Calculate the cost of providing Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) Services

Unit costing tools for Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) providers

Use our free tool to calculate the cost to your organisation of providing one unit of CHSP service.

The CHSP will transition to the Support at Home Program no earlier than 1 July 2027. As part of this transition, CHSP providers will need to calculate if they can provide a service within a price range set by the Australian Government.

Our tool helps you to: 

  • understand service unit costs
  • calculate the full cost of service delivery
  • confirm if your organisation can deliver a contracted service at the offered unit price
  • ensure your business model is viable and sustainable.

Using the tools

Our easy-to-use tool includes a:

  • How-to video – watch it to explain how to use the materials
  • Workbook – work through topics, do activities, review case studies
  • Spreadsheet – input your data to calculate service costs using built-in formulas.

Download the:

ABC of Unit Costing in Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) Services Workbook Version 2.3  

Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) Unit Costing Tool Excel Spreadsheet Version 2.3 

    NOTE: You need Windows 2010 or above for all the Excel formulas to work.

    Download the Workbook and the Excel spreadsheet, and watch the video demonstration of the tool. The PDF workbook explains how to calculate the Unit Cost of delivering one unit of a CHSP Service. It includes examples from a Food Service, Transport Service and service that provides Domestic Assistance.

    The Unit Costing tool is for Finance Managers and managers of Commonwealth Home Support Program Services. It is designed to help you work out what it costs to deliver one unit of service. For example, one meal, one trip, one hour of social support, one hour of allied health one hour of domestic assistance and a home modification service.

    Contact us

    Ask us to run an in-house Unit Costing workshop or contact us

    Inclusive Practice with LGBTI older people

    Purpose

    This workshop explores attitudes to older people and sexuality and how to provide inclusive support to older people who are Lesbian,
    Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual and Intersex (LGBTI).

    Course outline

    Workshop participants will:

    • identify attitudes to ageing and sexuality
    • describe how attitudes to sexuality and ageing affect practice
    • explore and discuss the history of the Gay and Lesbian rights movement in Australia
    • describe what inclusive practice means for working work older people who are LGBTI.
    • Discuss what inclusive practice means in relation to the Aged Care Standard
    • Start to undertake an organisational self-assessment and start to develop an action plan for improving practice
    • collaborate and network with agencies and share ideas for practice.

    What you will get from attending the workshop

    • A clear understanding of what inclusive practice for LGBTI people means
    • Understanding of how LGBTI inclusive practice relates to the aged care quality standards.

    Target audience

    This workshop is designed for front line workers, managers, team leaders and service coordinators and case managers working in community care and residential services with older people.

    Delivery

    This workshop can be delivered to aged care services or for specific agencies for up to 20 participants.

    It can be delivered online via our zoom in 3, 1-hour sessions online.

    The workshop can be tailored to the needs of your group or agency

    Duration

    4 hours face to face or 3 hours online in 1-hour sessions

    All online sessions are recorded and can be listened to at a time that suits you.

    In-house programs

    Ask us to run this course for your organisation. Contact us to discuss your requirements, ideas, and attendees.


    Human rights and older people - An introduction

    Purpose

    The new Aged Care Act 2024 will uphold human rights by empowering older people and ensuring they have access to equitable, high-quality care. People working with older people need to understand how to uphold the human rights of older people. 

    In this workshop, you will explore what human rights mean and what this means for your work with older people and their allies. 

    Course Outline

    By the end of the workshop participants will:

    • Describe the key requirements in the Aged Care Act 2024; 
    • Discuss the barriers and enablers to embedding a human rights approach in your work; 
    • Identify strategies to address barriers for embedding a human rights approach in your work;
      • Get access to Person Centred Thinking and planning tools to support your organisation in embedding a human rights approach in your organisation 
      • Network with colleagues and be invited to join an online Community of Practice for service providers on human rights and older people

      What you will from attending

      • Understanding how to translate human rights into practice.
      • Practical tips and resources that will support you and your service to embed a human rights approach across their services.

      Target Audience

      Managers, team leaders, support co-ordinators and frontline staff working with older
      people

      Delivery

      Face to face or online for up to 30 participants. 

      Duration

      Face to face or online for up to 30 participants. 

      In-house programs

      Ask us to run this course for your organisation. Contact us to discuss your requirements, ideas, and attendees.

      Enhancing Consumer Engagement in Aged Care

      Purpose

      Consumer outcomes and engagement are a key component of the Aged Care Quality Standards for all aged care services.

      • How do your staff engage with consumers?
      • How could staff improve their engagement practice?
      • How does your service involve consumers in the design and delivery across all services?

