How Will the Support at Home Program Fund Walkers, Wheelchairs and Bathroom Aids?

From 1 July 2025, the Support at Home program replaces Home Care Packages and the Short-Term Restorative Care programme under the Aged Care Act 2024. For most older Australians, this means mobility aids such as walkers, shower chairs, over-toilet frames and bathroom grab rails can be funded through a participant's Support at Home budget — provided the item is documented in an approved care plan and linked to a functional goal such as reducing falls or maintaining independent hygiene. The key shift: funding moves toward individual budgets with greater flexibility, but equipment must be clinically justified and goal-aligned, not simply requested.

What the Aged Care Act 2024 Actually Changes

The Aged Care Act 2024 establishes a rights-based framework, meaning older Australians have a legislated right to safe, dignified support at home. In practical terms, this replaces the previous "provider-managed" model with a system where an individual's assessed needs drive a quarterly or annual budget allocation across defined service categories (Department of Health and Aged Care – Support at Home program).

Assistive technology and home modifications now sit within a dedicated equipment and modifications funding stream. Unlike the former Home Care Package model — where equipment purchases were often discretionary and provider-dependent — the new structure requires a functional assessment to link each item to a specific independence or safety goal. A shower chair, for example, would be justified under a goal like "maintains safe showering without carer assistance."

Which Mobility Aids Can Support at Home Fund?

Support at Home can reasonably fund low-to-medium complexity assistive technology when assessed as necessary for daily living. Items that commonly align with program goals include:

• Walking frames and wheeled walkers — linked to goals around safe indoor and outdoor mobility and fall prevention

• Lightweight manual wheelchairs — where walking capacity is significantly limited

• Shower chairs and shower commodes — aligned to maintaining personal hygiene independence

• Over-toilet frames — supporting safe toileting and transfer

• Bathroom grab rails and handheld shower heads — classified as minor home modifications under the equipment stream

Higher-complexity items — powered wheelchairs, custom seating, complex pressure care — generally remain within the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for eligible individuals under 65, or require an occupational therapist (OT) recommendation and potentially a separate My Aged Care assessment pathway for older Australians.

Support at Home vs. the Old Home Care Package: What Changes for Equipment?

Under the previous Home Care Packages Program, equipment funding was discretionary — providers could approve or decline purchases within their managed budget, and families often hit informal caps or found items excluded under provider policy. Under Support at Home, the equipment and modifications stream has its own defined budget component, reducing reliance on provider discretion (Support at Home program overview).

Example scenario: A 78-year-old woman in Melbourne's eastern suburbs currently uses a Home Care Package Level 3. Her existing package transitions automatically to Support at Home on 1 July 2025 without requiring a new assessment. Her care coordinator can update her care plan to include a wheeled walker (approximately $180–$320) and a bathroom grab rail installation (approximately $150–$400 including fitting) within the equipment stream, provided an OT documents the functional need.

Families should not need to repurchase previously approved equipment unless it requires replacement or upgrade.

How to Ask for Equipment at Your Assessment

The clearest way to secure mobility aid funding is to connect each item to a specific, observable daily living goal before or during the Support at Home assessment. A useful approach is to frame requests as: "I need [item] so that I can [functional task] safely and without full carer support."

Care coordinators and assessors from My Aged Care use this goal-function link to justify inclusions in a care plan. Families who arrive with a written list of tasks the person currently struggles with — showering, getting off the toilet, moving through the house at night — are better positioned to have appropriate equipment approved.

How a Specialist Provider Can Help

Providers such as Auswaycare supply assistive technology products — including walkers, bathroom safety equipment and falls-prevention aids — and can assist families and care coordinators in matching specific products to Support at Home care plan goals. This includes identifying which items fall within the equipment and modifications stream, where a private top-up purchase may be more practical for lower-cost items, and how to present product specifications to an OT or assessor.

Working with experienced providers in home accessibility modifications can also ensure that installations like grab rails and bathroom upgrades meet safety standards and align with care plan requirements.

Auswaycare's approach of bundling related items — for instance, grouping a shower chair, grab rail and handheld shower head as a bathroom safety set — can simplify the documentation process when building or updating a care plan.