October 2026: Budget enhancements FAQs

This article consolidates the pre-submitted questions and the live audience questions raised across the Budgets & Statements enhancements webinar series held in October 2026. Questions have been broadened so the answers apply to all providers. Content is grouped by topic so you can navigate directly to the area most relevant to your query and live audience questions raised during.

-> Follow our Adopting the budget enhancements: a rollout guide if you're new and wanting to learn more

The article covers eight topics:

Enabling the budget enhancements: What happens to existing budgets and services when you switch the enhancements on, and what changes to expect.
Funding sources, funding impact and short-term pathways: How Lookout links services to funding sources, how funding impact works, and how Restorative Care and End-of-Life funding are handled.
Live and projected balance tracking and tracked expenses: How spend is tracked by quarter, how rollovers appear, and which bulk actions you can use on tracked expenses.
Creating, generating and approving budgets: Building from the roster, bulk generating budgets, and the rules for resolving warnings and approving budgets.
Permissions and reporting: Who can dismiss warnings and approve budgets, and how to report on dismissal reasons.
Client contributions, sharing and the Care app: Sharing budgets without a signature, client contributions on AT-HM budgets, and what Members see in the Care app.
Lookout Assist: Funding Analyser: How to get access, what it costs, how assessments are saved, and what the analyser can and can't identify.
Static statements: When and how to unlock, rework, re-lock and resend statements.

Please note: The budget enhancements won't switch on automatically. Your organisation enables them through the Release Hub when you're ready, so there's time to prepare your team first.

Want more Budget content? Visit our Budget FAQs which answers common queries, as well as see Budgets: an overview and Creating and managing budgets.

Webinar recordings

The questions and answers in this article were drawn from four live webinar sessions held in October 2026. Recordings and slide decks from each session are available below.

Session 1, 13 October 2026: Budgets & Statements enhancements:
What's changing and why
Session 2, 15 October 2026: Budgets & Statements enhancements: Creating & managing budgets
Q&A Session 1, 22 October 2026: Budget enhancements Q&A
Q&A Session 2, 29 October 2026: Budgets & Statements enhancements Q&A

1. Enabling the budget enhancements

What happens to existing draft and approved budgets when the budget enhancements are enabled?

Existing budgets are retained. Draft and approved budgets for the current period stay in place when the enhancements are switched on, and nothing is removed, reset or recalculated in the background.

No risk to current plans: Enabling the enhancements does not change your existing Services Australia statements, claims, invoices or saved budgets.
New features apply straight away: Existing budgets get the new Live & projected balance tracking and Budget plan vs spend screens as soon as the enhancements are enabled.
Move them now: Open the ongoing funding source on the Live & projected balance tracking tab, go to tracked expenses and use the Switch funding source bulk action to move the relevant items to the correct pathway.
Leave them for claiming: The person managing the Support at Home claim assigns the funding source on the claim screen before submitting, so you can let your finance team allocate them at that point.

Top tip: Existing service plans are not rebuilt, so they won't capture the new rate variant lines (for example, weekend rates). To capture variants, either remove all services and rebuild from the roster, or create a new budget and build from the roster into a fresh service plan.

Are there any other changes we should expect when we switch the budget enhancements on?

Budget information is now organised differently:

Budget planning, live and projected tracking, and budget plan vs spend are now in separate tabs.
The live tracking view has been redesigned so each funding source appears in its own panel.

Members' funding arrangements and Services Australia opening balances have not changed.

Only the way budget information is displayed has changed.
The opening balance now shows the Services Australia opening amount.
Rollovers and adjustments are displayed separately.
As a result, the opening balance may appear lower for some Members, even though the total balance remains unchanged.

For a full list of changes affecting care partners, finance teams, and rostering teams, see Adopting the budget enhancements: a rollout guide.

What happens to existing visits and purchase orders for Members with more than one funding source when the enhancements are switched on?

Any existing services without an assigned funding source are automatically allocated to the Member's ongoing funding source.

