better reflects the client's actual needs.