Quick Cuts

CHSP sector news · September 2026

A monthly round-up for CHSP providers, from the SA Sector Support and Development Network.

Quick take

Amelia Dix, smiling, photographed outdoors in front of a flowering hedge.

Watch Amelia Dix's short summary for September 2026.

The Commonwealth Home Support Programme has been extended for another two years, to 30 June 2029, and stays a standalone program rather than moving into Support at Home. Consultation on the longer-term future of entry-level services begins this year.

Also this month: Aged Care Quality Bulletin #7, the first issue of the Complaints Commissioner's newsletter, DEX Stage 3 reporting fields now live, recordings of the Commission's August webinars, and our own Registration Renewal session on 29 September.

Key Reform Updates

Subscribe to aged care newsletters and alerts

The department's sign-up page. Your Aged Care Update is a weekly newsletter covering reforms, new programs, training and grant opportunities. Aged Care Alerts are sent as needed for time-critical information. Working in Aged Care Update is a monthly newsletter for the aged care workforce.

Subscribe to the Commission's bulletins

Sign-up page for the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission's monthly Quality Bulletin and for Compliance Management Insights, which is written for CEOs, chief financial officers, other financial managers, and management and director-level staff.

The new Aged Care Act in practice

Department page collecting the resources for putting the Act into practice, including the training and education catalogue developed with the Commission, eLearning modules, roadmaps for providers and for older people, the Sector Change Plan, the Priority Actions List, and a plain-language guide to what is new, what is changing and what stays the same.

Let's talk about complaints — Issue 1, August 2026

First issue of Complaints Commissioner Treasure Jennings's newsletter, written for older people, their families and supporters. It covers what a provider's complaints process should look like, how to contact the Commission, the OPAN advocacy line, and the Elder Care Support program run with NACCHO. It will be published three times a year, and providers and workers can subscribe as well.

Aged Care Quality Bulletin #7-2026

This edition covers the Commission's 11 August webinar on Higher Everyday Living Fees, award pay increases from 1 August and the limits on changing business and pricing models in response, six aged care rights videos translated into Auslan, identifying communication support needs early, the residential aged care accommodation census, and the National Aged Care Provider Conference on 13 and 14 October.

Sector News

An open letter to Commonwealth Home Support Program providers (PDF)

Letter to CHSP providers from Minister for Health and Ageing Mark Butler and Minister for Aged Care and Seniors Sam Rae about the extension of the program.

Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) extended (PDF)

Fact sheet on the two-year extension of CHSP grant funding to 30 June 2029.

CHSP extended to 30 June 2029

Department news item on the extension. CHSP grant funding runs a further two years and the program stays separate from Support at Home rather than transitioning into it. Around 830,000 older people use CHSP and about 1,300 organisations deliver it. Consultation on the longer-term future of entry-level services and in-home support begins this year, including how those services are funded and the role of block funding.

Week of Ageing Well calendar

The DHS Office for Ageing Well calendar of events for South Australia's Week of Ageing Well, which runs from 1 to 7 October 2026. Events are listed with dates, times and venues across the state.

CHSP Guide to Data Exchange (DEX) Stage 3 Changes (PDF)

Guidance on the new session-level fields for CHSP reporting, with sections on meal delivery, transport, respite services and individual social support, plus standard definitions for each new field. The fields apply to services delivered from 1 July 2026 and became available in DEX on 11 August 2026.

Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards (PDF)

The seven strengthened Quality Standards, which took effect on 1 November 2025 with the Aged Care Act 2024. 49 pages.

Alis

The Commission's online learning platform. This link opens the sign-in and registration page rather than an information page. Access is free for registered providers, associated providers, their workers and governing body members; everyone else pays an annual licence fee.

Training checklist — aged care workers and volunteers (PDF)

A checklist of the training available on the new Aged Care Act, for workers and volunteers to identify the modules that suit their role and keep track of what they have completed.

Specialisation Verification for aged care services

Department page on the voluntary process for having specialised services recognised on a provider's My Aged Care profile. It sets out the criteria in the Specialisation Verification Framework, how to apply for each cohort or community group, and what to do when a verification is close to expiring.

The Waiting Game

Four Corners investigation by Anne Connolly, broadcast 17 August 2026. It examines the assessment tool that decides how much Support at Home funding a person receives, what happens when people challenge the result, and how the waiting list is counted.

Supporting Older People: Volunteer Learning Guide

Department guide in three parts: the regulatory framework and registered providers' obligations for delivering training; a toolkit for volunteer managers with a step-by-step checklist covering the five core topics; and a section for volunteers on the training they will receive.

Title card for the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission webinar, Incident reporting in context: what's changed, 18 August 2026.

Incident reporting in context — what's changed

Recording of the Commission's sector webinar held on 18 August 2026, covering incident reporting under the Aged Care Act, the changes the Act introduced and what they mean in practice, with case studies. Runs about 57 minutes.

Title card for the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission webinar, Higher Everyday Living Fees, 11 August 2026.

Higher Everyday Living Fees

Recording of the Commission's sector webinar held on 11 August 2026. It covers providers' obligations when charging Higher Everyday Living Fees, communicating HELF agreements, service prices and bundles, and the risks of applying the fee incorrectly. This one is about residential aged care.

Webinars for the aged care sector

The department's list of upcoming and past webinars. Each entry links to the recording and the slides.

Commission webinars

The Commission's monthly sector webinars, with recordings, presentation slides and written answers to questions that were not reached during the live sessions, plus the forward plan of upcoming topics.

Dates coming up

Webinars

Open engagement and consultation opportunities are listed on the department's Consultation Hub. You can also subscribe to the aged care sector newsletters and alerts.

SA SSD News

Flyer for the SA Sector Support and Development webinar, Registration Renewal for CHSP providers, Tuesday 29 September 2026, 11:00 am to 12:30 pm SA time.

Registration Renewal for CHSP providers

Our webinar on Tuesday 29 September 2026, 11:00 am to 12:30 pm SA time. Patrick Deayton, Assistant Director, Legislative Reform at the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, presents, and there is question time with a Registrar member. Registration is through Humanitix.

Ageing Reframed banner reading 'The future of ageing is a design decision', beside a close-up photograph of an older woman's face.

Ageing Reframed has launched

A new national initiative from MCCSA, focused on innovation in ageing and aged care through an equity-by-design lens. It brings together news and analysis, research, webinars, interviews, case studies and collaborations with universities and sector organisations, with a focus on what is actually changing and what it means for older Australians. The weekly newsletter is free and arrives on Tuesday mornings. The first webinar, Who We Think We Are: The Role of Identity in Making Decisions as We Get Older, is online on Wednesday 23 September, 10:30 am to 11:30 am ACST.