Aged Care Act 2024 countdown: critical dates and your Support at Home checklist

With only 9 days until the Aged Care Act 2024 commences on 1 November 2025, home care providers are racing to finalise policy, systems, and workforce readiness for the Support at Home transition. Below, we’ve distilled the must-know dates, system outages, and a pre-24 October checklist, so you can minimise disruption, protect cashflow, and keep your teams audit-ready.

Becoming a registered provider

 

Aged Care Act 2024

Key dates & ACPP outages for Support at Home

Plan your operations around outages, claims deadlines, and the shift to Support at Home. Times below are shown in AEDT (Sydney).

Last updated: 22 October 2025

Milestones from October 2025 to July 2026 for home care providers
Date & time (AEDT) Milestone What it means / Action
Fri 24 Oct 2025, 6:00pm ACPP outage begins The Aged Care Provider Portal is unavailable from 24 Oct 6:00pm through Sat 1 Nov, midday. Reschedule non-critical system work and brief teams.
Sat 1 Nov 2025, midday ACPP reopens (read-only) Use 1–5 Nov to complete system verification and testing. Validate data, roles, and workflow steps.
Wed 5 Nov 2025, midday Full ACPP access restored Normal portal functions resume. Proceed with updates, onboarding, and routine processes.
Sun 30 Nov 2025 (end of day) Final HCP claims for October 2025 services Last day to submit HCP claims for October. Verify payment account details, assign Care Partners to all recipients, and ensure service agreements are ready.
Mon 1 Dec 2025 Support at Home claiming begins Transition billing and reporting to Support at Home. Train finance & care teams on evidence, coding, and documentation.
Wed 1 Jul 2026 Government price caps commence Prices may be set by providers from Nov 2025–Jun 2026. From 1 Jul 2026, price caps apply—finalise your pricing strategy and participant communications.

Tip: add these dates to your shared calendar and change plan so operations, finance, ICT and client services remain aligned.

Talk to the LPA Team Support at Home Services

What to do before 24 October 2025

Make sure these are complete before the ACPP outage begins:

  • Complete system verification and testing
    Dry-run your Support at Home configurations, reporting, and claim file generation.
  • Verify payment account details
    Prevent claim rejections and cashflow delays when claiming restarts.
  • Assign Care Partners to all participants
    Confirm continuity of care, accountability, and contact points from Day 1.
  • Have service agreements ready
    Ensure agreements reflect Support at Home expectations and your pricing strategy.

From 1 December: switching to Support at Home claiming

When Support at Home claiming starts on 1 December 2025, your finance and care teams will need to:

  • Align service delivery with participant goals and approved plans.
  • Capture accurate time and service data to support transparent claiming.
  • Keep documentation and evidence audit-ready at all times.
  • Monitor cashflow closely during the first billing cycles.

Pricing strategy: use the runway wisely

You have pricing flexibility from November 2025 to June 2026. Use this window to:

  • Model scenarios (wage inflation, travel time, supervision, training).
  • Align prices with your value proposition (specialist capability, rural reach, rapid response).
  • Stress-test margins against expected government price caps from 1 July 2026.
  • Communicate clearly with participants about inclusions, exclusions, and any changes.

Early, transparent communication builds trust and reduces invoice disputes.

Risk, readiness, and audit posture

  • Treat the ACPP outage as a planned risk—activate contingencies, reschedule non-essential system work, and brief teams on downtime.
  • Keep your governance artefacts (risk register, issue log, incident response, pricing rationale) updated and accessible.
  • Schedule a quick pre-go-live huddle across operations, finance, ICT, and care management to confirm roles and escalation paths.

FAQs

Q: Can I submit HCP claims for October after 30 November 2025?

A: No. 30 November 2025 is the final day to submit October 2025 HCP claims. From 1 December, you move to Support at Home claiming.

Q: What happens between 1-5 November when ACPP is read-only?

A: Use this window to verify systems and data. Full functionality resumes from midday 5 November.

Q: Do I need to change my prices on 1 November?

A: Not necessarily. You may set your own prices Nov 2025 to Jun 2026, but price caps start 1 July 2026. Plan and communicate early.

Need support getting ready for Support at Home?

The LPA Team is here to help you navigate the transition with confidence. Whether you need guidance on compliance, governance, or pricing strategy; we’re only a call or email away.

Email: reception@lpaconsulting.com.au
Phone: (02) 9337 2337

Contact the LPA Team