Help with home maintenance and repairs (Home Assist Secure)
If you’re 60 or older or have a disability and can’t afford or don’t have the skills to fix your home, you may qualify for help.
Our Home Assist Secure program offers eligible homeowners and renters advice, referrals and financial help for critical home maintenance and repairs or minor modifications.
This assistance is intended to help you continue living safely and securely in your home.
What you can get
Free information and referrals
If you don’t have the knowledge or skills to carry out critical home maintenance or repairs or minor modifications, we can give you:
- free information and advice about home improvements and safety, including falls prevention
- referrals to reputable tradespeople and community services who may be able to carry out the work you require.
Help paying for maintenance, repairs, and modifications
If you’re eligible for a subsidy, we can help you pay for:
- handyperson work—small maintenance and repair jobs that only require a handyperson (as opposed to a tradesperson)
- qualified trades work—maintenance and repair jobs that only a suitably qualified and licensed tradesperson can perform (e.g. electrical or plumbing work)
- yard and outside maintenance—for example, pruning branches or cleaning gutters
- minor modifications—minor works to help you to continue to live in and move safely about your home (e.g. grab rails, easy turn taps)
- smoke alarms—including installing, changing batteries and cleaning vents (but not testing)
- security work—for example, ensuring your doors and windows lock, installing a key safe, installing or repairing an exterior sensor light or other security fixtures.
Subsidy amounts
| What we pay for | Labour costs, up to a maximum of $200 per job and $500 per year. If the cost is higher, you’ll need to pay the difference. Note: We subside only jobs that cost a total of $1,500 or less (labour and materials). Unused subsidies expire each year. |
|---|---|
| What you pay for | Cost of materials. This is unless you’re upgrading your smoke alarms in which case we can subsidise the cost of materials (and labour). |
Smoke Alarm Installation Program
All Queensland homes must have interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms installed in every bedroom, connecting hallway, and on each storey by 1 January 2027.
Under the Smoke Alarm Installation Program, Home Assist Secure (HAS) customers may qualify for a $250 subsidy to install new smoke alarms or upgrade non-compliant ones.
Eligible HAS customers can also use their annual HAS subsidy of $500 to help pay for upgrades (labour and materials).
This program ends on 30 June 2025.
What we do not provide
The following types of work are not covered by Home Assist Secure:
- home maintenance, repairs or modifications that are not necessary for health, safety or security reasons (e.g. work to improve the look of your home)
- if you’re a renter—work that by law must be carried out by the property owner.
Who can apply
To be eligible for Home Assist Secure (HAS) services, you must be:
- 60 years or older; or any age with a disability
- a Pensioner Concession Card holder
- unable to complete the work yourself due to a lack of money, skills, or health and safety risks
- unable to have the works completed through:
- Commonwealth Home Support Programme—helps older Australians access entry-level support services so they can continue living independently and safely at home.
- Home Care Package—gives older Australians help at home, including services that help keep their home and garden safe and liveable.
- Queensland Community Support Scheme—offers essential yard maintenance to ensure recipients can access and move around the outside of their home safely.
- Veterans’ Home Care—provides in-home care and support services to help clients continue living independently at home, including home and garden maintenance.
If necessary, your local HAS service provider can help you find out if you qualify for any of these other government programs.
How to get help
1. Find out if you’re eligible
Review the eligibility criteria (above) to see whether you qualify for help through Home Assist Secure (HAS).
2. Contact your service provider
If you think you may be eligible, contact your local HAS service provider.
Enter your suburb name to find your provider’s contact details:
Or you can call 13QGOV (13 74 68) and we’ll help you get in touch with your provider.
3. In-home assessment
Your HAS provider will visit your home to assess your needs, including any critical maintenance or repairs. They’ll also confirm which work qualifies for a subsidy.
4. Work done
Your HAS service provider will carry out the work needed at your home as soon as possible, using their own staff or a local tradesperson.
5. Book another job
If you need more work done, you can book another job with your HAS provider. An annual subsidy limit of $500 applies.
More information
- Phone: 13QGOV (13 74 68)