      Course Outline

      In this 3-hour face to face workshop you will:

      • Explore what consumer engagement means for your practice;
      • Apply practical resources to enhance your engagement practice;
      • Identify engagement gaps in your service and identify one area that you could work on to improve consumer engagement;
      • Network with colleagues to share ideas and improve engagement practice; and
      • Be invited to be part of an online community to share ideas about consumer engagement practices.

      What you will get from attending

      • Access to resources and toolkits to improve the engagement with consumers in your service
      • Creative ideas to improve engagement practice in working with individuals and consumers across your services
      • The opportunity to connect with people passionate about engagement through our online community of practice engagement group.

      Target Audience

      All people working in aged care services including in-home and residential aged care
      including Team leaders, Co-ordinators, Case Managers, Facility Managers

      Delivery

      Face to face for up to 20 participants or 3 by 1-hour sessions online

      Duration

      4 hours face to face or 3 by 1-hour sessions online

      In-house programs

      Ask us to run this course for your organisation. Contact us to discuss your requirements, ideas, and attendees.

      Engaging with the Aged Care Quality Standards

      Purpose

      The new aged care quality standards require staff and consumers to work differently in aged care services.

      • How do you support your staff, board, consumers to understand the aged care quality standards?
      • How can you engage people in plain English to understand the standards?
      • What evidence does your service need to demonstrate consumer engagement?
      • How does your service involve consumers in the design and delivery across all services?

      Course Outline

      In this workshop you will:

      • Engage with the standards through playing the standards game
      • Explore and debate the evidence that your staff, volunteers and consumers need to demonstrate meeting the outcomes of the aged care standards;
      • Start to identify gaps in evidence in meeting the standards in a consumer and staff friendly format;
      • Access templates that will assist your organisation in engaging staff, volunteers and consumers in understanding the standards including all templates used for the standards game.
      • Network with colleagues to share ideas and improve engagement practice; and
      • Be invited to be part of an online community to share ideas about consumer engagement practices.

      What will you get from attending

      • Better understanding of what the aged care standards mean for you in your role
      • Access to the templates for the Aged Care Quality Standards Game that you can use with consumers, staff and volunteers in your organisation
      • Identify where there may be gaps in evidence in your service or organisation
      • Engage with the standards that facilitates engagement with staff, consumers and volunteers

      Target Audience

      All people living and working in aged care services including in-home and residential aged care. This includes
      consumers, Team leaders, Co-ordinators, Case Managers, Facility Managers, staff and volunteers

      Delivery

      Face to face or online for up to 20 participants.

      Duration

      3 hours face to face or 2 by 1-hour online workshops

      In-house programs

      Ask us to run this course for your organisation. Contact us to discuss your requirements, ideas, and attendees.

      Implementing Wellness and Reablement with older people for frontline workers

      Purpose

      What does wellness and reablement mean for older people and their allies?

      How do you work alongside people to encourage them to live the life they choose?

      What practical strategies can you put in place to support the older people you work alongside?

      Course outline

      This workshop will give staff the skills to implement wellness and reablement in working with older people and their allies.

      Workshop participants will:

      • describe what wellness and reablement means in practice;
      • apply practical techniques to support them to engage with older people and empowering older people to be in charge of their lives.
      • access learning resources that will improve your practice with older people
      • network and share practice ideas with other frontline workers.
      • Be invited to be part of an online community of practice.

      Target audience

      This workshop is designed frontline workers including support workers working in the home, community or residential aged care services.

      Delivery

      This workshop can be delivered to aged and community care services for up to 18 participants. The workshop can be tailored to the needs of specific individuals and groups.

      Duration

      3 hours face to face. This workshop can also be delivered online via 2 one hour sessions online.

      In-house programs

      Ask us to run this course for your organisation. Contact us to discuss your requirements, ideas, and attendees.

      Co-production and co-design with older people

      Purpose

      Co-production and co-design can be a powerful way of changing how services are funded, designed and delivered. This workshop provides practical skills and knowledge on how to co-design and co-produce aged care services with older people.

      Course Outline

      By the end of the workshop participants will:

      • describe the key principles of co-design and co-production;
      • reflect on strategies to empower older people and their allies;
      • apply practical tools to support co-design and co-production approach;
      • reflect on actual case studies and stories of co-design and co-production and explore what that means for your service and team;
      • Network with colleagues;
      • Get access to a range of resources and tools on co-design and co-production;
      • Access a free 60 minute follow up coaching session with the facilitator.

      What you will get from attending

      • A clear understanding of what is co-design and co-production and how you can use it in your work.
      • Access to resources, learning activities and templates that will support you in using co-design in engaging older people

      Target Audience

      Managers, team leaders, support co-ordinators who are interested in knowing more about co-production and how it can transform residential services or community care services.

