Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Hansard source

You're right that there are, again, technical amendments that are before the chamber in the form of this bill. They will assist in the transition of unspent funds. Notional home-care accounts will be established for all eligible persons transferring to Support at Home from the Home Care Packages Program. They will be credited on 1 November as per the balance under the home care program on 31 November. Essentially, those funds will be rolled over and the Commonwealth-provider-held proportion—and this is perhaps too technical for your question—will remain a recoverable debt.

The particular thing to note is that unspent funds accumulated under the Home Care Packages Program will be managed by type. There are three types of unspent funds. Notional home-care accounts will be set up on 1 November 2025 for all participants, as I have already indicated. Providers will be able to view the balance through the Services Australia systems. These amounts may be used to fund funded aged care and services in accordance with the subsidy calculator. The Commonwealth-provider-held portion will continue to be held by providers, and the subsidy calculator will prescribe how these funds must be used. Providers may also elect to return these amounts to the Commonwealth, and the rules will prescribe the circumstances in which these funds become a recoverable debt. The amount that will be in the account on the transition day is the amount that is in the individual's account immediately before the transition day. Any changes in their funding won't impact their rollover.