Latest News of Jul 2025

The Social Welfare Department now invites bona-fide non-profit making non-government organisations with tax exemption status under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) to submit proposal(s) by using the prescribed Proposal Form(s) for operating a new Supported Hostel for Mentally Handicapped Persons at Siu Sai Wan Health Integrated Building, Siu Sai Wan, Hong Kong

For information of site visit, online briefing session, details of Service Specifications, proposal form and related documents, please click here.

The application shall be submitted by hand on or before 5:00 pm on 7 August 2025 (Thursday). 

The results of the second cluster of approved applications for Tranche 10 of the Innovation and Technology Fund for Application in Elderly and Rehabilitation Care has been released.  For details, please click here.

To increase the provision of subsidised residential care places for persons with disabilities, the Social Welfare Department is inviting operators of private residential care homes for persons with disabilities and self-financing residential care homes for persons with disabilities operated by non-governmental organizations to submit applications for the Bought Place Scheme.
For details, please click here (Chinese only).

Public Subscription Permit (Solicitation of Signed Authorisation Forms) for the Former Half of 2026 or the whole year of 2026 is open for application from 1 July 2025.  The deadline for application is 6:00pm on 31 July 2025.

Enquiries can be made by telephone to 3748 9788; by fax to 2838 0441; or by email to pspenq@swd.gov.hk.

The Social Welfare Department has rolled out the three-year “Pilot Programme on Community Living Room” – Sham Shui Po East Community Living Room Project, which is subsidised by the Community Care Fund, in June 2025. For details, please click here.

The Social Welfare Department now invites bona-fide non-profit making non-government organisations with tax exemption status under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) to submit proposals by using the prescribed Proposal Form for the operation of a new Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness.

For information of briefing session, details of Service Specifications, proposal form and related documents, please click here.

The application shall be submitted by hand on or before 31 July 2025 (Thursday), 5:00 p.m.

The seventh round application of the Special Scheme to Import Care Workers for Residential Care Homes (“Special Scheme”) will be launched on 30 July 2025 till 12 August 2025.  The application can be submitted by hand, by post or through e-Form.  The seventh 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.  Details of the seventh round application of the Special Scheme are as follows:

The latest median monthly wage of care workers in Hong Kong has been updated. According to the statistics of the Census and Statistics Department, the updated median monthly wage for CW is HKD$15,120 (9 hours of normal working hours per day excluding meal break).

RCH operators should submit the completed application form together with the form of “Information of Imported Workers of Other Schemes”.  In addition, the form of “List of In-employ Imported Care Worker” (Annex 3 to the application form) is now available in Excel format.  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].    

In addition, the eighth round application of the Special Scheme will be launched in November 2025.  Details will be announced in October 2025. 
 

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has earlier invited eligible non-governmental organisations and/or other organisations to submit proposals for operating the Support Programme for the Unemployed (SPU) under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme.  A Vetting Committee (VC) was set up to conduct assessment of all the proposals received.  Upon the recommendations of the VC, SWD has selected 3 Applicants (or Key Applicant under a joint application) to operate the SPU in the following five service districts covering the service catchment area of respective Social Security Field Units:

The Social Welfare Department will issue on 2 July 2025 at the earliest a household-based SIA to CSSA families with children receiving primary or secondary education in receipt of the flat-rate grant for selected items of school related expenses in the 2025/26 school year.  Full SIA for each eligible CSSA family is $1,700 for the 2025/26 school year.

CSSA recipients are not required to make application for the subsidy.  The money will be paid to them on or after 2 July 2025 through the existing CSSA payment method, that is, normally through bank payment credited to the designated bank account.

The Arts Development Fund for Persons with Disabilities (Arts Fund) will hold an online briefing session to introduce the Arts Fund to interested organisations, including the application process and important notes. Details of the online briefing session are as follows:

Interested organisations may download the reply slip here and return the completed reply slip to the Secretariat to the Arts Fund by 5:00 p.m. of 11 July 2025 (Friday) via email at sharon_st_fan@swd.gov.hk.