      Delivery

      Face to face for up to 20 participants for four hours or 3, 1-hour online sessions

      Duration

      Four hours face to face or for three, 1-hour sessions.

      In-house programs

      Ask us to run this course for your organisation. Contact us to discuss your requirements, ideas, and attendees.

      ABC of unit costing in community care

      Purpose

      This course provides an introduction to Unit Costing for Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) services

      Course Outline

      By the end of the workshop participants will:

      • describe the key steps of Unit Costing;
      • define how to develop a unit cost for their service type or program;
      • apply practical tools and resources in developing Unit Costs;
      • list the step by step process to know the Unit Cost of their service; and
      • network with colleagues

      What you will get from attending

      • A clear understanding of how to calculate the unit cost for different

        service

      • Access to an excel spreadsheet tool to use in your service

      Target Audience

      This workshop is for Finance Managers, Coordinators and Managers working in Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) Services

      Delivery

      Online in a 90 minute workshop

      Duration

      90 minutes online

      In-house Programs

      Ask us to run this course for your organisation. Contact us to discuss your requirements, ideas, and attendees.

      Nothing about Me without Me – Making the Community Aged Care System work for you and your allies

      Purpose

      Are you an older person or an ally of an older person?

      Do you want to know how to make the community aged care services work for you and your support networks?

      This workshop provides practical tips and strategies on how to get the right support at the right time.

      Course outline

      Workshop participants will:

      • Learn about how to get access to the community aged care system;
      • Learn how to negotiate and engage with service providers to get the right support at the right time;
      • network and share other ideas with other people and their allies;
      • Get access to a book that provides five key steps and activities for making the community aged care system work for you and your allies.

      Target audience

      This workshop is for older people and their allies (including carers, sons, daughters and friends) who want information and skills about how to get the most out of the community aged care system.

      Delivery

      This workshop can be delivered to small to medium groups ranging from 2 to 15 people.

      Duration

      2-3 hours

      In-house programs

      Ask us to run this course for your organisation. Contact us to discuss your requirements, ideas, and attendees.

      Person Centred Thinking for Support Workers

      Purpose

      This practical engaging workshop is designed for support workers to apply person centred thinking and wellness to their practice. It encourages support workers to develop reflective practice and reflect on how they can support people to have the best life possible.

      Course outline

      Workshop participants will:

      • describe the key principles of a wellness and person centred approach
      • explore how to enhance the independence of people they support through practical case studies
      • explore strategies to reflect on their practice
      • identify opportunities for improving how they support people to have the best lives possible
      • network and share practice ideas with other support workers.

      What you will get from attending

      • Practical skills in what wellness means for your practice
      • Practical skills in what reablement means for your practice
      • Access to practical resources that will support you to empower older people

      Target audience

      Support workers or care workers working with older people, people with disabilities and their carers.

      Delivery

      This workshop can be delivered to aged and community care services and disability services for up to 18 participants. The workshop can be tailored to the needs of your group or agency.

      Duration

      3 hours face to face or 2 by 1hour online sessions.

      In-house programs

      Ask us to run this course for your organisation. Contact us to discuss your requirements, ideas, and attendees.

      Implementing Wellness and Reablement in Community Aged Care

      Purpose

      How can you apply the principles of wellness and reablement to your service?

      What systems and processes does your agency need to implement wellness and reablement in working with older people and their allies?

      How do you implement a wellness and reablement approach to encourage people to have the best life possible?

      Course outline

      This workshop will give staff the skills to implement person centred thinking to enhance the independence and wellbeing of older people, people with disabilities and their carers.

      Workshop participants will:

      • understand the key principles of person centred thinking, wellness and reablement;
      • identify the research and evidence of wellness and reablement;
      • apply practical tools to support your practice and agency in implementing person centred thinking, wellness and reablement;
      • explore ways of measuring outcomes for older people and their carers;
      • identify their role as adaptive leaders and how they can lead change in their organisations;
      • identify systems and processes in your organisation that need to change to implement wellness and reablement with older people and their allies;
      • network and share practice ideas with managers, co-ordinators and team leaders.

      Target audience

      This workshop is designed for managers, team leaders, service coordinators and support facilitators and/or case managers.

      Delivery

      This workshop can be delivered to aged and community care and disability services for up to 18 participants. The workshop can be tailored to the needs of specific individuals and groups.

      Duration

      4hours face to face. This course can also be delivered in 3 x 1 hour online workshops 

      In-house programs

      Ask us to run this course for your organisation. Contact us to discuss your requirements, ideas, and attendees.