CHSP Alliance secures major advocacy win: CHSP to remain a separate program
The CHSP Alliance has confirmed that Stage 1 of its advocacy efforts has been successful. Both responsible ministers have now confirmed that the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) will remain a separate program, and all plans to amalgamate CHSP into Support at Home (SaH) have been abandoned. Both ministers have acknowledged the role the CHSP Alliance’s advocacy played in this change of plan.
Going forward, Australia will have two tiers of community aged care: CHSP will remain a grant-funded program, and SaH will remain a personal budget program. Existing CHSP services will be funded as ‘business as usual’ for the next three years, while government consults on the shape of CHSP beyond that. The CHSP Alliance intends to be closely involved in influencing that redesign and plans to involve its members in the process.
What’s happened since the announcement
Following the 20 August announcement by Ministers Butler and Rae, the CHSP Alliance wrote to Minister Rae’s office to request a meeting on how consultation on the program’s future will occur and followed up in person at the Invox CHSP Conference. The Alliance has also asked the minister to clarify whether Sector Support and Development (SSD) program funding contracts will be extended to 2029 along with the rest of CHSP, and has written to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (DHDA) requesting a similar meeting.
A recording of the Summit will be released free of charge soon, and Invox has already offered to support a similar Summit alongside next year’s conference.
The next fight: funding
A policy commitment alone isn’t enough, and the Alliance argues CHSP cannot wait three years for growth funding. A funding submission is being prepared for the Mid-Year Economic and Financial Outlook (MYEFO) in December. Using 2020–21 as a baseline, residential care funding has increased by 39% and Home Care Packages (now SaH) by 107%, while CHSP funding has increased by only 21%. The submission argues that if CHSP had received the same growth as residential and packaged care, its budget would now be $4.7 billion rather than the current $3.3 billion, a gap of $1.4 billion a year. The ask is a progressive budget increase up to $5.5 billion per annum, accounting for population growth and indexation.
The Alliance has also begun a risk register as part of preparing for the CHSP consultation process.
Latest position statement: ‘No Wrong Door’
The Alliance has released its 7th policy statement, ‘No Wrong Door’ to Primary Aged Care (September 2026), putting four propositions to government:
- Retain and expand CHSP (however it’s eventually named) as a separately funded primary aged care tier
- Establish multiple supported referral pathways into and within CHSP, easing pressure on the My Aged Care and IAT assessment bottleneck
- Develop smooth referral pathways between tiers of the aged care system, using a population-based approach
- Co-design CHSP entry pathways with the CHSP Alliance and consumer representatives
The full position statement, along with the Alliance’s previous six policy papers, is available at the link above.
Getting involved
The CHSP Alliance encourages respectful debate on these positions and welcomes a range of perspectives on shaping CHSP’s future. Visit chspalliance.org.au to find out more about how to get involved.
