Home Care Package Management fees growing at double the rate of Care Management

Package Management fees for Home Care Packages rose on average 25% in the year to 30 June 2024, compared with a 12% increase in Care Management fees. The latest quarterly National Summary of Home Care Package Prices for 30 June 2024 shows the national median Package Management fee for a Level 4 Home Care Package was $278 in the June 2024 quarter, 29% higher than the $216 fee for the June 2023 quarter, according to our calculations. The national median Package Management fee for a Level 3 Home Care Package was $183 in the June 2024 quarter, 25% higher than the $146 fee for the June 2023 quarter. By contrast, Care Management fees for a Level 4 Package (for a Package managed by a provider) rose 13% from $344 in the June 2023 quarter to $389 in the June 2024 quarter. Care Management fees for a Level 1 Package (for a Package managed by a provider) rose 13% from $60 in the June 2023 quarter to $68 in the June 2024 quarter. Fees for common services - nursing, gardening, in-home respite, personal care, and cleaning - rose on average 14% over the year. For example, cleaning costs increased 16% from $62 in the June 2023 quarter to $72 in the June 2024 quarter.  The Government capped Package Management fees from 1 January 2023 at 15% of the Package level. The national medians in the latest data are still well short of the caps - see the table below.

The latest data also shows that Care Management fees for self managed Home Care Packages were on average 81% lower than for Packages fully managed by a provider, according to our calculations.