AT-HM funding under Support at Home, explained plainly

What the AT-HM scheme is, in plain language

AT-HM stands for Assistive Technology and Home Modifications. It is a dedicated funding scheme that sits alongside Support at Home. Where your ongoing services budget pays for people and time - nursing, personal care, cleaning, transport - AT-HM pays for things: equipment, devices and physical changes to the home that help someone stay safe and independent.

The two budgets are separate. That matters, because it means an item funded through AT-HM does not eat into the hours of care a person receives each quarter. It is also why AT-HM is worth understanding properly rather than treating it as a footnote to Support at Home.

AT-HM replaced the ad hoc way equipment was handled under Home Care Packages, where technology sat inside general service categories with no dedicated stream. For a fuller comparison of the two systems, see in-home care technology and Support at Home.

The three AT-HM tiers

AT-HM funding is approved at one of three tiers. The tier is set at assessment, based on the assessed need and the cost and complexity of what is required.

The funding window: how long you have

AT-HM funding does not roll over into the ongoing services budget, and unused amounts are not banked indefinitely. If a device is part of the plan, it is better to substantiate and claim it early in the window than to leave it to the last quarter.

The access path, step by step

1. 1

   Assessment

   An aged care assessment through My Aged Care identifies goals and needs. Equipment needs are recorded here - this is the step where technology either gets written into the plan or does not.

2. 2

   Tier approval

   The assessment outcome sets the AT-HM tier and the amount available.

3. 3

   Choose a provider

   You select a registered provider to arrange the item or modification.

4. 4

   Provider notifies Services Australia

   The provider records the AT-HM item against your plan through the aged care provider portal.

5. 5

   Funds available

   The item is supplied and the provider claims against the AT-HM budget.

Requesting more than $15,000

Where the assessed need genuinely exceeds the high tier - major bathroom or access modifications, or complex equipment - a separate request is made through My Aged Care. You will need:

• A completed request form
• Quotes for the proposed items or works
• A prescription or written recommendation from a suitably qualified practitioner

The published target for a decision is around 14 calendar days from a complete submission. Incomplete evidence is the most common cause of delay, so it is worth getting quotes and the prescription lined up before lodging.

Where technology like Lumin sits - the honest answer

The department's published AT-HM examples lean heavily towards mobility, toileting and bathing equipment - walking frames, commodes, shower chairs. Communication and monitoring technology is not obviously represented in those examples. So the honest answer to "can I claim a Lumin CareHub under AT-HM?" is: yes, it can be funded, but it is not automatic and it depends on how the need is framed.

AT-HM decisions are made against assessed need and care plan goals, not against a product catalogue. A claim succeeds when the technology is clearly tied to a goal the assessor has already recorded. The goals that typically carry a Lumin claim are:

• Safety at home and the ability to raise an alert, including after a fall
• Medication and appointment prompting where memory is a factor
• Reducing social isolation where standard phones, tablets and apps are not usable
• Enabling care to be delivered or checked remotely between visits
• Supporting a person to remain at home rather than move to residential care

Where it tends to fail is when the request is framed as "a tablet". A general-purpose consumer device is hard to justify as assistive technology. A purpose-built, accessibility-first device prescribed against a documented need is a different proposition.

What a provider or assessor needs from Lumin

We are used to being part of this paperwork and we will help you substantiate a claim. Here is what we can supply.

AT-HM questions, answered

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