Self-Managed Home Care

Can I partly self-manage my home care?

You can self-manage one service, several services or most of your arrangement. Agree clearly with your provider which responsibilities you will handle and which the provider will retain.

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At a glance

Key points

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  • Some providers offer shared or partly managed arrangements where you control selected services while they coordinate others.
  • The registered provider remains accountable even when the participant organises more of the care.
  • Self-management works best when responsibilities and backup arrangements are clear.
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Yes.

Under Support at Home, you can choose how much of your care you want to self-manage based on your needs, preferences and abilities. The arrangement must be documented in your care plan.

For example, you might:

  • choose and schedule your own cleaner

  • use your provider’s workers for personal care

  • ask the provider to manage nursing and allied health

  • manage selected invoices while the provider coordinates the rest.

Your registered provider still remains responsible for:

  • care management

  • approving participant-sourced workers

  • safety and service quality

  • government claiming

  • monthly statements

  • complaints and incidents.

If you source your own third-party worker, the provider may include an overhead of up to 10% of the actual service cost in the final agreed price.

Partial self-management can provide more choice without requiring you to organise every part of your care.

The detail

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01Guide sectionWhat should I do next?
  1. List the tasks you or your family can realistically manage.

  2. Ask the provider how it checks third-party workers, processes invoices and covers absences.

  3. Compare a self-managed and provider-managed sample budget before deciding.

02Guide sectionHelpful Local Home Help resources
03Guide sectionCheck the official guidance

Check the current Support at Home management guidance. Aged care rules, funding amounts and program guidance can change, so check the current official information before making an important care or financial decision.

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