For further enquiries, please contact Miss Sharon FAN or Ms Jennifer YUEN of the Secretariat to the Arts Fund at 2892 5522 or 2892 5133.

The seventh batch of the Arts Development Fund for Persons with Disabilities (Arts Fund) is open for applications until 1 September 2025 (Monday).  Non-profit making organisations granted tax exemption status under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) with at least two years of experience in organising structured arts activities or training programmes for persons with disabilities (PWDs) may submit applications.

The Arts Fund provides funding support for two tiers of arts projects.  Tier One projects focus on providing elementary and ongoing arts programmes that enhance the arts knowledge of PWDs, foster their interests in the arts, and develop their potential.  Tier Two projects are large-scale, impactful and sustainable projects which assist individual PWDs with significant artistic potential in pursuing careers in performing, visual or creative arts, enabling them to strive for excellence.

Interested organisations may click here for more details and download the latest application form or complete the electronic application form.

The Social Work Training Fund (SWTF) was established under the Social Work Training Fund Ordinance (Cap.1100) and is managed by the SWTF Committee to improve the knowledge and skills of social workers in Hong Kong.  Applications for the SWTF grants in 2025-26 are now invited.  Organisations not operating Social Welfare Department subvented welfare services and individual social workers may apply for grants from SWTF for training activities within the scope specified by SWTF.  For details, please click here.

Following the publication of the above Tender Notices in the Government Gazette on 6 June 2025, a Briefing Session on the invitation to the two tenders was held on 18 June 2025 by the Social Welfare Department.  The PowerPoint (in Chinese) and “Questions and Answers” (in Chinese) of the Briefing Session can be downloaded here:

PowerPoint (in Chinese)    
“Questions and Answers” (in Chinese)
Photos of Cross Street Premises
Photos of Sau Mau Ping Premises

Please click here for further details.

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has earlier invited eligible non-government organisations to submit proposals for operating two new rehabilitation service projects at Yip Wong Estate, Tuen Mun, New Territories.  A Vetting Committee (VC) was set up for each of the above projects to conduct assessment of the proposals.  Upon recommendation of the respective VC, SWD has selected the following NGOs to operate the respective project:

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)

The Legislative Council passed the Appropriation Bill 2025 on 30 April 2025 for implementing the measures as announced by the Financial Secretary on 26 February 2025 to provide additional half-month of standard rate for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients and additional half-month of allowance for Old Age Allowance (OAA) [including OAA under the Guangdong (GD) Scheme and Fujian (FJ) Scheme], Old Age Living Allowance (OALA) (including OALA under the GD Scheme and FJ Scheme) and Disability Allowance recipients under the Social Security Allowance Scheme.  

Eligible recipients will receive the one-off additional payment starting from 26 May 2025 and the payment will be credited to the designated Hong Kong bank accounts of the recipients.  Recipients are not required to make application.
 

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

To enhance the arrangement of the “Scheme on Living for Carers of Elderly Persons from Low-income Families” (“Allowance for Carers of the Elderly”) and the “Scheme on Living Allowance for Low-income Carers of Persons with Disabilities” (“Allowance for Carers of Persons with Disabilities”), the Social Welfare Department (SWD) will accept applications year-round starting from May 2025. Eligible carers of elderly persons/persons with disabilities can make application at any time.

Applicants must submit the completed application form along with the required documents to the Carer Allowances and Subsidies Team of the SWD (Address: Room 404, 4/F, Lady Trench Training Centre, No. 44 Oi Kwan Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong). The Carer Allowances and Subsidies Team will notify applicants of the result after vetting of the application is completed.

For the Brief on “Allowance for Carers of the Elderly” and its application form, please Click Here; for the Brief on “Allowance for Carers of Persons with Disabilities” and its application form, please Click Here.

For enquiries, please contact the Carer Allowances and Subsidies Team during office hours (Tel.: 3468 5635 or 3468 5636; Email: castenq@swd.gov.hk).

• 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.

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.