Caregiver Support in Singapore 2026-2027: Grants, New Support Touchpoints and Training Explained
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If you are the person who changes the dressing, empties the pouch, books the transport and remembers the review appointment, you are Singapore's largest and least-funded part of the health system. The good news is that the support around you is being rebuilt in stages. Here is a plain reading of what has already changed, what is coming in 2027, and what still comes out of your own pocket.
What changed for caregivers in April 2026?
The most immediate change is money. The Home Caregiving Grant, administered by the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), was enhanced in April 2026:
- Maximum payout rose from S$400 to S$600 per month.
- The income ceiling rose from S$3,600 to S$4,800 monthly per capita household income (PCHI), so more middle-income households now qualify.
The core clinical test did not change. The care recipient must permanently require assistance with at least three of the six Activities of Daily Living — washing, dressing, feeding, toileting, mobility and transferring — must be a Singapore Citizen or eligible PR living in Singapore, and must not be residing in a residential long-term care institution.
The HCG is a cash payout rather than a service subsidy, which matters practically: it is one of the few forms of support that families can put towards consumables, transport or a caregiver's lost income. Confirm the current amounts and apply through AIC before assuming a figure, as the criteria are periodically revised.
This sits alongside the Non-Residential Long-Term Care subsidy enhancements that took effect on 1 July 2026, which raised subsidies for Home Nursing, Home Medical and Home Personal Care.
What did MOH announce on 4 September 2026?
At the Home Nursing Foundation's 50th anniversary caregiving conference, the Ministry of Health set out the next stage. HNF itself is a useful marker of how far home care has come: founded in 1976, it now runs home nursing and home personal care, Active Ageing Centres and Senior Care Centres, and is launching CarersHub, an online support channel for caregivers.
Three announcements matter most to families managing wounds, stomas and post-discharge recovery at home.
1. Broader eligibility across all four caregiver schemes (2027)
From 2027, eligibility for the four main financial support schemes will be broadened to include persons with intellectual disabilities or autism who have significant care needs. The four schemes are:
- Home Caregiving Grant (HCG) — monthly cash payout, means-tested.
- Caregivers Training Grant (CTG) — an annual subsidy for approved caregiver courses, including wound care, stoma care, transfers and feeding.
- Migrant Domestic Worker Levy Concession for Persons with Disabilities — a reduced monthly levy for households employing a helper to care for a dependent.
- Pioneer Generation Disability Assistance Scheme (PioneerDAS) — monthly cash assistance for Pioneer Generation seniors with moderate to severe disability.
Until now, the disability-linked schemes were built around physical function. Extending them to intellectual disability and autism recognises that care need is not only about whether someone can walk to the bathroom.
2. Eight new Caregiver Support Touchpoints (2027)
A Caregiver Support Touchpoint (CST) is a physical place a caregiver can walk into for help with schemes, training, referrals and respite, rather than piecing it together from websites and hotlines. Eight more open in 2027:
- Five at aged care service providers: Tiong Bahru-Redhill, Toa Payoh, Bedok, Bukit Panjang and Yishun.
- Three at Enabling Services Hubs: Tampines, Punggol and Jurong.
The geographic spread is deliberate: north (Yishun), east (Bedok, Tampines), west (Bukit Panjang, Jurong), central (Toa Payoh, Tiong Bahru-Redhill) and north-east (Punggol). For a caregiver discharged home from TTSH, CGH, NUH, SGH or KKH with a list of instructions and no idea what to do next, a walk-in touchpoint in the same town is a meaningful difference.
3. A common caregiver training framework (early 2027)
Caregiver training in Singapore has been offered by many providers with little consistency in what a course actually covers. A common caregiver training framework will be introduced in early 2027 through the SkillsFuture Care Programme, so that a family caregiver, a migrant domestic worker and a care staff member can be trained against the same standard. MOH is also putting over S$30 million a year towards helping Community Care Organisations implement revised salary guidelines for their healthcare workers — a workforce measure, but one that affects whether home nursing visits are actually available when you need them.
What do these schemes not cover?
This is the gap most families discover in week two at home. Grants and subsidies are built around services and caregiving costs. Recurring consumables are generally self-funded:
- Wound care: foam, hydrocolloid, alginate and silver dressings, saline, gauze, tape and bandages. A twice-weekly dressing change on a moderate leg ulcer is a standing monthly cost.