For Members with a short-term pathway (Restorative Care or End-of-Life), this may initially make the ongoing funding source appear overspent.

You can manage these services in one of two ways:

Move them now: Open the ongoing funding source in the Live & projected balance tracking tab, go to Tracked expenses, and use Switch funding source to move the relevant items to the correct pathway.
Allocate them during claiming: The person submitting the Support at Home claim can assign the correct funding source on the claim screen before submission.

After the enhancements are enabled:

New visits, purchase orders, and other services prompt for a funding source upfront when funding sources overlap.
This clean-up process is a one-time task required when the feature is first enabled.

Top tip: Bulk actions in tracked expenses require the separate Budgets bulk actions permission. Decide before enabling whether this clean-up sits with your finance team or your care partners, and make sure the right people have the permission.

Are the budget utilisation warnings part of the core budget enhancements, or do they require Lookout Assist?

All budget warnings and utilisation alerts (overspend, underspend, no funding source and budget plan warnings) are part of the core budget enhancements and don't require Lookout Assist. Lookout Assist adds the Funding Analyser, which can explain what is driving a funding position and suggest actions (see section 7).

2. Funding sources, funding impact & short-term pathways

No separate tracking setup is needed. It's driven by the rate:

Each Support at Home rate points to a service code. Lookout uses that service code to work out which funding source the service draws from.
Set up rates against the right service codes. Ongoing, short-term pathway, AT and HM services are separated through the service codes on their rates, and this is what Live & projected balance tracking and Budget plan vs spend use to place each service.
Overlapping funding sources. If a Member has ongoing and restorative care funding at the same time, Lookout asks which funding source to use when you roster a service that could fall under either.

Top tip: A service captured under the wrong funding source can be moved later using Switch funding source in tracked expenses.

Is the funding impact section in rostering part of the budget enhancements?

Yes. Funding impact is part of the budget enhancements and appears once they are switched on. It shows the balance, projected service costs and left to spend for the funding source the service will draw from. Where more than one funding source could apply, you're asked to choose.

Funding impact appears when:

Rostering a visit
Adding a purchase order line item (from the roster or through a ticket/Orders)
Logging care management time
Adding a group visit
Pick the funding source upfront: When a short-term pathway overlaps ongoing funding, Lookout asks which to use as you create the visit, purchase order, group visit or ad hoc item.
Care management time: Where a Member has ongoing and restorative care funding active, Lookout asks whether to charge care management time to the 10% care management pool or the Restorative Care Pathway.
Separate balances: Each pathway shows its own opening balance, utilised amount, forecast spend and projected closing balance.
Move services later: Use Switch funding source in tracked expenses, or reallocate on the Support at Home claim screen before submitting.

It applies to Support at Home Members with synced funding sources. Purchase orders also cover AT and HM funding sources.

Is funding impact available on purchase orders as well as visits?

Yes. Funding impact appears when you add a purchase order line item, whether the purchase order is raised from the roster or through a ticket or Orders. It appears once the service code has been selected on the line item, as Lookout needs the service code to know which funding sources the item can draw from.

What changes in rostering and finance now that Restorative Care and End-of-Life have their own funding?

Home support is now shown as separate Ongoing, Restorative Care and End-of-Life cards, and each one draws down separately.

How do we make sure a purchase order (for example, physiotherapy) is claimed against the Restorative Care Pathway?

There are three points where you can allocate a service to the Restorative Care Pathway:

On the purchase order line item: When you select a service code that can be delivered under Home support ongoing and Restorative Care, and the Member has an active, synced Restorative Care funding source, Lookout prompts you to choose the funding source.
In tracked expenses: If the service was captured under the wrong funding source, use Switch funding source to move it to Restorative Care before claiming.

Top tip: If the Restorative Care option doesn't appear, check that the Member's Restorative Care funding source has synced from Services Australia and that the purchase order's dates fall within it.

