Participant Has AT-HM Funding But Is Still Waiting For SAH

One of the most common issues we hear from care partners right now is this: a participant has been approved for Support at Home and is still waiting for funding, but their AT-HM funding comes through first. It feels like something has gone wrong. In almost every case, nothing has. The system is simply working across two separate streams that operate at different speeds and most people are never told how they connect.

Two approvals. Two funding streams. Two speeds.

A Support at Home assessment can produce two entirely separate outcomes, each with its own funding source and timeline.

1. Ongoing Support at Home funding

When a participant is classified at a level and that classification sets a quarterly budget for ongoing services: personal care, cleaning, nursing, allied health visits, and so on. But classification is not the same as funding. After approval, the participant enters the National Priority System and waits for a funding allocation. There are four priority categories: Urgent, High, Medium, or Standard. The money is not released until the funding allocation letter arrives.  

Older people with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) recorded during their aged care assessment will now be given urgent priority for access to their ongoing Support at Home funding, meaning they will receive their full funding within one month of approval.

2. The AT-HM Scheme (Assistive Technology and Home Modifications)

This is a completely separate funding stream with its own approval process and its own Priority System. An older person assessed as eligible for AT and/or HM will enter the AT-HM Priority Systems in one of its four priority categories: Immediate, High, Medium, or Standard. Participants can start accessing AT-HM services as soon as AT-HM funding is available. They do not need to wait for their ongoing services funding to be allocated. Two funding streams, two speeds, and the AT-HM funding tends to arrive first.

Interim funding 

What the 60% letter means: If wait times in the Priority System are longer than expected, participants may be assigned interim funding at 60% of their approved budget, allowing them to access critical services while waiting for the remaining allocation. If your participant receives a letter showing only 60% of their expected budget, this is the system working as designed. The remaining 40% is not lost but will follow when full funding becomes available and is not backdated.

Restorative Care or End-of-Life Pathway

Participants approved for the Restorative Care Pathway or End-of-Life Pathway will receive an immediate priority category and will be allocated their AT-HM funding immediately which means they do not wait in the priority queue. 

What care partners ask us most.

1. Can a participant access an OT assessment while waiting for ongoing funding?

Yes. Where a prescription from a qualified health professional (i.e. an Occupational Therapist) is required for AT-HM items, that assessment is funded through the AT-HM scheme itself. It does not necessarily come from the ongoing services budget. Clinical prescriptions and assessments are categorised as clinical supports, which means there is no participant co-contribution required.

2. Does OT assess and recommend AT for participants under low tier funding?

The AT-HM list classifies every item in one of three categories: Low risk (simple everyday items that do not need a prescription), Under advice (items that are generally low risk but benefit from professional input to ensure correct selection, installation, or use), and Prescribed (more complex items that require a formal prescription from a suitably qualified health professional, and all home modifications will need to be prescribed by a qualified OT).

For straightforward low risk items such as non-slip mats, modified cutlery, a basic shower chair, a car transfer handle, no formal prescription is needed and the care partner and participant can generally organise these directly.

3. What if the participant only has low tier funding but likely needs medium or high tier?

The care partner can request an OT assessment under the participant’s quarterly clinical supports funding. The OT assessment and  supporting quotations for AT-HM items become useful evidence during a Support Plan Review, which the care partner can then request to have the participant’s funding tier increased.

This approach not only maximises the participant’s AT-HM funding tier but also unlocks a higher care management budget for the registered provider. It is a practical benefit of seeking a Support Plan Review early.

4. What can the participant do right now if they have AT-HM funding?

• Use the AT-HM funding immediately: For low risk items listed in the AT-HM list, the provider and participant can source these directly without a formal prescription. For medium or high tier, refer to an OT for an assessment. Both can proceed independently of the ongoing services queue.
• Request a priority review if circumstances are urgent. Situations can include health declining, carer under strain, recent fall or hospitalisation. Contact My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 for a priority assessment. 
• Once the ongoing funding letter arrives, the participant has 56 days to choose a provider and sign a service agreement.

Where Super Rehab fits in.

If your participant has AT-HM approval and needs an OT assessment, reach out to us directly. We work as an associated provider under your registered provider arrangement, so there is no need to change your participant’s existing care setup. The OT assessment and any required prescription are funded through the AT-HM scheme as clinical supports. Give us a call or send a referral and we will coordinate the rest.