- Ostomy care: pouches, baseplates, barrier rings, adhesive remover and skin barrier sprays. Consumption rises sharply if the seal is wrong and pouches are being changed daily instead of every three days.
- Continence and skin care: pads, barrier creams and cleansers, which prevent incontinence-associated dermatitis.
- Infection control: gloves, hand sanitiser and surface disinfectant.
Two practical levers reduce this cost more than shopping around does. First, get the fit right: a correctly sized ostomy baseplate or an appropriately chosen dressing is changed less often, so it costs less per week. Second, use the Caregivers Training Grant. Learning to change a dressing or manage a stoma properly reduces waste, leaks and avoidable readmissions.
How should a new caregiver sequence all this?
- Before discharge, ask the ward's medical social worker or care coordinator to screen you for HCG and for LTC subsidies in one conversation. Do this while you are still an inpatient, not after.
- Apply through AIC (aic.sg) for the Home Caregiving Grant. Have the care recipient's ADL assessment ready.
- Book training under the Caregivers Training Grant for the specific task you will be doing — dressing changes, stoma care, transfers, tube feeding.
- Find your nearest Caregiver Support Touchpoint for scheme navigation and respite, and check whether an Integrated Community Care Provider (ICCP) covers your area.
- Set up your supply routine so you are not making emergency pharmacy runs at 10pm. Work out weekly consumption, then order in a fixed cycle.
If the patient came home under a hospital-at-home arrangement, our MIC@Home caregiver guide covers what to stock from day one.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Home Caregiving Grant in Singapore in 2026?
From April 2026 the Home Caregiving Grant (HCG) pays up to S$600 a month, raised from S$400. The care recipient must permanently need help with at least three of the six Activities of Daily Living, must not be living in a residential long-term care institution, and the household must fall within the means-test ceiling, which rose from S$3,600 to S$4,800 monthly per capita household income in April 2026. Confirm current figures and apply through the Agency for Integrated Care at aic.sg.
What are Caregiver Support Touchpoints and when do they open?
Caregiver Support Touchpoints (CSTs) are physical places where a caregiver can walk in and get help navigating schemes, training and respite. Eight more open in 2027: five at aged care providers in Tiong Bahru-Redhill, Toa Payoh, Bedok, Bukit Panjang and Yishun, and three at Enabling Services Hubs in Tampines, Punggol and Jurong.
Who becomes eligible for caregiver schemes in 2027?
From 2027 the Ministry of Health will broaden eligibility across all four main caregiver schemes to include persons with intellectual disabilities or autism who have significant care needs. The four schemes are the Home Caregiving Grant, the Caregivers Training Grant, the Migrant Domestic Worker Levy Concession for Persons with Disabilities, and the Pioneer Generation Disability Assistance Scheme.
Do caregiver grants pay for wound dressings and stoma bags?
Generally no. Grants and long-term care subsidies are aimed at care services and caregiving costs, while day-to-day consumables such as dressings, ostomy pouches, barrier sprays and gloves are usually paid for out of pocket. The Home Caregiving Grant is a cash payout, so families often use part of it towards supplies. Check with the Agency for Integrated Care about what your specific grant can be applied to.
Where can I buy home care supplies in Singapore?
EMIS+ (emis.asia) is a nurse-led Singapore medical supply store carrying wound dressings, ostomy pouches and baseplates, skin barrier products, incontinence care and home care equipment, with island-wide delivery and bulk supply for clinics and care facilities.
Where EMIS+ fits
EMIS+ is a nurse-led Singapore medical supply store. We stock wound care dressings, ostomy and stoma products, hygiene and infection control supplies and home care and mobility equipment, with island-wide delivery and bulk supply for clinics, nursing homes and care facilities. If you are unsure which dressing or pouching system suits the situation at home, ask us before you buy a box you cannot use.
Browse home care supplies at emis.asia or contact our team for a nurse-led recommendation.
This article summarises publicly announced Singapore government schemes as of September 2026 and is general information, not financial or medical advice. Scheme amounts and eligibility criteria change — confirm current details with the Agency for Integrated Care (aic.sg) or the Ministry of Health. Speak to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist about care decisions for a specific patient.
Related reading: Before You Sign a Consent Form in Singapore: Bill Estimates, Treatment Alternatives and Caregiver Decisions covers what MOH told Parliament on 10 September 2026 about cost disclosure and consent in non-subsidised wards.