Does funding impact show when cancelling visits?

Not currently. Funding impact appears when adding services only.

Please note: In tracked expenses, the selection bar shows how many expenses you've selected and their total. Selecting the services you're considering cancelling is a quick way to gauge the effect on the projected balance.

If Helpers add their own visits through the app, do they need to select a funding source, and can they see balances?

No. The Helper app experience hasn't changed in this release. Helpers aren't asked to select a funding source and can't see budget balances.

Top tip: For Members with overlapping funding sources, review Helper-added visits in tracked expenses and use Switch funding source if needed.

Can Lookout flag or restrict services that haven't been approved for a Member by Services Australia?

Not currently. Lookout doesn't yet sync a Member's approved services from Services Australia, as this needs a separate API connection that hasn't been built. Lookout won't automatically stop services that aren't approved from being rostered, added to budgets or claimed, so providers need to check services against the Member's notice of decision.

If this would benefit your workflows, submit feedback via the Lookout Roadmap and Feedback page to help the team prioritise it.

3. Live & projected balance tracking and tracked expenses

Do unclaimed services from last quarter count towards this quarter's live & projected balance?

No. Services and purchases are tracked against the quarter they were delivered in, even if they are claimed later. This applies even where the Member's quarterly funding is overspent and HCP unspent funds are available.

Tracked by service delivery date: A service needs a delivery date in the current quarter to be tracked against the current quarter.
Unclaimed items stay in their own quarter: They don't carry into the current quarter's live & projected balance.
Review previous quarters in tracked expenses: Click into the funding source's utilised or forecast spend to open tracked expenses, then navigate back to an earlier quarter. The summary totals update to reflect that quarter, and you can filter by status to find and action anything still unclaimed.

Will Live & projected balance tracking show an expected rollover amount before the quarter's claiming window closes?

No. Lookout doesn't estimate rollover amounts. Rollovers come through from Services Australia once they are finalised and are then shown in the Adjustments & rollovers tile, separate from the opening balance.

Providers can submit claims for up to 60 days after a quarter ends, and the rollover can change while claims are still being finalised. This is why the carryover amount can take up to 61 days to appear in Lookout. Within Services Australia business guidelines, your finance team may finalise earlier through the Services Australia portal by confirming all claiming for the quarter is complete.

Top tip: The HCP unspent funds shown are the current Commonwealth unspent funds and Home Care Account balances, not a forecast. If you plan a budget before the rollover is finalised, consider reviewing it again once the final amount arrives.

What bulk actions are available in Tracked Expenses?

Use the All Expenses, Claimed, Invoiced, and Forecast Spend tabs to filter expenses. Select individual rows, date groups, or use Select all rows, then choose from the following bulk actions:

Edit services: Change the service code or rate.
Change service date: Available for projected visit services only. Start and end times remain unchanged.
Switch funding source: Available for projected visits, group events, and purchase orders when another funding source is available.
Switch funder: Move services to another funding arrangement, such as private funding.
Exclude from claiming or Include in claiming.
Cancel services.

Before applying changes, Lookout validates all selected rows. Any ineligible items are flagged and left unchanged. You'll also see the selected funding source's balance, projected costs, and remaining funds before saving.

Important: Bulk actions update the underlying service records and may affect claiming and billing. Users require the Budgets bulk actions permission to perform these actions. After completion, review the notification for any rows that could not be updated.

How do we move a purchase order service to a different funding source?

There are three options:

In bulk: Use Switch funding source in tracked expenses, which includes purchase orders as well as visits.
Individually: Open the purchase order (through the ticket or Orders), go to the line item's funding impact and select the funding source, for example Home support ongoing or Restorative Care.
At claiming: Your finance team can reallocate services on the Support at Home claim screen before submitting.

How does a Member's leave show in their budget?

