Does Support at Home Cover Gardening? Mowing, Gutters and Getting Ready for Summer
For a lot of older Canberrans, the garden is the first part of the home that starts to get away from them. The lawn grows faster than anyone can push a mower, shrubs creep over the path, and the gutters fill with leaves. With spring growth in full swing and bushfire season under way, it's a good time to ask: can Support at Home pay for help in the garden? It can, within limits. Here's where the line sits.
The short answer
- Yes, for essential light gardening. Lawn mowing, pruning and yard clearance for safe access are on the Support at Home service list.
- The test is safety and access, not looks. Professional jobs like tree removal and landscaping aren't covered.
- Gutter cleaning can be covered too, as a minor maintenance job, when it's something you used to do yourself.
- You'll usually pay a contribution: 17.5% of the price on a full Age Pension, and up to 80% if you're self-funded.
What gardening help Support at Home covers
On the official service list, gardening sits under home maintenance and repairs. It's described as essential light gardening, with lawn mowing, pruning and yard clearance for safe access given as examples. In practice, that usually means jobs like:
- keeping the lawn mown
- cutting back shrubs and branches that hang over paths, steps or the driveway
- clearing leaves, sticks and fallen branches that could cause a trip
- keeping a clear, safe route to the letterbox, the bins, the clothesline and the car
The point of the service is to keep your home safe to get in, out and around. That matters a great deal when a fall is the thing everyone is quietly worried about.
What isn't covered
- Professional gardening services you would normally pay for, such as tree removal, landscaping, and farm or water feature maintenance.
- Work that's about how the garden looks rather than whether it's safe to get around. Planting out new garden beds, for example, is unlikely to qualify.
So bigger jobs, like taking down a tree, sit outside the program.
Gutters, smoke alarms and other small jobs
Alongside gardening, the same service type includes help with home maintenance and repairs. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing's service list FAQs say this covers minor repairs and maintenance where the job is something the person used to be able to do themselves. Its examples of jobs that are in scope:
- cleaning out gutters
- replacing smoke alarm batteries
- replacing tap washers
Bigger jobs, like servicing heating and cooling systems, replacing window glass, painting and installing decking, are out of scope. The cost of the parts and materials needed for a repair can be covered under a separate service, expenses for home maintenance and repairs.
Anything that means climbing a ladder or getting onto a roof needs someone with the right equipment and experience, so ask your provider who they use for those jobs.
Getting the garden ready for summer in Canberra
The ACT's 2026–27 bushfire season officially began on 1 October, and the season usually runs through to 31 March. Summer is forecast to be drier, with hotter days.
The ACT Emergency Services Agency's advice for getting a home ready includes:
- clearing leaves and debris out of the gutters, because dry leaf matter in gutters can let a fire spread to the house
- mowing the lawn
- keeping a buffer around the home that's free of flammable material
- storing firewood and mulch away from the house
- trimming overhanging trees and securing loose items in the yard before storms
Several of those are the same jobs Support at Home can help with — mowing, pruning, clearing debris and cleaning gutters — within the limits above. So if your parent's yard needs attention, now is a good time to raise it with their provider, before the first heatwave. ESA also suggests working out who's responsible for the home maintenance that reduces bushfire damage, which is worth settling early if your parent rents.
What it costs
Support at Home prices aren't capped, but they have to be reasonable and based on what it costs to deliver the service. The Department's national summary of Support at Home prices gives a useful benchmark. For services delivered in November and December 2025, weekday prices per hour were:
| Service | Median | Middle half of prices |
|---|---|---|
| Gardening | $118 | $98–$143 |
| Help with home maintenance and repairs | $150 | $113–$300 |
Gardening and home maintenance are everyday living services, so the same contributions apply as for cleaning: 17.5% of the price on a full Age Pension, between 17.5% and 80% on a part pension or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card depending on your income and assets, and 80% if you're self-funded. Lower rates apply if you're covered by the "no worse off" principle. For every $100 of gardening (an example price only), someone on a full Age Pension contributes $17.50.
As with every Support at Home service, you can't be charged separately for travel, and the price of each service has to be listed in your service agreement. Our cleaning guide covers what to do if a price doesn't look right, and our guide to contribution categories explains the bigger picture.
Making it work for your family
- Check it's in the plan. Your budget can only be spent on services documented in your Notice of Decision and support plan. If home maintenance isn't there and the garden has become a safety problem, raise it with your provider.
- Walk the yard together. Agree on what matters for safety: the front path, the steps, and the route to the bins and the clothesline.
- Plan around the seasons. Lawns need the most attention in spring and summer, and gutters are worth checking before summer and again after the autumn leaves come down.
- Leave the fun bits. If your parent loves watering the roses or potting up seedlings, keep that theirs. Support works best when it takes away the heavy, risky jobs and leaves the enjoyable ones.
Where Elvana Care fits in
Elvana Care is a family-run home care business based in Canberra. We deliver in-home support, including garden upkeep, as an associated provider through clients' registered Support at Home providers — so your funding stays with your provider, and we deliver the services you've agreed on. We support clients across Canberra, Queanbeyan, Karabar and Yass.
If you already have a provider, here's how we work alongside them. Need help inside the house too? See what Support at Home covers for cleaning.
Garden getting away from you?
See how Support at Home funding works, or Get a free call-back