Home Care Package Wait Times Explained

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Introduction

The Home Care Package (HCP) program has become a lifeline for older Australians who choose to age in their own homes. And while the program currently empowers nearly 300,000 people to live independently, there’s a major frustrating hurdle many families face before they even receive support from aged care services: the wait time.

What are Home Care Package wait times?

The home care application process can be daunting and stressful, but knowledge is power. We hope that giving you the resources to understand how Home Care Package wait times work will make your family’s experience less arduous.

About Wait Times

Wait times are always changing. It’s helpful to know the Australian Government regularly updates the expected wait time for each category, so before you apply for an assessment, make sure to check the My Aged Care website for current wait times.  

After you’ve had an assessment and been approved for a Home Care Package, your wait time will depend on the date of approval and the priority you’ve been assessed for.

Here’s a general idea of how long you might wait if you were approved in 2025: 

Package level	Estimated wait time
Level 1	6 – 9 months
Level 2	6 – 9 months
Level 3	9 – 12 months
Level 4	12 – 15 months

Keep in mind: these figures are for the Home Care Package program, not the Support at Home program.

What determines your Home Care Package wait time?

Wait times can vary depending on a few different factors, including:

The urgency of your care needs and the level of your approved Home Care Package. Older people with complex care needs are considered high priority and get prioritised for funding, while those with basic care needs or even intermediate care needs have to wait longer.
Demand for services.
Your location, since some areas have more service providers and can facilitate access to support more quickly than other regions.
Government funding.

Generally, your Home Care Package wait time is largely based on your priority level, which is determined during your initial assessment. The more urgent your needs, the more likely you are to be prioritised for earlier access.

Why do Home Care Packages take so long?

The government caps the number of Home Care Packages it provides at once. Australia’s population is rapidly ageing, and the current system isn’t designed to keep pace with the growing demand.
The new Support at Home program aims to improve these long and ever-changing wait times with a more streamlined system.

Are you on the wait list but want to learn more about home care services?

What are the steps to getting home care services?

Step 1: Application

If you or your loved one needs home care services, your first step is determining eligibility.
Applicants must be:

A person who is 65 years old or over (or 50 and over for First Nations people)
A younger person with a disability, dementia, or other care needs not met through specialist services

If the person applying for the Home Care Package is eligible, the next step is to apply for an aged care assessment through My Aged Care. You can also call 1800 200 422 if you’d rather speak to someone in person.   

Generally, it takes up to six weeks to receive an assessment.

Step 2: Assessment

The Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) carries out assessments to clarify every applicant’s care needs. Your assessment will determine the level of support you need and how urgently you need it. The assessor will ask you about:

Your general health and medical history
Your mental health and psychological needs
Your social needs and current support network
Your mobility and physical requirements
Any special needs or concerns you may have

An ACAT assessment doesn’t expire unless it’s granted for a specific time. If your health or needs change, it’s a good idea to ask for a new ACAT assessment.

Step 3: Wait for your Home Care Package

After your assessment, you will receive a letter informing you if you’ve been approved. This letter typically arrives between two and six weeks after assessments. The letter will include:

The findings of your assessment
The government-funded services you’ve been approved for, with a recommended care level
Your support plan

Anything you disagree with in your letter can be appealed within 28 days.

At this stage, you or your loved one has just entered the National Prioritisation System. This is essentially a queue for a Home Care Package, and you won’t be able to access the funding you’ve been approved for until you’re at the top of the queue. This is the stage where the wait times come into play.

My Aged Care Referral Codes

Although the initial letter after your assessment will include information about your services and support plan, it will not contain the necessary My Aged Care referral codes to begin services. That code will be included in a second allocation letter and is typically labelled in red font at the top of the second page. You will only receive your Home Care Package code when the package is ready to be allocated.

However, your initial approval letter might include CHSP codes, which indicate you’re temporarily approved for the Commonwealth Home Support Programme while you wait for Home Care Package funding to become available. Not everyone receives CHSP codes in their approval letter.

In short: You can expect to receive two letters, the first of which will not contain a Home Care Package referral code. That code will be included in a second allocation letter. To learn more, visit our guide to My Aged Care codes.

Step 4: Acceptance Stage

When you reach the top of the queue, you’ll receive a second letter confirming you’ve been assigned a Home Care Package.

This is when most people receive their My Aged Care codes.

If you have been allocated a Home Care Package in a second letter, you’ll receive your My Aged Care code. This code is a unique number that helps you access services and allows your chosen service provider to learn more about you and access your assessment results.

Once you’ve received your code, you have 56 days to find a provider and enter into a home care agreement. If you need more time, you can always contact My Aged Care for an extension. You will share your code with your provider during the sign-up process, enabling them to trigger your Home Care Package funding on your behalf. At that point, your provider can begin delivering your services.

How do you find the best provider for your needs? We can provide guidance.

Using Home Care Package Wait Times to Your Advantage

We understand that waiting for your Home Care Package to be allocated can be a stressful and drawn-out process. The good news is that there are a few actions you can take while waiting for your funding.

Research Home Care Package Providers

The silver lining of waiting for funding is that when the time comes, you and your family will be well-versed in the best providers and options for your needs. You can leverage this waiting period to search the My Aged Care database for providers, ask them questions, and ultimately find the best aged care provider for your unique needs.

Call My Aged Care for Updates

It can help to frequently call My Aged Care if you haven’t heard an update. Let them know your needs are increasing, and that you need support as urgently as possible.

You can also:

Stay informed to make sure you’re up-to-date with any changes in the aged care sector
Maintain regular communication with your case manager or care coordinator so you can remain updated on your application status
Get organised so all your important documents are in one place
Focus on self-care and connection so you can remain resilient during this testing time

Short-term Support Services

While you wait, there are also a few ways you can access support services in the interim.

Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP)

This is a government-subsidised service that can provide you with entry-level support. Usually, eligible participants will be recommended by the ACAT assessor, but if your needs have changed and you’d like to find out if you can access this support in the interim, you can always call My Aged Care.

Interim Packages

This is usually determined at the time of your assessment, but if you would like to access subsidised, lower-level services while on the Home Care Package waiting list, you may be able to access an interim package. Contact My Aged Care to learn more.

Privately Funded Support

If your support needs are urgent and you’ve been waiting a while, it might be helpful to consider accessing privately funded support in the meantime. While this isn’t accessible to every family, it can help alleviate the pressure and stress of the Home Care Package wait time.

The Future of Wait Times

Under the new Support at Home program, the Department of Health and Aged Care aims to reduce wait times to three months by 2027.

But even when wait times for services exceed expectations, home care applicants will receive interim allocations of their Support at Home classification budgets while waiting to receive full funding. That change, among many others, will hopefully remove some of the stress home care recipients and their families have felt in recent years while waiting for Home Care Packages.

If you and your loved ones need support or guidance while waiting for funding, you can always reach out to The CareSide. We’re here to make things easier for you and your family. If you’d like to learn more about our services, feel free to contact us on 1300 85 40 80 or fill out a quick form, and our team will be in touch.

You can also browse our collection of free E-books, including our Ultimate Guide to the Support at Home Program, for more information on Australia’s new in-home care system.

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