Skip to main content

Latest News of Jan 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 the Operation of the Social and Care Support Service under the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong.

Please click here for further details.

The proposals shall be submitted by hand on or before 5:00 p.m. on 7 February 2025 (Friday).

Public Subscription Permit (Solicitation of Signed Authorisation Forms) for the Latter Half of 2025 is open for application from 1 January 2025.  The deadline for application is 6:00pm on 31 January 2025.

Application form (paper form)PDF Word
Link to online formOnline Form

Enquiries can be made by telephone to 3748 9788; by fax to 2838 0441; or by email to eolf4@swd.gov.hk.

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has earlier invited eligible non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to submit proposals for operating 6 service teams under Child Protection Support Service (ChildPRO). This is to announce the assessment result as follows -

DistrictNGO
Central, Western, Southern and Islands 
Eastern and Wan Chai
St. James’ Settlement
Kwun Tong 
Tseung Kwan O and Sai Kung
Hong Kong Catholic Marriage Advisory Council (The)
Wong Tai Sin 
Kowloon City and Yau Tsim Mong
Salvation Army (The)
Sham Shui Po 
Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing
Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong (The)
Shatin 
Tai Po and North
Tung Wah Group of Hospitals
Tuen Mun 
Yuen Long
Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Limited

The fifth round application of the Special Scheme to Import Care Workers for Residential Care Homes will be launched on 19 December 2024 (Thursday) till 6 January 2025 (Monday).  Applicants who intend to submit applications online can access the e-Form from 10:00 a.m. on 13 December 2024 (Friday) to 5:00 p.m. on 18 December 2024 (Wednesday) 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 19 December 2024 (Thursday) and 5:00 p.m. on 6 January 2025 (Monday) 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 19 December 2024 (Thursday) when the e-channel is open for application.  For details, please click [here].

The Social Welfare Department further expands the day respite service network for elderly persons.  To provide comprehensive care and support for elderly persons, their family members and/or carers, more than 110 recognised service providers under the Community Care Service Voucher Scheme for the Elderly will also provide day respite service for any needy elderly persons starting from today (December 1).  For details and service points of the day respite services for elderly persons, please click here.

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has earlier invited eligible non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to submit proposals for operating “After School Care Programme for Pre-primary Children [ASCP(PC)]”.  A Vetting Committee (VC) was set up to conduct assessment of all the proposals received.  Upon the recommendation of the VC, SWD has selected 10 NGOs to operate 12 Centres of ASCP(PC) in the following districts – 

DistrictNGO
IslandsPo Leung Kuk
EasternBoys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong (The)
Wan ChaiSt. James’ Settlement
Sai KungHong Kong Family Welfare Society
Kowloon CityHong Kong Lutheran Social Service, the Lutheran Church - Hong Kong Synod Limited
Yau Tsim MongYang Memorial Methodist Social Service
Sha TinBoys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong (The)
Hong Kong Children and Youth Services
Tai PoHong Kong Women Development Association Limited
Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Limited
Tsuen WanHong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Limited
Tuen MunTuen Mun District Women's Association Limited

The fifth round application of the Special Scheme to Import Care Workers for Residential Care Homes (“Special Scheme”) will be launched on 19 December 2024 till 6 January 2025.  The application can be submitted by hand, by post or through e-Form.  The fifth 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 fifth round application of the Special Scheme are as follows:

Date of Accepting ApplicationFrom 19 December 2024 (Thursday) to 6 January 2025 (Monday)
Time for Submission of Application by HandFrom 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Monday to Friday except public holidays)
AddressContract Management Section (Oi Kwan Road Office),
Social Welfare Department,
Room 306, 3/F, Lady Trench Training Centre, 44 Oi Kwan Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Time for Submission of Application by PostFrom 19 December 2024 (Thursday) to 6 January 2025 (Monday) (dated by the postmark)
Time for Submission of Application through e-FormFrom 9:00 a.m. on 19 December 2024 (Thursday) to 5:00 p.m. on 6 January 2025 (Monday) (dated by the e-Form submission record)

The RCH Applicant should submit the completed application form together with the form of “Information of Imported Workers of Other Schemes”.  

According to the statistics of the Census and Statistics Department, the updated median monthly wage for CW is HKD$14,820 (9 hours of normal working hours per day excluding meal break).  For details about the Special Scheme, the download of the form of “Information of Imported Workers of Other Schemes” as well as the latest median monthly wage of CWs in Hong Kong, please click [here].

In addition, the sixth round application of the Special Scheme will be launched in April 2025.  Details will be announced in March 2025. 

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has earlier invited eligible non-governmental organisations to submit proposals to operate a new residential child care centre (RCCC) (48 places) at Wing A & B, G/F, Tsui Hon House, Tsui Ping (South) Estate, 18 Tsui Ping Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon.  A Vetting Committee (VC) was set up to conduct assessment of all the proposals received.  Upon the recommendation of the VC, SWD has selected Po Leung Kuk to operate the RCCC.