Leave doesn't affect Support at Home funding and doesn't pause it, so there's no leave period shown in the budget or tracked expenses.
The leave function works as before. When you record leave, Lookout surfaces visit and purchase order conflicts for that period so you can address them, for example by cancelling visits (with your cancellation charge options) or purchase orders. Any services you cancel are removed from forecast spend, which updates the projected balance.

Can I click through from Budget plan vs spend to see the tracked expenses behind a service?

Not at the moment. The balances on the Budget plan vs spend tab aren't currently clickable. To review the underlying expenses, open the funding source on the Live & projected balance tracking tab and go to tracked expenses, where you can filter by status and service.

4. Creating, generating & approving budgets

When building from the roster, some services can't be selected. How does Lookout decide which services are available?

This is based on the budget's funding type and the service code on each service, not on the Member's approved services. Services that can't draw from the budget's funding type are greyed out. For example, when building an Assistive Technology budget, services that can't fall under AT (such as ongoing services) can't be selected, and when building an ongoing budget, AT and HM services can't be selected.

Lookout doesn't check services against the Member's notice of decision, so make sure the services you roster and budget for are approved for the Member (see section 2).

Does Build from roster now pick up all rostered services, including public holiday shifts and purchase orders?

Yes. A major part of the enhancements was making Build from roster copy what's actually rostered for the Member. It picks up schedule rules, exceptional visits, group visits, purchase orders and invoice items, and each rate variant (such as public holiday or weekend rates) pulls through as its own line.

Support at Home: Kilometres are not captured, as they can't be claimed. Use the direct transport service instead.
Other programs (for example NDIS, CHSP or private): Rate variants are only supported for Support at Home. For other programs, smart rate functionality still applies, so the rate picked at the time of scheduling is what's captured in the budget.

If Build from roster misses anything, submit a support ticket with the Member and service details so the team can investigate.

When generating AT or HM budgets in bulk, does Lookout use the dates of each Member's AT or HM funding source?

Yes. When you bulk generate an Assistive Technology or Home Modifications budget, each budget uses the start and end dates of that Member's own synced funding source, not the dates you enter.

Top tip: AT and HM funding is usually annual and dates vary by Member. If the period you select doesn't overlap a Member's AT or HM funding source, Lookout can't find one and the budget won't generate for that Member. Always review bulk generated budgets against the synced funding sources.

If we don't build from the roster when bulk generating budgets, do we need to update each service plan manually?

Bulk generation creates each budget with its name and income populated from the Member's funding. Choosing to build from the roster during bulk generation also pulls in the services rostered for each Member, so you don't need to add services to each plan manually.

If you don't build from the roster, each budget is created with an empty service plan and carries an Empty budget plan warning. You'll then need to build from the roster or add services in each budget before approving.

Top tip: Building from the roster during bulk generation, then reviewing each budget, saves the most time.

Can we see all errors when bulk generating a large number of budgets?

Yes. The bulk generation results page now scrolls, so you can review every line. Previously, lines that went past the bottom of the page were cut off.

Does Lookout support creating budgets for those with an MSO/interim funding?

Yes. When creating a Support at Home ongoing budget, you can select the Interim funding checkbox to indicate that the Member is on interim funding. This automatically recalculates their subsidy to 60% of the full service offer funding.

If you create the budget using the Member’s active funding source, their interim funding status will also be pulled through automatically.

Can we add the dismissal note or override overspend warnings during bulk generation, so budgets can be approved and sent in bulk?

No. Budgets with unresolved warnings, such as overspends, can't be approved individually or in bulk.
Warnings must be fixed or dismissed manually on each Member's budget.
This ensures each dismissal includes a reason specific to that Member's circumstances.
Bulk generation notifications display any warnings, but dismissals are recorded at the individual budget level.
If bulk warning overrides would improve your workflow, submit your use case through the Lookout Roadmap and Feedback page.

What happens if a Member has more than one budget of the same type for the same period?

A Member can have multiple draft budgets for the same funding type and period, but only one approved budget. If you try to approve another, an overlapping budget warning appears. To resolve it, update the existing budget, adjust the dates, or revert the approved budget to draft.

