HSE Home Support Authorisation Scheme: Be Ready

A neat folder of documents and a laptop on a desk in a small community office, green plant in the background

The HSE home support authorisation scheme is how the Health Service Executive qualifies private and voluntary providers to deliver home support for older people. If you want to deliver HSE-funded hours, or keep the hours you have, you need to understand how the scheme works and how to be ready when a round opens. This guide covers the facts we could verify, what they imply and a practical readiness pack.

A note on sources. Round dates below come from a public tender listing on Stotles, which republishes the HSE notice. Confirm every date on eTenders, the official Irish public procurement portal, before you act.

How the HSE home support authorisation scheme works

According to the listing, the HSE set up the scheme in 2023, on behalf of Services for Older Persons, with an initial term of 24 months that can be extended by a further 24 months. It is an authorisation scheme, which means the HSE qualifies providers who meet its requirements and then uses them as needs arise. It reopens in rounds so that new providers can join.

The listing shows Round 4 published on 8 September 2026, with a closing date of 7 October 2026. That date has now passed. If you missed it, read on, because the lessons apply to the next round. If you applied, you can use the same material to prepare for contract management and audit.

What the HSE expects of providers

The Medical Independent's report of an April 2026 HSE meeting tells us three useful things.

Providers appointed to the scheme must meet a set of 23 specifications aligned to HIQA standards.
In some areas, audit teams check indirect service provision against the service specification.
Home support is delivered by HSE-employed staff, voluntary not-for-profit providers and private for-profit providers under service-level agreements.

The same report says the HSE is running a competitive dialogue procurement to buy a single national ICT system for home support, because the lack of one limits the data available. For providers, that points to a future where data requests become more systematic.

Why this matters now

Demand is large. The HSE reports that it delivered 25.5 million hours of home support in 2025 to about 79,400 people, and its National Service Plan 2026 commits to 27 million hours for 62,000 people, according to the same article. The two people figures may be measured differently, so do not compare them directly. The hours figure shows the scale.

Waiting lists add pressure. BDO's July 2026 snapshot says the waiting list for home support stays above 5,000, against a 2026 target of 4,500. Workforce shortages continue to limit supply, according to the same briefing. A provider who can show quality and reliability has a real advantage when the HSE needs capacity.

And regulation is arriving. The Home Support Providers Act 2026 will require HIQA registration once it commences. A provider who is already working to the scheme's specifications will have less to change.

The scheme rewards providers who can show their quality.

A readiness pack for the next round

The listing does not set out the full requirements, and the specifications are not reproduced in public sources we could read. Use this pack as a starting set, then check the actual tender documents when a round opens.

1. Governance and identity

Company documents, tax clearance and insurance certificates, in date
Organisation chart with a named person in charge
Policy index with review dates
Conflict of interest and complaints policies

2. Quality and safety evidence

Safeguarding policy, training record and a log of concerns and outcomes
Incident and complaints logs with review notes
Audit schedule and the last two audit reports
Care plan template and an anonymised example

The plain-English checklist for the HIQA standards tells you what evidence each draft standard points to. The scheme's specifications are aligned to those standards, so the same folder serves both.

3. Workforce

Recruitment and vetting procedure, including Garda vetting arrangements
Induction and mandatory training matrix
Supervision and appraisal records
Retention data and a plan for sickness cover

Workforce evidence matters because retention is a documented problem. The Department of Health's Strategic Workforce Advisory Group reports stakeholder concerns about pay, hours and career prospects. Showing how you respond, even in small ways, speaks to a real concern.

4. Service delivery and out-of-hours

Rota planning method and continuity measures
Late and missed visit procedure
Written out-of-hours arrangement: who answers, what is recorded, who is escalated to
Test results from your last out-of-hours drill

The out-of-hours piece is where many applications are thin. If you answer it with "our manager has a mobile," an assessor will ask what happens when the manager is asleep. Our guide to after-hours phone cover lists five ways to build the answer, and the Care Centre page shows one of them.

5. Data and information

Data protection policy, record of processing and DPO or lead contact
Written agreements with every service that handles client data
Information security measures and a breach procedure
Evidence that your records can be produced quickly on request

6. Quality indicators

Choose five measures you can report every month without strain. Examples are the percentage of visits delivered as planned, number of complaints and time to close them, staff turnover, incidents and calls answered out of hours. Start recording them now, even in a spreadsheet.

7. A one-page story of your service

Assessors read many applications. A single page that states who you serve, where, how many clients you support, how you staff visits and what makes your service reliable gives them a map before they read the detail. Write it in plain language and make every claim checkable against a record in the pack.

What the scheme means for small providers

A small provider can feel at a disadvantage against a large group with a compliance team. The pack above helps level the field, because it turns what you already do into evidence. Three habits matter most.

Name an owner for the application. One person keeps the folder current and answers questions. If that person is you, block time every month.
Write short, true policies. A five-page policy that staff follow is stronger than a fifty-page template that nobody has read.
Be honest about gaps. If you do not yet have a measure, say when you will. An assessor can work with a plan. A claim that proves empty is harder to recover from.

How the scheme sits next to HIQA registration

Two tracks are converging. The HSE scheme asks providers to meet specifications aligned to HIQA standards. The Act will make registration with HIQA a legal requirement for most providers once it commences, according to William Fry. Together they mean the same evidence will be asked for twice, by different bodies, for different purposes. Build it once, store it in one place and keep it current. If you have to choose where to start, start with the records that show how you handle complaints, incidents and calls, because those cut across every standard.

How to avoid common mistakes

Leaving it to the deadline. The window between publication and close for Round 4 was about a month, according to the listing. Build the pack before a round opens.
Copying policies. Assessors can tell. Make sure each policy reflects what you do.
Ignoring the evidence trail. A policy without a record that it is followed carries little weight.
Treating authorisation as the finish line. Audits and data requests follow. Keep your records current.

A 60-day plan to be ready

Days 1 to 10. Create the folder and the index. Mark each item as present, out of date or missing.
Days 11 to 30. Fix the out-of-date items and write the missing policies. Start the monthly indicators.
Days 31 to 45. Run an out-of-hours drill and write up the result. Collect two or three examples of changes you made after feedback.
Days 46 to 60. Ask a colleague or adviser to review the pack as an assessor would. Close the gaps they find.

Watching for the next round

Set a calendar reminder to check eTenders weekly, and sign up for alerts on the HSE's procurement pages. Follow the industry body for private providers, Home and Community Care Ireland, for early word. Read each new notice from start to finish, because round terms can change.

When you have the pack in one folder, run a mock review. Ask a colleague who did not build it to look for missing items and weak answers. Then book the time to fix what they find. Small gaps are easy to close when you find them early.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Is the HSE home support authorisation scheme a tender?

It is published as a public notice, but it works as an authorisation scheme. The HSE qualifies providers who meet its requirements and then uses them as needs arise. Read each notice for the exact terms of the round.

What if we missed Round 4?

The listing shows a closing date of 7 October 2026. Check eTenders in case of an extension, and prepare for the next round. The scheme was set up in 2023 with a 24 month term that can be extended by 24 months, so further rounds are likely to depend on HSE decisions about the scheme.

Do we need HIQA registration to apply?

The Home Support Providers Act 2026 has not commenced, so registration is not yet in force. Providers on the HSE scheme already have to meet specifications aligned to HIQA standards, according to the Medical Independent, so work to the standards now.

HSE home support authorisation scheme: what to have ready for the next round