StewartBrown’s March 2026 Financial Performance Survey confirms what many aged care organisations already know: delivering services sustainably under Support at Home is increasingly difficult.

The first full quarter with providers operating entirely under the Support at Home program produced the lowest average operating result since StewartBrown began benchmarking home care providers in 2016.

Despite significant increases in service prices, providers reported lower revenue, reduced service volumes and declining margins. This does not mean Support at Home has failed. However, it shows that providers must quickly adapt to a fundamentally different financial and operational model.

Technology, billing accuracy and strong revenue controls will be critical. Providers can no longer afford to let valid claims, unpaid invoices or staff time slip through the cracks.

Support at Home financial performance at a glance

The StewartBrown survey covered 89,777 Support at Home packages, representing approximately 26% of the national market. The results included:

• An average operating loss of $0.46 per client per day during the March 2026 quarter.
• A year-to-date operating result of $0.58 per client per day, down from $3.13 a year earlier.
• Annualised EBITDA of just $23 per client during the March quarter.
• Average package utilisation of only 62.2% during the March quarter.
• A reduction in direct care from 4.13 to 4.01 hours per client each week.
• An average increase of approximately 38% in prices for key services, which was still insufficient to offset lower service volumes and lost revenue streams.

Compared with the final Home Care Packages quarter in September 2025, total revenue declined by more than $14 per client per day.

These results are particularly concerning because they cover the first complete quarter operating solely under Support at Home and indicate the structural financial pressures providers may face under the new model.

You can read further analysis of the results from Inside Ageing and The Weekly Source.

Why are Support at Home providers under financial pressure?

Support at Home changed how providers generate revenue. Under the previous Home Care Packages model, providers could recover part of their corporate and administrative costs through package management and care management fees. Under Support at Home, package management fees have disappeared, care management funding has changed, and providers are more dependent on the volume of services they actually deliver. As a provider, you know this all too well.

Higher service prices were intended to incorporate costs that had previously been recovered through those separate revenue streams. However, higher prices have simply not translated into stronger financial results.

Providers are simultaneously managing:

• New administrative and reporting requirements.
• More complex Support at Home billing rules.
• Participant contribution calculations and collection.
• Reduced service utilisation.
• Workforce shortages and rising wage costs.
• More demanding compliance obligations.
• Technology and integration costs.
• Claiming, payment and reconciliation issues.
• Changes in participant service preferences.

The result is that providers have higher prices but may be delivering fewer billable services, while continuing to carry substantial fixed operating costs.

Why do higher Support at Home prices not increase profit?

One of the biggest misconceptions about Support at Home is that higher service prices should automatically improve profitability. In practice, price is only one part of the financial equation.

Providers also need sufficient service volume, accurate billing and reliable payment collection. If a service is delivered but not correctly recorded, invoiced, claimed or reconciled, the higher price provides no financial benefit.

The StewartBrown results show that although direct service revenue increased, it did not fully compensate for:

• The removal of package management revenue.
• Lower care management income.
• Reduced package utilisation.
• Lower service volumes.
• Claiming and implementation issues.
• Revenue leakage during the transition.

Every delayed claim affects cash flow. Every billing error creates additional work. Every missed service or participant contribution reduces the revenue available to support care delivery. Across thousands of services and clients, even small inefficiencies can have a material effect on financial performance.

Administration is now a strategic capability

Support at Home has increased the importance of back-office operations. Billing and administration can no longer be treated purely as support functions. They are now central to revenue protection, compliance and financial sustainability.

Providers should review the complete revenue cycle, including:

1. Service scheduling and verification.
2. Service data capture.
3. Invoice generation and validation.
4. Support at Home claim submission.
5. Participant contribution invoicing.
6. Payment reconciliation.
7. Rejected or unpaid claim management.
8. Monthly participant statements.
9. Budget monitoring and forecasting.
10. Financial and operational reporting.

Many aged care organisations are relying on workflows designed for the Home Care Packages environment. Spreadsheets, duplicate data entry and disconnected systems create delays and make it harder to identify missing or incorrect revenue. These processes become increasingly expensive as client and transaction volumes grow.

How can technology improve Support at Home sustainability?