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) has earlier invited eligible non-governmental organisations to submit proposals to operate a new Supported Hostel for Mentally/ Physically Handicapped Persons [SHOS(MPH)] and a new Integrated Vocational Rehabilitation Services Centre (IVRSC) at Leung King Estate, Tuen Mun, New Territories and a Vetting Committee (VC) was set up to conduct assessment of all the proposals received.  Upon the recommendations of the VC, SWD has selected The Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council to operate the SHOS(MPH) and IVRSC. 

Information on additional and planned places of rehabilitation services for the period of October 2024 to December 2024 has been announced.  Please download the information here

The Hong Kong Paralympians Fund (2025-26) is now open for application. The application deadline for all categories of grants is 2 January 2025 (Thursday), 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 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, 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 will launch the one-year “School-based After School Care Service Scheme (Expanded Programme)” (“the Expanded Programme”) in the 2024/25 school year, to extend the pilot period of the Scheme, covering a total of 100 primary schools across all 18 districts in Hong Kong with about 6 000 service places

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) is now inviting eligible NGOs (Paragraph 4 of the Service Specifications) to apply for joining the Expanded Programme 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 19 July 2024 to Community Care Fund (CCF) Team of SWD (Paragraph 38 of the Service Specifications). The list of participating schools will be provided 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 2024 so as to implement the after school care service in this September.

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

Date:  26 June 2024 (Wednesday)
Time:  3 pm to 5 pm

Eligible and interested NGOs may download and return the completed reply slip to the Youth Section of the SWD on or before 24 June 2024 (Monday) by email (email address: ay7@swd.gov.hk).

For enquiries, please contact the following responsible officers of the Youth Section:
Ms Joanne TAM   Senior Social Work Officer (Youth)1    2892 5112
YU Choi Shing   Social Work Officer (Youth)7    3468 2941

Online Briefing Reply Slip (in Chinese)
Service Specifications (in Chinese)
Annex 1 - ASP Application Form (in Chinese)

Following the online briefing on the implementation of the School-based After School Care Service Scheme (Expanded Programme) held by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) on 26 June 2024, document below is provided :

PowerPoint Slides (in Chinese)

List of Service Centres interested to join the (Expanded Programme)  (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.
NamePostContact Number
Ms Ellen CHEUNGSenior Social Work Officer (Elderly)32961 7507
Miss Mabel WONGSocial Work Officer (Elderly)12961 7251

  • 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 Social Welfare Department (SWD) now invites operators of eligible residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) to apply for participating in the Residential Care Service Voucher (RCSV) Scheme for the Elderly (the Scheme) as Recognised Service Providers (RSPs). All RCHEs providing non-subsidised care and attention places and / or non-subsidised nursing home places and meeting the space standard, staffing requirements as well as specified requirements in track record, are eligible to apply as RSPs. For details of the Scheme, please click here.

"Invitation for Applications - Residential Care Service Voucher Scheme for the Elderly (Recognised Service Providers)" can be downloaded here.

"RSP Application Form" can be downloaded here.
 

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

NamePostContact Number
Miss May HOSocial Work Officer (Residential Care Service Voucher)13107 3424
Ms Winnie FUNGSocial Work Officer (Residential Care Service Voucher)23107 3260
Ms Ella CHANSocial Work Officer (Residential Care Service Voucher)32456 2913

The Residential Care Service Voucher (RCSV) Scheme for the Elderly (the Scheme), adopting the "money-following-the-user" principle, provides an additional choice for elderly persons in need of residential care services and waitlisted for care and attention (C&A) places or nursing home (NH) places on the Central Waiting List (CWL) for Subsidised Long Term Care Services.  Starting from 11 June 2024, the coverage of RCSVs will be expanded from the existing C&A places to NH places.  An extra 1 000 RCSVs will also be provided, bringing the total to 5 000.  Apart from downloading the relevant application form from the SWD website, eligible elderly persons can also fill in and submit the e-application form in the Voucher Information System for the Elderly (VISE).  SWD will also send invitation letters to eligible elderly persons who are newly registered on the CWL to apply for RCSVs.  For eligible elderly persons newly registered on the CWL but not having received the invitation letters, please contact the Residential Care Service Voucher Office for enquiry.  For more information about the Scheme, please click here.

The Community Care Service Voucher (CCSV) Scheme for the Elderly has been made permanent since 1 September 2023. Adopting the “money-following-the-user” mode, the Scheme supports the eligible elderly persons to age in place by providing an additional choice of community care service (CCS).  All elderly persons who have been assessed and recommended for CCS or residential care services (RCS) under the Standardised Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services, and are waitlisting for subsidised CCS and/or RCS on the “Central Waiting List for Subsidised Long Term Care (LTC) Services” without any kind of RCS or subsidised CCS being received may apply for CCSV.  SWD will send invitation letters to the eligible elderly persons direct to invite them to apply for CCSV.  The eligible elderly persons who have not received the invitation letters may contact the CCSV Office for enquiries (Telephone No.: 3107 3013) (from Monday to Friday, 9:30 am to 1:00 pm and 2:30 pm to 5:00 pm, except public holidays).  For more information about the Scheme, please click here.

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


Top