Key points

  • Unspent Support at Home funds roll over each quarter, but the rollover is capped
  • The cap is the greater of $1,000 or 10% of your quarterly budget
  • Anything above the cap returns to the government, so funds do not accumulate indefinitely
  • Services Australia calculates the rollover 61 days after the quarter ends, or the day after your provider lodges their final claim, whichever is sooner
  • Old Home Care Package unspent funds held as at 31 October 2025 sit in a separate, uncapped legacy budget and are used after your quarterly budget runs out
  • This rollover cap is not the same as the lifetime contribution cap, which is a different mechanism
  • To avoid losing the uncapped portion, watch your balance in the last few weeks of each quarter

Do Support at Home funds carry over?

Partly, and the carryover is capped.

Support at Home funding is released in four quarterly instalments rather than as one annual lump sum. At the end of each quarter, any money you did not spend does not simply roll forward in full. A limited amount carries into the next quarter, and the rest goes back to the government.

This is one of the biggest practical differences from how some people remember the old Home Care Package system, where unspent funds could build up over time. Under Support at Home, there is a ceiling on how much you can carry, and it resets every quarter.

This post explains the rollover rule in depth: how the cap is worked out, when it is calculated, and how old Home Care Package balances are treated differently. If you want help reading the carryover line on your monthly statement rather than understanding the rule itself, see our companion guide on how to read your Support at Home budget statement.

The rule: the greater of $1,000 or 10%

At the end of each quarter, unspent Support at Home funds roll over to the next quarter up to the greater of $1,000 or 10% of your quarterly budget. Anything above that amount returns to the government.

Two things matter in that sentence. First, the comparison is “greater of”, so you always get at least $1,000 of headroom. Second, the 10% is measured against your quarterly budget, not your annual budget.

Worked examples

Take two participants with different quarterly budgets:

  • On an $8,000 quarterly budget, 10% is $800. The cap is the greater of $1,000 or 10%, and $1,000 is more than $800, so $1,000 carries over.
  • On a $15,000 quarterly budget, 10% is $1,500. That is more than $1,000, so $1,500 carries over.

In short, the cap is always at least $1,000, and it rises with the percentage once your quarterly budget passes $10,000.

Quick reference table

Quarterly budget10% of budgetRollover cap (greater of $1,000 or 10%)
$4,000$400$1,000
$8,000$800$1,000
$10,000$1,000$1,000
$12,000$1,200$1,200
$15,000$1,500$1,500
$24,000$2,400$2,400

To see roughly what your own quarterly budget and rollover cap might be based on your classification level, you can estimate your Support at Home budget and contributions.

When the rollover is calculated

The carryover figure on your statement is not always final the moment a quarter ends.

Services Australia calculates the rollover 61 days after the quarter ends, or the day after your provider submits their final claim for that quarter, whichever comes first.

The 61-day window exists because providers do not always claim for a quarter’s services immediately. A service delivered in the last week of a quarter might not be claimed until the following month. The rule gives providers time to lodge late claims so your true unspent balance can be worked out. Once your provider lodges their final claim for the quarter, Services Australia can calculate the rollover straight away, the day after, rather than waiting out the full 61 days.

The practical effect is that your final closing figure for a quarter may settle a couple of months after the quarter closes. If you check your balance the day after a quarter ends, it is not yet the number the rollover will be based on.

What happens to my old Home Care Package unspent funds?

This is the part that causes the most worry for people moving across from a Home Care Package, so it is worth being precise.

If you were on a Home Care Package and held government unspent funds as at 31 October 2025, those funds are not subject to the quarterly rollover cap. They sit in a separate legacy budget with no carryover cap.

Here is how the two budgets work together:

  • Your quarterly Support at Home budget is spent first and is subject to the $1,000 or 10% rollover cap.
  • Your legacy budget is drawn on once your quarterly budget runs out for that period.
  • The legacy budget does not expire each quarter and is not clawed back under the rollover rule.

So if you transferred from a Home Care Package with a balance of unspent government funds, that balance is protected. The rollover cap applies only to your new quarterly Support at Home budget, not to the legacy pool. You do not lose your old accumulated funds at the end of a quarter.

If you are still working out how your old package converted into the new system, see our guide on switching from a Home Care Package to Support at Home.

This is not the lifetime contribution cap

It is easy to mix up two different “caps” under Support at Home.

The rollover cap on this page limits how much unspent funding carries from one quarter to the next. The lifetime contribution cap is a completely separate mechanism: it limits the total out-of-pocket contributions you pay across your aged care over your lifetime, after which the government covers your eligible contribution costs. For how that one works, see our guide to how aged care funding works in Australia.

One caps money returning to the government; the other caps money coming out of your pocket. They are not related.

How to avoid losing the uncapped portion near quarter end

Because anything above the rollover cap returns to the government, an unspent balance in the final weeks of a quarter is money you may be about to lose. A few practical habits help:

  • Know your quarter end dates. Support at Home quarters run from the start of July, October, January, and April. Mark the last few weeks of each quarter as a check-in point.
  • Check your closing balance early, not on the last day. Ask your provider where you stand about three to four weeks before quarter end, while there is still time to book additional services.
  • Bring forward planned supports. If you have been meaning to arrange a podiatry visit, extra domestic help, or allied health, scheduling it before quarter end uses budget that would otherwise be capped.
  • Use clinical services freely. Clinical supports are fully government funded, so using more of them does not increase your contribution while still drawing down your plan.
  • Look at the pattern, not one quarter. If you finish several quarters in a row with a large unspent balance, your plan may not match your needs. That is worth a conversation about your care plan or, if your provider is not making good use of your budget, about whether a different provider fits better.
  • Remember the legacy budget is safe. If you hold protected legacy funds from an old Home Care Package, those are not at risk at quarter end. The urgency only applies to the uncapped portion of your quarterly budget.

If you want to walk through your actual statement line by line to find your carryover figure and unspent balance, our Support at Home budget statement guide covers each section. For the bigger picture on how the whole program works, see the Support at Home Program complete guide.

Frequently asked questions

Do unspent Support at Home funds carry over?

Partly. At the end of each quarter, unspent Support at Home funds roll over to the next quarter, but only up to the greater of $1,000 or 10% of your quarterly budget. Anything above that cap returns to the government, so the funds do not build up indefinitely.

How much of my Support at Home budget rolls over to the next quarter?

The cap is the greater of $1,000 or 10% of your quarterly budget. On an $8,000 quarterly budget, 10% is $800, but because the cap is at least $1,000, up to $1,000 carries over. On a $15,000 quarterly budget, 10% is $1,500, so up to $1,500 carries over. The cap is always at least $1,000 and rises with the percentage once your quarterly budget passes $10,000.

When is the Support at Home rollover calculated?

Services Australia calculates the rollover 61 days after the quarter ends, or the day after your provider submits their final claim for that quarter, whichever comes first. Your final closing figure for a quarter can settle up to two months after the quarter closes.

What happens to my old Home Care Package unspent funds under Support at Home?

If you were on a Home Care Package and held government unspent funds as at 31 October 2025, those legacy funds sit in a separate budget with no carryover cap. They are drawn on once your quarterly Support at Home budget runs out. The quarterly rollover cap does not touch your legacy balance.

Sources

Make sure your budget is working for you

If you keep finishing quarters with funds returning to the government, your plan and your provider may not match how you want to use your support. Carevo is a connection platform that links older Australians with vetted aged care providers, so you can compare pricing and availability and switch to one that makes better use of your budget.

Call 1800 953 253 to be connected with a Support at Home provider through Carevo, or compare Support at Home providers in your area.