Price rises, admin fees and travel charges: what providers can and can't charge

Under Support at Home, each provider sets its own prices. Families are often surprised by a price rise, or by charges that look like admin or travel fees. This guide explains what the rules allow, and what you can do if something doesn't look right.

Providers set their own prices, within rules

There are no government price caps on Support at Home services at the moment. Caps had been announced, but in May 2026 the government put them on hold to give providers more time to adjust.

Even without caps, providers must:

• set reasonable prices, based on what it actually costs them to deliver that service to your parent;
• publish the price they most often charge for each service, on My Aged Care and on their own website, and keep it up to date;
• agree the prices they'll charge with your parent; and
• keep records showing what each price includes.

Admin and travel fees

A provider can't charge separate administration or travel fees. It also can't take those costs out of the money set aside for care management.

The costs themselves are real, though. A provider is allowed to build them into the price of each service, along with staff costs and a margin. So a service's hourly price may be higher to cover admin and travel, but those costs shouldn't appear as separate lines on an invoice.

Care management is paid for from a set share that comes out of every Support at Home budget, so your parent doesn't choose whether to have it taken. There's no contribution for it.

There's one exception. For equipment and home changes, a provider can add an admin or coordination charge, but it's capped.

If you see a separate admin, travel or case management fee on anything else, ask the provider to explain it.

Price rises

Providers can change their prices. The service agreement should say when and how prices can go up. The government has asked providers to raise prices no more than twice a year, so families can budget. That's guidance, not a ban.

When a price goes up, it's reasonable to ask the provider:

• what the new price is and when it starts;
• why it has gone up; and
• how it compares with the price they publish on My Aged Care.

A higher price also means a higher contribution for services your parent pays a share of, such as cleaning or gardening. Our guide to what you pay by type of service explains those shares.

Personal care prices

From 1 October 2026, your parent no longer pays a contribution for personal care, such as help with showering and dressing. The government and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission said they would watch personal care prices closely after this change. If personal care prices jump, it's worth asking why.

Comparing prices

You can compare your parent's provider with others in your area using My Aged Care's Find a provider tool. The government also publishes a quarterly national price summary, so you can see the typical price and the range for each service.

If another provider charges noticeably less for the same service, that's useful when you talk to your parent's provider. Your parent can also change providers.

If a price seems too high

1. Ask the provider to explain the price and what it includes.
2. Get help from an advocate. The Older Persons Advocacy Network has free advocates who can help you raise prices with the provider.
3. Complain to the Commission. If it isn't resolved, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission takes complaints. The Commission can require a provider to refund amounts it has overcharged.

---