Technology cannot solve workforce shortages or remove regulatory complexity. However, it does reduce the administrative burden that prevents providers from operating efficiently. Support at Home billing automation can help providers:

• Capture billable services more consistently.
• Validate invoices before they are submitted.
• Identify missing, duplicated or invalid transactions.
• Submit claims to Services Australia sooner.
• Process participant contributions accurately.
• Reconcile payment summaries automatically.
• Identify rejected, unpaid or partially paid claims.
• Monitor outstanding revenue in real time.
• Produce compliant participant statements.
• Reduce repetitive data entry.
• Give finance and operational teams a shared view of performance.

The financial benefit does not usually come from one dramatic change, but from hundreds or thousands of small improvements repeated throughout the year.

Reducing the time spent preparing claims, correcting errors and matching payments can produce meaningful savings while also shortening payment cycles.

Revenue leakage deserves immediate attention

Revenue leakage occurs when a provider delivers a valid service but does not receive the full amount it is entitled to claim or collect. Under Support at Home, leakage may result from:

• Services that are delivered but never submitted.
• Incorrect service codes or claim details.
• Missing supporting documentation.
• Claims submitted outside required timeframes.
• Rejected claims that are not followed up.
• Incorrect participant contribution calculations.
• Payments that cannot be matched to invoices.
• Credits and cancellations that are not reconciled.
• Differences between care-management, billing and finance systems.

Providers should be able to trace each service from delivery through to claim submission, payment and reconciliation. If that end-to-end visibility does not exist, management teams may not discover lost revenue until weeks or months later.

What can Support at Home providers control?

Providers cannot control every aspect of the Support at Home program. Government policy, funding arrangements, price caps and compliance requirements will continue to change. Providers can control how efficiently their organisations respond.

The strongest organisations focus on:

• Simplifying internal processes.
• Reducing duplicate administration.
• Improving service and billing data quality.
• Automating claim validation and submission.
• Shortening the time between service delivery and payment.
• Monitoring package utilisation and service volumes.
• Strengthening participant contribution collection.
• Integrating care-management, claiming and finance systems.
• Giving operational teams better financial visibility.
• Investigating exceptions before they become significant losses.

The objective is not simply to reduce headcount or administrative spending; it’s to ensure skilled staff spend less time correcting preventable errors and more time supporting clients and improving service delivery.

Building a financially resilient Support at Home organisation

Support at Home is still maturing. Government requirements, provider processes and software systems will continue to evolve. However, the March 2026 results show that financial sustainability cannot be taken for granted. Providers need disciplined operational and financial controls now.

That means understanding the true cost of delivering each service, monitoring utilisation, protecting cash flow, reducing administrative overhead and investing in technology that can scale with the organisation.

Solutions such as quickclaim can help providers streamline Support at Home billing and claiming by:

• Validating invoices before submission.
• Submitting claims directly to Services Australia.
• Reconciling payment summaries and remittances.
• Managing cancellations, credits and resubmissions.
• Supporting participant contribution invoicing.
• Producing participant statements.
• Integrating billing data with finance and care-management systems.
• Providing visibility over budgets, claims, payments and exceptions.

Technology alone will not resolve every challenge facing the aged care sector. But faster, more accurate and more automated billing processes can remove one of the largest operational pressures under Support at Home.

Ultimately, the future belongs to providers that are both compassionate and commercially resilient. Delivering outstanding care remains essential—but under Support at Home, delivering and billing for that care efficiently may prove just as important.

Frequently asked questions

Why are Support at Home providers experiencing lower margins?

Providers are experiencing lower margins because increased service prices have not fully offset reduced service volumes, lower package utilisation, the removal of package management fees, changes to care management funding and higher administrative costs.

Did Support at Home service prices increase?

Yes. StewartBrown found that average prices for several common services increased by approximately 38%. However, lower service volumes and changes to provider revenue streams meant these increases did not necessarily improve profitability.

What is revenue leakage in Support at Home?

Revenue leakage occurs when a valid service is delivered but the provider does not receive the full payment it is entitled to. Causes can include missing claims, incorrect billing data, rejected claims, uncollected participant contributions and unreconciled payments.

How can providers improve Support at Home cash flow?

Providers can improve cash flow by submitting claims sooner, validating transactions before submission, following up rejected claims, automating participant contribution invoicing and reconciling payments promptly.

How can billing automation help Support at Home providers?

Billing automation reduces manual data entry, validates claims, accelerates submission, identifies exceptions and improves payment reconciliation. It also gives providers clearer visibility over outstanding revenue and package utilisation.

What should providers review first?

Providers should map the complete process from service delivery to payment. This includes service verification, invoice generation, claim submission, participant contributions, payment reconciliation and exception management.