Support at Home Allied Health: What's Funded in 2026
Here is the fact most families still don’t know: under Support at Home, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and exercise physiology cost you nothing. Clinical care is fully government funded - no co-contribution, regardless of your income or pension status. If allied health is approved in your care plan, there is nothing to pay.
If you’re organising care for yourself or a parent, this article covers what’s funded in 2026, how the budgets work, and how to get allied health added to a care plan.
What counts as allied health under Support at Home
Support at Home funds the clinical services that keep you mobile, safe and living in your own home:
- Physiotherapy - strength, balance, falls prevention and pain management
- Occupational therapy - daily living assessments, equipment and home safety
- Exercise physiology - structured exercise programs for chronic conditions
- Speech pathology, podiatry and dietetics - also fully funded under the scheme. We don’t deliver these three, but your care partner can arrange them alongside our services.
All of these sit in the clinical care category, and clinical care is the category the government pays in full. Contributions only apply to the other two categories - independence supports and everyday living services like cleaning and gardening.
The 8 classification levels
When you’re assessed through My Aged Care, you’re assigned one of 8 classification levels. Your level sets your annual budget, from $11,795 at level 1 up to $78,106 at level 8. The budget arrives quarterly, and your provider works with you to allocate it across the services in your care plan.
Allied health draws on that budget - but because it’s clinical care, it draws on it without costing you a cent out of pocket.
Prices: published, but not capped yet
Every Support at Home provider has to publish its prices on My Aged Care, so you can compare what providers charge for a physiotherapy or occupational therapy visit before you commit. The Find a provider tool on the My Aged Care website shows them side by side.
The government had planned to cap Support at Home prices from 1 July 2026. In May 2026 it put the caps on hold while it gathers more pricing data, and there’s no new start date yet. In the meantime, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission can order a provider to give you a refund if it finds you’ve been overcharged, and the government is publishing a quarterly summary of the typical prices providers charge.
Ask any provider for their price list. If they can’t produce one, keep looking.
From October 2026: personal care is clinical care
From 1 October 2026, personal care (help with showering, dressing and continence) moved into the clinical care category, so it’s now fully government funded too. You don’t need a new assessment. If personal care is already in your plan, the change applies automatically, and the budget stretches further than it did.
How to get allied health into your care plan
If you already receive Support at Home, talk to your care partner - the person at your provider who manages your plan. Ask for a physiotherapy or occupational therapy assessment, and name us if you’d like: your care partner can refer directly to Optimum Allied Health, or you can call us on 1300 871 249 and we’ll sort the paperwork with them. We know the scheme rules, so you don’t have to explain them twice.
If you’re new to aged care, start with an assessment through My Aged Care (1800 200 422). Once you have a classification, allied health can be built into your plan from day one.
Why families choose Optimum
We deliver physiotherapy, occupational therapy and exercise physiology in homes across Northern NSW and South East Queensland - Tweed Heads to Coffs Harbour, plus the southern Gold Coast. Consistent staffing, every visit. Reports to your provider on time. And when you call, a person answers.
Ready to start? Make a referral or call 1300 871 249.
Read next: Support at Home: Physiotherapy, OT and Exercise Physiology · Allied health home visits