Are HCP unspent funds and rolled-over amounts editable in a budget?

For synced funding sources, HCP unspent funds and Home Care Account values are pulled from Services Australia and shown as income. The Home Care Account remains editable.
Budgeting does not affect account balances or claiming.
If budgeting against unspent funds, ensure the amount matches the balance held by Services Australia.
You cannot add, deposit, or withdraw HCP unspent funds or Home Care Account balances through budgeting. These values update through claim reconciliation.
If these fields are locked for some funding classifications but not others, raise a support ticket with the Member and funding classification details.

5. Permissions & reporting

Which permissions do staff need to dismiss budget warnings and approve budgets?

There is no dedicated permission for dismissing budget warnings or approving budgets.
Any staff member who can access the Member's budget can dismiss warnings and approve budgets.
Access is controlled through community access settings and the staff member's access reach:
- Full access: Can complete budget actions in all communities, including Restricted communities.
- General access: Can only complete budget actions in a Restricted community if they are a member of that community.
If your organisation does not use community-based access, staff only need access to the Member's finances to perform these actions.

Top tip: The Budgets bulk actions permission is not required to dismiss budget warnings or approve budgets. It only applies to bulk actions on a Member's tracked expenses.

Where can we review the reasons staff enter when dismissing overspend, underspend or budget plan warnings?

Use the Data Exporter. Select the SAH Funding Insights template (found under Other) to report on dismissal reasons across your Members.

6. Client contributions, sharing & the Care app

Can we share a budget with a Member or their representative without requesting a signature?

Yes. Use the new Share only option in the budget's actions menu. This shares the budget without requesting a signature from the recipient.
This is useful where one person signs and another also needs to see the budget.
For example, you can use Share and sign to send the budget to the Member for signing, and Share only to send it to their authorised representative. Both receive a copy by email and can view it in the Care app, but only the person sent the signing request can sign.

How are client contributions shown on AT-HM budgets that include administration and coordination (wraparound) charges?

Fix released: Client contributions are now excluded from AT-HM wraparound services. New AT-HM budgets with wraparounds show $0 client contributions for those items.
Zero-funded AT-HM: These budgets generally have no client contributions applied.
Waiving contributions by choice: There is no option to hide the client contribution summary on the budget or PDF. Duplicate the budget, set the contribution percentages to 0% in the copy, and present both side by side. This shows the Member what they would be assessed to pay and what your organisation will charge, while keeping a clear audit trail.

Will Members see projected balances for all their funding sources in the Care app?

Yes. Members see projected balances for each funding source separately, instead of combined into one balance. This is the only change to what Members see in the Care app as part of the budget enhancements.

Members may also notice changes to the budget plans you share with them, and conversations with their care partner about how their funding is being used, as over- and under-utilisation is now easier to identify.

What's the best way to show a Member an AT-HM quote that is more than their available funding?

Where a quote exceeds the Member's AT-HM funding, you can create the budget as a deliberate overspend so the Member can see the amount they'll need to pay. One approach:

Create the AT-HM budget, enter the client contribution percentage and build from the roster (or add the quoted items). The plan will show a negative left to spend.
Duplicate the budget. In the copy, add the negative left to spend amount as a once-off additional client contribution, so the plan balances at $0.
Review the Summary tab, which now shows the additional contribution and the total the Member will pay out of pocket.
Share both budgets with the Member, so they can see the original overspend and acknowledge the out-of-pocket amount when they sign.

Top tip: Dismiss the overspend warning on the original budget with a note explaining the deliberate overspend, so it can be approved and shared.

7. Lookout Assist: Funding Analyser

Why can't I see the option to review a budget with Lookout Assist?

