This page has been updated. Home Care Packages have been replaced
This article originally covered the Home Care Packages Program. From 1 November 2025, Home Care Packages were replaced by the Support at Home Program. If you had a package, your funding carried across.
The good news has not changed. Remedial massage is still an included allied health service, and Accelr8 Rehab still comes to your home across Canberra. Everything below reflects the new program.
Remedial Massage, at Your Kitchen Table, Paid From Your Budget
No driving, no parking, no sitting in a waiting room. I bring the table to you, and for most people the majority of the cost comes out of a budget they already have. A lot of older Australians do not realise massage is included at all, which is the main reason this page exists.
Yes, Remedial Massage Is Included
Remedial massage is classified as an allied health service, which means it can be funded from your budget. This came about after a long stretch of advocacy by the Association of Massage Therapists, who did the work of demonstrating the professional standards involved. It was a genuine milestone for the profession and, more to the point, for the people who benefit from it.
There are conditions attached. Your service should meet all of the following.
- ✓It is required because of age related functional decline, or because you cannot access disability supports for the same need.
- ✓It is in line with best practice guidance for treatment.
- ✓It is delivered by an accredited therapist.
- ✓It is not already being funded by another government program at the same time.
In practice, that describes most of the people I visit. If you are unsure whether your situation qualifies, ring the clinic and ask. It takes about five minutes to work out, and I would rather tell you honestly than have you assume you are not eligible.
What the Eight Funding Levels Are Worth
Support at Home has eight classification levels. Which one you are assigned depends on your assessed need. These are the quarterly budget amounts, so a level 4 budget is roughly $29,500 across a year.
Put that in perspective. Even at level 1, the quarterly budget comfortably covers a fortnightly massage with a good deal left over for everything else you need. Allied health is usually a small slice of a budget that most people underspend, which is a shame given it is the part that keeps you moving.
What Comes Out of Your Own Pocket
You contribute a percentage of the cost and your budget covers the rest. The percentage depends on your income and assets, and for clinical care such as allied health the contributions are the lowest of any service type.
Full pensioners
You pay $8.50 of a $170 session. The remaining $161.50 comes from your budget.
Part pensioners and Seniors Card holders
A sliding rate based on income and assets. We can help you work out roughly where you sit before you commit to anything.
Self funded retirees
You pay $85 of a $170 session, with the other $85 taken from your budget.
For a full pensioner having a massage every fortnight, that works out to a bit over $220 a year out of pocket. Most people are surprised by how small that number is once it is written down.
Three Steps, and We Do Most of the Work
Check that you have a budget
If you already had a Home Care Package, you have one, it simply has a new name. If you do not, you need an assessment through My Aged Care first. Start at myagedcare.gov.au or phone 1800 200 422. Your GP can also make the referral for you.
Tell your provider you want Accelr8 Rehab
You choose who delivers your services. Contact your registered provider and instruct them that Accelr8 Rehab can deliver both Remedial Massage and Exercise Physiology under your budget. They arrange it from there. If it is easier, we can speak to them directly on your behalf.
We come to you
Once it is approved we book a time that suits and turn up at your front door. Most people are having their first session within a fortnight of making the call.
We already work with clients through most of the main providers in the ACT, including Mercy Health, Trilogy Care, Northside Community Service, Life Without Barriers, integratedliving Australia and others. If yours is not on that list it is very unlikely to be a problem.
One thing we cannot do. If your only support is through the Commonwealth Home Support Programme, that is a separate, block funded program without an individual budget you can direct, so we cannot be engaged that way. Ask your assessor about moving to Support at Home if your needs have increased.
This Is What It Actually Looks Like
Not a clinic, not a waiting room, and no trip across town beforehand. Your lounge room, your kettle, your dog under the table if that is how your house runs.
For a lot of people that is the whole reason it works. Getting to an appointment can cost more than the appointment gives back, and by the time you have driven home you have undone half of it.
What a Home Visit Looks Like
I bring everything
Table, towels, oils, all of it. You need a space roughly the size of a small dining table and somewhere for me to set up. A spare room, the lounge, wherever suits you.
You stay clothed if you prefer
Plenty of effective work can be done through clothing, and nobody has to do anything they are not comfortable with. Dignity is not negotiable, and I will not make a fuss about it either way.
Chair based if a table will not work
If getting on and off a table is difficult, or you have a condition that makes lying flat unpleasant, we work in a chair. This is common and it is not a compromise.
Usually 45 to 60 minutes
Shorter if that is what you tolerate. There is no benefit in a long session that leaves you flattened for two days.
Family are welcome to sit in
If a partner, son or daughter wants to be there, particularly for the first visit, that is completely fine and often helpful.
Exercise can be added
I am also an Exercise Physiologist, and Isaac and Jess deliver home based exercise sessions. Both come from the same budget, and the combination works better than either alone.
Our Support at Home Service Page
This article covers the massage side. If you want the complete rundown, including the exercise physiology side, our in home team, video, and the full funding breakdown, that all lives on the service page.
Questions We Get Asked
I had a Home Care Package. Do I need to reapply?
No. If you had a package before 1 November 2025, your funding transferred to Support at Home automatically. You do not need to reapply, and you keep your existing provider unless you choose to change.
What is worth doing is reviewing what your budget is actually being spent on. A lot of people are underspending, and allied health is frequently the gap.
Will my provider let me choose Accelr8 Rehab?
They should. The funding is assigned to you, not to them, and you have the right to choose who delivers your services. Providers are used to this request and most handle it without any fuss.
If you get pushback, tell us and we will speak to them directly. It is usually a matter of getting the paperwork to the right person rather than any actual objection.
How often can I have a massage?
That depends on your budget and your assessed need rather than any fixed rule. Fortnightly suits most people well. Weekly is achievable on the higher levels, and monthly works for maintenance once things have settled.
We will suggest what we think is clinically appropriate, and you can weigh that against everything else your budget has to cover.
What can massage actually help with at my age?
The usual reasons people call are persistent back, neck and shoulder pain, stiffness that makes getting going in the morning hard, arthritic joints, poor circulation, and sleep that has become unreliable because of discomfort.
There is also a part that does not show up on any assessment form. For a lot of people living alone, a regular visit from someone who knows their history matters as much as the treatment itself. That is not a claim I would put in a brochure, but it is true.
Do you visit my suburb?
We are based in Weetangera and cover Belconnen thoroughly, along with most of Canberra. Ring and tell us where you are. If we cannot get to you we will say so straight away rather than waste your time.
I am on CHSP, not Support at Home. Can you help?
Not through CHSP, unfortunately. The Commonwealth Home Support Programme is block funded, meaning there is no individual budget you can direct to a provider of your choosing. It is a separate, entry level program.
If your needs have increased, it is worth asking your assessor about moving across to Support at Home. Alternatively you can see us privately, and we will be upfront about what that costs.
Have a Chat Before You Commit to Anything
Ring the clinic and we will work out whether your budget covers it, roughly what you would pay, and whether we reach your suburb. No obligation, and no sales pitch at the end of it.
Funding figures are indicative quarterly budget amounts for the Support at Home Program and several are approximate, marked as such above. Amounts are subject to indexation and to your assessed classification level. Contribution rates depend on your income and asset assessment. Accelr8 Rehab delivers services funded from a client's Support at Home budget, engaged through the client's registered provider. For official information on eligibility, assessment and funding, see myagedcare.gov.au or phone 1800 200 422. This article is general information and is not financial or aged care advice.