Latest News of Dec 2025

The Social Welfare Department is now inviting Non-governmental organisations and the bona-fide non-profit making charitable organisations granted tax-exemption status under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance, Chapter 112, to submit proposals for operating three new Neighbourhood Elderly Centres (NEC) at (i) Podium Level 2, Yip Tak House, Yip Wong Estate, No. 21 Tin Hau Road, Tuen Mun, New Territories; (ii) Portion of G/F, Chiu Ming Court, 11 Chiu Shun Road, Tseung Kwan O, New Territories; and (iii) G/F, On Ying Shopping Centre, 15 On Hei Street, Sai Kung, New Territories.

Please click here for further details.

The proposals shall be submitted by hand on or before 5:00 p.m. on 30 January 2026 (Friday).

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has earlier invited eligible non-government organisations to submit proposals for operating a new rehabilitation service project at Siu Sai Wan Health Integrated Building, Siu Sai Wan, Hong Kong.  A Vetting Committee (VC) was set up to conduct assessment of the proposals.  Upon recommendation of the respective VC, SWD has selected Fu Hong Society to operate the project.

The eighth round application of the Special Scheme to Import Care Workers for Residential Care Homes will be launched on 24 November 2025 (Monday) till 5 December 2025 (Friday).  Applicants who intend to submit applications online can access the e-Form from 10:00 a.m. on 17 November 2025 (Monday) to 5:00 p.m. on 21 November 2025 (Friday) for filling in information and saving as drafts in their own computers so as to review or revise the information filled, if necessary.  

Applicants should upload the saved e-Form and required documents through the e-channel between 9:00 a.m. on 24 November 2025 (Monday) and 5:00 p.m. on 5 December 2025 (Friday) for application submission.  Applicants can also fill in the e-Form and submit the application together with the required documents starting from 9:00 a.m. on 24 November 2025 (Monday) when the e-channel is open for application.  For details, please click [here].

The Hong Kong Paralympians Fund (2026-27) will accept applications starting from 1 November 2025. The application deadline for all categories of grants is 2 January 2026 (Friday), 5:30pm.

For details of the Fund application, please click here to visit webpage.

For enquiries, please contact The Secretariat, Hong Kong Paralympians Fund at 3791 2470.

The Government has injected an additional $1 billion into the Innovation and Technology Fund for Application in Elderly and Rehabilitation Care (I&T Fund) in 2024-25. This enhancement aims to increase subsidies for eligible elderly and rehabilitation service units to procure, rent, or trial technological products and expanding the scope of the I&T Fund to include technology products suitable for household use.  All subvented elderly or rehabilitation service units providing non-residential care services are eligible to submit applications for procuring appropriate technology products to lend to elderly persons, persons with disabilities, or their carers for use at home so as to improve the quality of life for service users and alleviate the pressure of the carers.  Subject to the availability of funding, the maximum grant amount per application is $200,000 while the application amount will not be counted towards the maximum grants allocated to the respective service units. Joint applications by different Non-governmental Organisations or service units within the same service category will be considered.  Applications are now open and will be accepted year-round.  For details, please click here.

The Social Welfare Department now invites bona-fide non-profit making organisations granted tax-exemption status under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap.112) to submit proposals by using the Prescribed Form for Proposal for operating four new Small Group Homes at 18 Shing Fung Road, Kowloon (Government Accommodation).

For information of site visit, briefing session, details of Service Specifications, Prescribed Form for Proposal and related documents, please click here.

Each applicant organisation shall submit only ONE proposal.  The proposal shall be submitted by hand on or before 8 December 2025 (Monday), 5:00 p.m.

Information on additional and planned places of rehabilitation services for the period of October 2025 to December 2025 has been announced.  Please download the information here.

The eighth round application of the Special Scheme to Import Care Workers for Residential Care Homes (“Special Scheme”) will be launched on 24 November 2025 till 5 December 2025.  The application can be submitted by hand, by post or through e-Form.  The eighth round application will allocate around 800 new quotas for applications for importation of care workers (CWs) and accept quota applications for employment contract renewal with the existing imported CWs submitted by residential care homes (RCHs) for the elderly, RCHs for persons with disabilities and nursing homes.  The contract renewal quota can be used for renewing the employment contract with the imported care worker whose contract will expire on or before 30 September 2026.  Details of the eighth round application of the Special Scheme are as follows:

The SWD has updated the application form and annexes for the Special Scheme (except Annex 3 to application form-“List of In-employ Imported Care Worker”), and has added the form of “Information of Imported Workers of Other Labour Importation Schemes” as Annex 5. Starting from the eighth round application, RCH operators must use the revised application form and annexes when submitting applications.  In addition, if RCHs have in-employ imported care workers, the applicants should submit both the physical and electronic (Excel) versions of the form of “List of In-employ Imported Care Worker” together with the completed application form.  For details about the Special Scheme, please click [here].    

The ninth round application of the Special Scheme will be launched in April 2026.  Details will be announced in March 2026. 
 

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has earlier invited eligible non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to submit proposals for the operation of a new Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness (ICCMW).  A Vetting Committee (VC) was set up to conduct assessment of all the proposals received.  Upon the recommendations of the VC, SWD has selected St. James’ Settlement to operate the ICCMW.