The Funding Analyser requires Lookout Assist to be enabled and your organisation to be on the new master services agreement (MSA). To check:

In the Release Hub, look under Available on request for Lookout Assist.
If Lookout Assist is already on, scroll to the bottom of the left navigation, click Lookout Assist, find the Funding Analyser and check it's enabled.
Check you have the View finance account transactions and balances permission, which is needed to generate a review.
Where they're saved: The latest assessment shows in the Lookout Assist panel on the Live & projected balance tracking tab, with up to five previous assessments under Previous assessments.
Suggested actions stay linked: They remain linked to the relevant visits or services and are marked Resolved or Out of date when applicable.
Only the latest assessment can be shared to a ticket: Once a new assessment is run, an earlier assessment that wasn't shared can no longer be turned into a ticket.
Vacant visits: These are treated as projected expenses, because the intention is for the service to go ahead. They use the suggested price when calculating projected spend. If a vacant visit won't be filled, cancel it so the projection updates.
Services no longer delivered: The Funding Analyser doesn't compare current services against previous service delivery to identify a specific service that has stopped. For underspend, it may instead suggest actions such as meeting with the Member to discuss their care. It won't recommend specific services, as decisions about a Member's care stay with your team.

If it's still not available, speak to your Account Manager.

Does the Funding Analyser cost extra?

Lookout Assist is part of Lookout's new service agreement and involves a cost based on token usage. Contact your Account Manager for details. The rest of the budget enhancements are available across all contract types.

Can we customise the ticket template used when sharing a Funding Analyser assessment to a ticket?

Yes. The first time an assessment is shared to a ticket, Lookout creates a Funding analyser template in the Finance ticket category. From then on, it appears in Ticket Templates, where you can modify it.

Can Lookout Assist be tailored to our organisation's processes and internal language?

No. The prompts used by Lookout Assist are managed by Lookout and are regularly reviewed for all Assist agents.

Your feedback shapes the outputs. Every Lookout Assist output has a thumbs-up and thumbs-down control. Let us know whether the insights are easy to understand and helpful, as this helps the team refine the prompts and improve results over time.

Can the Funding Analyser tell whether underspend is caused by vacant visits or a particular service no longer being delivered?

If there's information you'd like Lookout Assist to provide, use the thumbs-up and thumbs-down feedback on the assessment to help the team improve future outputs.

If we don't create a ticket from an assessment, is the summary still saved against the Member?

Assessments are saved in the Lookout Assist panel, but they only appear in the Member's activity log if a ticket is created.

Top tip: Creating a ticket while viewing a previous assessment creates a ticket for the latest assessment only. To keep a full record in the Member's activity log, create a ticket each time you run an assessment or re-assessment for a funding source.

8. Static statements

Is locking a statement specific to the statement period's dates?

Yes. While a statement period is unlocked, it continues to capture services dated within that period as claims are finalised. Once it's locked, newly finalised claims flow into the next statement period. There's no time limit on unlocking a previous period, so you can reopen it whenever needed. We recommend setting an internal cut-off (for example, the end of the first week of the new month), after which previous periods aren't unlocked again.

When would we unlock, rework, re-lock and resend a statement?

Your claiming workflow doesn't change. Continue to submit and reconcile Support at Home claims weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Once the claims for the period are finalised, preview the statement period and lock it when you're ready to send.

A typical reason to unlock is late claims. For example, early in the new month you receive third-party invoices for services delivered in the previous month:

Unlock the previous month's statement period.
Submit and finalise the claim for the additional services, so they appear on the statement.
Lock the period again. Locking saves a fixed PDF of each Member's statement and removes the Preview watermark.
Resend the statements, either in bulk or by downloading them for mailing.

Top tip: Avoid sending statements while they're unlocked and stamped Preview, as they'll keep updating. Unlocking requires the separate Rollback statements and claims permission (Support at Home), which isn't included in any default access role.

Still need help?
If you are still experiencing issues after reviewing this article, please contact the Lookout Support Team. To help us investigate efficiently, include:

Screenshots of the issue (where possible)
The Member name or ID
A description of the exact steps taken
Any error messages received
The date and time the issue occurred