A newly formed alliance of aged care leaders is urging the Federal Government to retain the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) as a standalone pillar of the system, warning that folding it into the forthcoming Support at Home (SAH) program risks weakening preventative care and increasing long-term system costs.
The CHSP Alliance, comprising 40 organisations and individuals representing consumers, unions, providers, clinicians and researchers, is advocating for a fundamental redesign of aged care into a three-tiered model aligned with Australia’s health system. Under its proposal, CHSP would operate as the primary care tier, SAH as the secondary tier, and residential aged care as the tertiary level.
Alliance Co-Convenor Professor Kathy Eagar AM said the current system remains overly complex and difficult for older people to navigate, particularly those seeking early, low-level support.
“We are calling on the government to restructure aged care into three tiers just like the health system,” Professor Eagar added.
“CHSP should be the primary care tier, equivalent to visiting a GP, where services are local, affordable and easy to access, with no long waits.”
She said a strengthened CHSP would bring together essential community-based supports such as Meals on Wheels, community transport, neighbourhood centres, allied health and community nursing, forming a comprehensive, prevention-focused front line of aged care.
Co-Convenor Paul Sadler, who also chairs Meals on Wheels Australia, said the case for reform was both social and economic, with preventative care critical to sustaining the system.
“We really must increase investment in prevention and in helping older people live well and be as independent as possible,” Mr Sadler said.
“Primary aged care focusing on prevention is good for the individual and good for the taxpayer. If we don’t invest now, the costs of more intensive care will only increase.”
At the centre of the Alliance’s position is an urgent call for CHSP to remain separate from SAH, with a decision sought in the May 2026 Federal Budget. The group argues that merging the programs would dilute CHSP’s focus on early intervention and undermine its effectiveness as a first point of contact.
In its position statement, the Alliance describes CHSP as a critical enabler of ageing in place, supporting more than 800,000 older Australians each year through over 115 million services delivered by more than 1,200 providers nationwide. It notes that the program has consistently performed well over four decades, yet has seen limited policy development and growth investment in recent years.
Beyond its immediate call, the Alliance has outlined a longer-term reform agenda centred on co-designing a modernised CHSP that is fit for the next 20 years. Its primary goal is the maintenance, expansion and proper funding of CHSP as the preventative and early intervention tier of the aged care system.
Among its secondary goals is the introduction of genuine consumer choice, allowing older Australians requiring higher levels of support to choose whether services are delivered through CHSP or SAH. The Alliance argues this would improve continuity of care, enabling people to remain with trusted providers as their needs change.
It is also pushing for significantly stronger integration between aged care and primary health, including enabling general practitioners to “socially prescribe” CHSP services such as community transport, meal delivery or social support. The Alliance says this would reduce fragmentation and provide a practical pathway for older people to access care without navigating complex assessment processes.
“A GP is often the first point of contact when someone begins to need support,” Professor Eagar added. “Social prescribing is a practical way to connect people quickly with the community services they need.”
The Alliance is also calling for a new funding model that separates fixed infrastructure costs from variable service delivery costs, arguing this would improve transparency, responsiveness and long-term sustainability.
In short, the Alliance believes a strong, clearly defined primary aged care system is essential to the future of the sector.