The Social Welfare Department has commissioned non-governmental organisations to operate the Support Programme for the Unemployed (SPU) under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2027.  Unemployed able-bodied CSSA applicants / recipients aged 15 to 59 are required to participate in unpaid work in person with a view to facilitating their integration into society, instilling in them a work habit and enriching their work experience to enhance employability, thereby reducing their reliance on CSSA in the longer term.  Please click here for details.  The SPU Operators and respective service district are as follows:

SWD has regularised the two-year Pilot Project on “Enhancing Vocational Rehabilitation Services” starting from July 2025.  By enhancing the manpower and operational model, all sheltered workshops will be upgraded to integrated vocational rehabilitation services centres by October, as well as transitioning together to a new and people-oriented service model. Through individual assessment and person-centred rehabilitation planning, service users will be able to receive progressive and diversified training, including advanced training modules commensurate with their interests, abilities and talents, thereby maximising their potentials and gaining more career development opportunities.  For details on the service, please click here.

The Government launched the “School-based After School Care Service Scheme” (the Scheme) in the 2023/24 school year to provide focused support for families in need (particularly single-parent families).  With funding from the Community Care Fund (CCF), non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are responsible for operating school-based after school care service at venues provided by schools, with a view to allowing primary students in need to stay after school to receive care and learning support, while enabling parents, who used to be tied up with caring responsibilities for their children during after-school hours, to choose to work and improve their livelihood.  The Scheme has received positive feedback since its launch.  In order to collect more comprehensive data and views from stakeholders for future review of the Scheme on the way forward, the Government extended the pilot period of the Scheme for one year in  the 2024/25 school year, covering all 18 districts in Hong Kong.  As of today, there are 126 primary schools joining the Scheme, offering about 5 900 service places.  As promulgated in 2024 Policy Address, it is planned to encourage more schools to participate in the Scheme, without capping the number of places, in the 2025/26 school year.

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) is now inviting eligible NGOs (Paragraph 4 of the Service Specifications) to apply for joining the Scheme for the 2025/26 school year as Approved Service Providers (ASPs).  NGOs interested may liaise with the participating schools in accordance with the location of their service units for discussing the implementation details in accordance with the content, procedures and guidelines set out in the Service Specifications and submit the application form (Annex 1 of the Service Specifications) on or before 5 July 2025 to CCF Team of SWD (Paragraph 41 of the Service Specifications). The list of participating schools will be uploaded to SWD’s website after the briefing. 

The Education Bureau and Labour and Welfare Bureau/SWD will form an interdepartmental working group to vet and approve the application.  CCF Team of SWD will notify the participating schools and partner NGOs (ASPs) of the result on or before 6 August 2025 so as to implement the after school care service in this September. 

To allow interested NGOs and schools having better understanding on the Scheme and the above-mentioned arrangement, the SWD is going to organise an online briefing session with details as follows: 

Eligible and interested NGOs may download and return the completed reply slip to the Youth Section of the SWD on or before 9 June 2025 (Monday) by email (email address: youthenq@swd.gov.hk). 

For enquiries, please contact the following responsible officers of the Youth Section:

Online Briefing Reply Slip (in Chinese)
Service Specifications (in Chinese)
Annex 1 - ASP Application Form for 2025/26 School Year (in Chinese)

Following the online briefing on the implementation of 2025/26 School Year School-based After School Care Service Scheme held by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) on 13 June 2025, documents below are provided.
PowerPoint Slides (in Chinese)
List of Service Units Willing to Participate in the 25-26 School-based After School Care Service Scheme (in Chinese)
List of Participating Schools (in Chinese)
Frequently Asked Questions (in Chinese)

• Starting from 28 July 2023, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) expands the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong. The expansion measures include to invite applications from operators of residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) with experience and satisfactory track records in providing subsidised elderly residential care services in Hong Kong and are operating RCHE(s) in Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) to register their RCHE(s) in GBA cities as the Recognised Service Provider (RSP) under the GDRCS Scheme.

• For the details of the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong, you may click here. 
• Joining the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong as Recognised Service Providers, please click here to download the Invitation for Proposal and annexes. (Chinese version only)
• For enquiries, you may contact the Residential Care Services Section of Elderly Branch.

• Starting from 28 July 2023, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) expands the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong. The expansion measures include to cover elderly persons waitlisting under the Central Waiting List for subsidised nursing home places.
• Currently, nursing home places are provided at The Hong Kong Jockey Club Shenzhen Society for Rehabilitation Yee Hong Heights and The Hong Kong Jockey Club Helping Hand Zhaoqing Home for the Elderly only.

Eligibility Criteria
The elderly persons who have been assessed and matched for residential care services under the Standardised Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services and are waitlisted for subsidised care and attention places or nursing home places on the Central Waiting List (CWL) for Subsidised Long Term Care (LTC) Services.

How to Apply

1. Elderly persons who are waitlisted for subsidised residential care services in the CWL and would like to apply for the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong may contact their responsible workers to file an application for GDRCS Scheme.
2. New applicants of LTC services may approach Medical Social Services Units, Integrated Family Service Centres or elderly centres to make an application and request for referral for subsidised LTC services.  Through initial screening and assessment as appropriate, they may apply for LTC service, including GDRCS Scheme, in accordance with their assessment results after their care needs have been ascertained in the Standardised Care Needs Assessment.

• For the details of the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong, you may click here.
• For enquiries, you may contact the Residential Care Services Section of Elderly Branch at 2961 7234.

The Residential Care Service Voucher Scheme for the Elderly (the Scheme) temporarily suspend accepting applications for joining the Scheme as a Recognised Service Provider since 1 September 2025 (Monday). The arrangement of receiving applications would be updated. The related details will be announced at appropriate time in the “What’s New” of SWD website.

For enquiries, please contact the following responsible officers of Residential Care Service Voucher Office:

For details of the SPED and application eligibility, please click here.