Approved for CHSP — so why can’t you find someone to help Mum?

For many families, CHSP is their first encounter with aged care.

Mum might be approved for some cleaning or gardening. Dad might need transport, meals or personal care. You receive the referral codes, start contacting providers — and discover that nobody seems able to provide the service.

Understanding why requires knowing one important thing about CHSP.

CHSP isn’t a package of money

Unlike Support at Home, CHSP doesn’t give Mum an individual budget that follows her.

It is largely grant funded. Government funds organisations to provide particular services across particular areas. An assessment establishes what help Mum needs, but it doesn’t create capacity in a local service.

And it’s a substantial program. In 2024–25, CHSP supported almost 839,000 Australians, with approximately $3.3 billion of government expenditure. By comparison, around $8.7 billion was spent on the former Home Care Packages Program, which Support at Home replaced in November 2025. These figures are reported by the ANAO and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

But that $3.3 billion isn’t divided between CHSP clients as individual budgets. That’s why approval doesn’t necessarily mean availability.

The CHSP “postcode lottery”

Two people can be approved for the same service and have very different experiences finding it. One might have several providers nearby. Another might struggle to find anyone accepting new clients.

I think of this as something of a postcode lottery. That describes the family’s experience, rather than literally how funding is allocated. CHSP planning uses larger Aged Care Planning Regions.

The ANAO’s May 2026 audit highlighted the problem. Among CHSP clients who answered its survey, 51% reported a time when they couldn’t obtain an aged care service they needed at home or in their community. Among those respondents, 69% cited no local provider of the service and 45% cited providers not accepting new clients.

Seeing CHSP on a map

This is one reason I’ve added Commonwealth Home Support provider locations across Australia to the Later Life Map.

It lets you start with a simple question: where does Mum or Dad live, and what CHSP provider infrastructure exists around them?

A nearby office doesn’t establish current service availability, and a provider further away may still service the area. Any reported availability is a snapshot that needs checking directly.

The map makes the provider network visible. It helps you identify organisations to contact; it cannot tell you whether someone can start helping Mum tomorrow.

Why does CHSP work this way?

There had been plans to bring CHSP into the more individualised home-care system that has become Support at Home.

With individual funding, the question is closer to: “Mum has funding. Who can provide the service?” With CHSP it can be: “Mum has approval. Which funded provider can actually provide it?”

But there is a reason for retaining block funding. Think about Meals on Wheels, a community bus or a small regional service. Kitchens, vehicles and staff need to be in place before an individual arrives needing assistance.

Sometimes you need to fund the service itself, not simply the person using it.

In August 2026, the Government extended CHSP to 30 June 2029. It also stated its long-term view that CHSP should remain a standalone program, recognising the importance of block funding, particularly in small communities. Consultation will inform its future design.

You’ve got CHSP approval. What now?

Start with the specific service Mum or Dad has been approved for. Their support plan lists a referral code for each eligible service.

Use My Aged Care’s Find a provider and the Later Life Map to identify providers. Confirm that they serve the address, offer the required service and can take a new client.

If you’re getting nowhere, ask My Aged Care about a broadcast referral. With consent, an assessor can send the referral to multiple suitable providers at once. It may help find capacity, although it cannot guarantee a place.

CHSP can provide valuable, heavily subsidised help. Understanding the difference between approval and availability — and knowing what to ask for next — makes it easier to navigate.