Latest News of Jun 2026

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has earlier invited eligible non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to submit proposals for operating four new aided standalone child care centres (CCCs) in Kowloon City, Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan and Tuen Mun.  A Vetting Committee (VC) was set up to conduct assessment of all the proposals received.

Based on the recommendations of the VC, SWD has selected the following NGOs to operate the four new aided standalone CCCs respectively -

1. Tung Wah Group of Hospitals to operate the CCC at 2/F, Podium, KT Marina, 15 Shing Fung Road, Kai Tak, Kowloon City, Kowloon;
2. Hong Kong Christian Service to operate the CCC at 2/F, Wang Chi Court, 7 Wang Chiu Road, Kowloon Bay, Kwun Tong, Kowloon;
3. Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association to operate the CCC at 2/F, Joint-user Complex, 65 Wing Shun Street, Tsuen Wan, New Territories;
4. The Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong to operate the CCC at 2/F (Shop 201), Po Tin Shopping Centre, Po Tin Estate, 99 Ming Kum Road, Tuen Mun, New Territories.

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) announced today (June 16) that starting from July 1, three additional residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) located in Shenzhen and Dongguan will join the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong (the Scheme) as Recognised Service Providers (RSPs) to provide subsidised care and attention places.  Besides, an existing RSP will expand its service scope to provide both subsidised care and attention places and nursing home places.

Together with the existing 26 RCHEs, the total number of RCHEs participating in the Scheme will increase to 29, offering more choices to Hong Kong elderly people who wish to retire in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.  Elderly persons who are waitlisted for subsidised residential care services on the Central Waiting List and would like to join the Scheme may contact their responsible workers to file an application.  

The information of the relevant RCHEs is as follows:

For details of the Scheme, you may click here.

The Social Welfare Department rolls out the three-year “Pilot Programme on Community Living Room” – Tsuen Wan West Community Living Room Project, which is subsidised by the Community Care Fund. For details, please click here.

According to the requirements of the Special Scheme to Import Care Workers for Residential Care Homes (Special Scheme), the wages of imported care workers (CWs) must not be lower than the median monthly wage for CWs as compiled by the Census and Statistics Department.

The latest monthly median monthly wage for CW will be announced on the Social Welfare Department website in around late June 2026 and take immediate effect upon release.  For the visa/entry permit applications for imported CWs (including replacement of CWs) received by the Immigration Department from the date of the release, the wages in the signed standard employment contracts must not be lower than the latest median monthly wage for CW.

For details of the Special Scheme, please click [here].

The Social Welfare Department now invites bona-fide non-profit making 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 operating a new Integrated Family Service Centre in Kwu Chun Estate, Kwu Tung, Sheung Shui, New Territories.

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

Each applicant organisation shall submit only ONE proposal.  The proposal shall be submitted by hand on or before 6 July 2026 (Monday), 5:00 p.m.

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.

The Legislative Council passed the Appropriation Bill 2026 on 29 April 2026 for implementing the measures as announced by the Financial Secretary on 25 February 2026 to provide additional one month of standard rate for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients and additional one 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 22 May 2026 and the payment will be credited to the designated bank accounts in Hong Kong of the recipients.  Recipients are not required to make separate application.

The list of the first batch of approved applications for the Twelfth Tranche of the Innovation and Technology Fund for Application in Elderly and Rehabilitation Care has been released.  For details, please click here.

To ensure all registered health workers undergo renewal registration in accordance with relevant legal provision orderly, Social Welfare Department (SWD) has notified in-service health workers to submit renewal applications through their home managers of residential care homes and the arrangement is close to completion.  SWD is now going to proceed the next phase for renewal of registration and will invite non in-service health workers (who have registered before 16 June 2024) via emails to submit renewal applications by batches, according to their year of birth. For details, please click here.

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) now invites bona fide non-profit-making organisation currently operating service(s) of Home Care Services for Persons with Severe Disabilities, Integrated Support Service for Persons with Severe Physical Disabilities, Community Rehabilitation Day Centre and/or regularised ICRC subvented by the SWD as at the date of submission of proposal to submit proposal for operating ICRC(s).

Please click here for downloading the “Service Specifications” and related information/form(s).

For enquiries, please contact Mr MO Chiu-man, Social Work Officer (Rehabilitation and Medical Social Services) 19, at 3468 2526.
 

The invitation of Residential Care Homes for the Elderly for joining the Residential Care Service Voucher Scheme for the Elderly (the Scheme) as Recognised Service Providers in February 2026 was closed on 30 April 2026.  The applicants will be informed of the outcomes of the assessment in August 2026.  

The next round of applications will be launched in the final quarter of 2026.  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:

The Social Welfare Department rolls out the three-year “Pilot Programme on Community Living Room” – Sai Wan Community Living Room Project, which is subsidised by the Community Care Fund. For details, please click here.

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has earlier invited eligible non-government organisations to submit proposals for operating a new Day Activity Centre cum Hostel for Severely Mentally Handicapped Persons at Hiu Ming Street, Kwun Tong, Kowloon.  A Vetting Committee (VC) was set up for the above project to conduct assessment of the proposals.  Upon recommendation of the VC, SWD has selected Po Leung Kuk to operate the project.

Information on additional and planned places of rehabilitation services for the period of April 2026 to June 2026 has been announced.  Please download the information here.

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) earlier invited eligible non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to submit proposals to operate three new Neighbourhood Elderly Centres (NECs) at the following sites, and set up two Vetting Committee (VCs) to assess the received proposals:

1. Podium Level 2, Yip Tak House, Yip Wong Estate, No. 21 Tin Hau Road, Tuen Mun, New Territories 
2. Portion of G/F, Chiu Ming Court, 11 Chiu Shun Road, Tseung Kwan O, New Territories 
3. G/F, On Ying Shopping Centre, 15 On Hei Street, Sai Kung, New Territories  

Base on the recommendations of the VCs, the SWD has selected the following NGOs to operate the three aforementioned NECs respectively: 

1. Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association (Key applicant organisation) and Agent of Change Foundation (Joint applicant organisation) to operate the NEC at podium Level 2, Yip Tak House, Yip Wong Estate, No. 21 Tin Hau Road, Tuen Mun, New Territories
2. Haven of Hope Christian Service (Key applicant organisation) and Everbright Concern Action Limited (Joint applicant organisation) to operate the NEC at portion of G/F, Chiu Ming Court, 11 Chiu Shun Road, Tseung Kwan O, New Territories
3. Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Limited to operate the NEC at G/F, On Ying Shopping Centre, 15 On Hei Street, Sai Kung, New Territories
    

The Social Welfare Department rolls out the three-year “Pilot Programme on Community Living Room” – Yau Ma Tei Community Living Room Project, which is subsidised by the Community Care Fund.  For details, please click here.

The Thirteenth Tranche of the Innovation and Technology Fund for Application in Elderly and Rehabilitation Care (I&T Fund) is open for application from 13 April 2026 to 13 July 2026.  For details, please click here and refer to the invitation letter issued by the Social Welfare Department on 13 April 2026 to all eligible organisations.

The list of the second batch of approved applications for the Eleventh Tranche of the Innovation and Technology Fund for Application in Elderly and Rehabilitation Care has been released.  For details, 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.
• The SWD is receiving a new round of applications for RCHEs to join the Scheme.  Eligible Hong Kong operators planning to apply within 2026 for including their RCHEs located in the GBA, operated either on their own or under partnership with Mainland elderly service operators, in the Scheme shall submit their applications on or before April 30 this year.  Results are expected to be announced by year end.
• 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 details of the SPED and application eligibility, please click here.