Australia’s aged care sector is undergoing one of its most significant structural shifts in decades. From late 2025 through 2026, changes to provider applications, funding structures, and registration requirements will reshape how organisations enter, operate, and scale within the system.
For many providers, regulatory change can feel complex or disruptive. However, these reforms are designed to create clarity, reduce duplication, and support more sustainable service delivery. Providers who understand the new application framework early will be best positioned to specialise, expand, and grow within a highly regulated environment.
As Regulatory Growth Consultants, we work with providers entering and expanding within aged care by aligning registration, compliance, and operating models with the new regulatory framework.
A Shift to a Single Provider Application Framework
One of the most important changes is the introduction of a single provider application framework.
Previously, aged care providers were required to navigate multiple programs, approvals, and funding streams, often applying separately for each. From 2026, providers will apply once through the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and register under defined service categories.
This shift reduces administrative duplication and replaces fragmented program approvals with a clearer, more consistent regulatory structure.
Programs transitioning into the single framework include:
- Home Care Packages
- Short-Term Restorative Care
- Commonwealth Home Support Programme (transitioning by 2027)
- Other flexible and transitional aged care programs
For providers, this creates clearer entry pathways and more predictable compliance obligations.
At HCPA, we support providers to navigate the new single application framework by aligning registration, governance, and operating models to the updated regulatory structure, ensuring entry pathways are clear, compliant, and scalable from the outset.
Category-Based Registration: What Has Changed
Under the new framework, providers register based on what they actually deliver, rather than being required to offer end-to-end aged care services.
This category-based approach allows providers to align their regulatory obligations with their business model.
Low-Risk Registration (Categories 1–3)
Applies to services such as:
- Home and community support
- Assistive technology and home modifications
- Advisory and non-clinical services
These categories carry lighter compliance requirements and are particularly suited to:
- New entrants to aged care
- Specialist or niche service providers
- Organisations not delivering clinical care
Full Registration (Categories 1–6)
Covers:
- Personal care and allied health
- Nursing and transition care
- Residential aged care
These categories involve higher regulatory obligations and are suited to providers delivering comprehensive or clinical services.
This structure enables providers to design a regulatory footprint that matches their scope, supporting sustainable and compliant growth.
As Regulatory Growth Consultants, we help providers determine the most appropriate registration category based on their service scope, risk profile, and growth strategy, allowing regulation to support specialisation and scale, rather than constrain it.
Support at Home and Application Implications
The introduction of Support at Home, commencing 1 November 2025, replaces the Home Care Package system and underpins many of the application changes taking effect from 2026.
Support at Home introduces:
- A single funding model for non-residential aged care
- Funding aligned to assessed need rather than capped packages
- Layered funding components for higher-need participants
For providers, this means applications and service models must clearly demonstrate:
- Alignment with assessed outcomes
- Defined service offerings
- Capability to deliver within a regulated funding structure
Providers who can clearly articulate their role within the Support at Home model will be better positioned during the application and approval process.
We work with providers to translate these requirements into clear service definitions, compliant governance structures, and application narratives that meet regulatory expectations while remaining operationally practical.
Funding Structure Changes Providers Need to Understand
Under Support at Home, participants with complex needs may access combined funding of up to approximately $130,000 per year, compared to the previous Home Care Package cap of around $62,000.
Indicative components include:
- Core care funding (approximately $78,000 annually)
- Assistive Technology and Home Modifications (up to $15,000)
- Restorative Care (short-term, up to $12,000)
- End-of-Life pathway funding (up to $25,000)
This funding model rewards providers who operate with clarity and regulatory precision. Rather than broad service delivery, growth now comes from clearly defined, outcome-aligned services operating within approved funding structures. This shift that strongly favours providers who build within the regulatory framework from day one.
Brokerage and Partnership Models
The new framework also supports brokerage and partnership-based delivery models.
Providers can register for their core service category and partner with other registered organisations to deliver complementary services. This approach allows providers to:
- Reduce compliance burden
- Limit operational risk
- Specialise without sacrificing scale
For many organisations, partnership-led delivery represents a Regulatory Growth pathway, enabling scale through collaboration while maintaining a focused regulatory footprint and controlled compliance exposure.
Regulation as a Growth Advantage
These application changes reflect a broader shift in aged care, from fragmented programs to a structured, transparent, and category-driven system.
While regulation often feels restrictive, it is also what creates access, credibility, and long term opportunity. The providers who succeed in the next phase of aged care will be those who understand the rules early and build within them.
At HCPA, this is what we define as Regulatory Growth, using regulation as a growth advantage rather than a limitation. The biggest opportunities in aged care are not found in unregulated spaces. They exist behind the regulated wall, where structure enables scale and governance supports longevity.
Looking Ahead
As aged care reforms continue to roll out through 2026, the application process will become clearer, more consistent, and more aligned with how services are actually delivered.
For providers considering entry or expansion, the new framework offers more defined pathways than ever before — provided regulation is understood and embedded from the outset.
Our vision is to open the world’s hardest industries to everybody by helping organisations navigate regulation with clarity and confidence. In aged care, those who engage early, specialise thoughtfully, and build within the system will be best positioned for long-term success.
Stay informed on this initiative and more by exploring the latest industry insights on the HCPA blog. Let’s work together to elevate aged care for all Australians.
HCPA is an all-in-one solution for aged care providers. We help businesses enter and scale highly regulated industries by turning regulation into a growth advantage. Contact us here or call 03 9084 7472 to learn how we can help you succeed.
