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How to choose a Support at Home provider

There are hundreds of approved Support at Home providers in Australia. The right one for your family depends on services offered, fee transparency, staff quality — and whether they actually listen to what your loved one needs.

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5 min readUpdated April 2026Free for families
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Support at Home providers in Australia
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Management fees differ widely
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What matters most

The right Support at Home provider maximises the hours of actual care your loved one receives — not the hours billed to administration.

Fee transparency, staff consistency, specialist capabilities, and genuine responsiveness are the things that separate a good provider from a poor one. This guide covers all of them.

1. Services offered

Not all providers offer every service. Before comparing fees, confirm the provider can actually deliver what your loved one needs. Common services include:

Personal care (bathing, dressing, grooming)
Domestic assistance (cleaning, laundry, meals)
Transport to medical appointments
Nursing visits and wound care
Allied health (physio, OT, podiatry)
Dementia-specialist carers
Social support and community access
Overnight or 24-hour care

If your loved one needs dementia-specialist care or nursing support, confirm these capabilities before proceeding — not all providers have trained staff in these areas.

2. Fee transparency

Provider management fees come out of your funded budget — not your own pocket. But they vary significantly, and a high management fee means fewer hours of actual care. Always ask for a full written fee schedule before signing anything.

Management fee
The percentage or flat fee charged for coordination and administration. A lower management fee means more of your budget spent on actual care.
Package management
Covers coordination of your care plan. Ask whether this is a flat fee or a percentage of your total budget.
Care worker hourly rate
The rate at which care workers are billed against your budget for each service. Ask for this as a clear hourly figure.
Exit fee
Some providers charge a fee to exit the service agreement. Understand this before signing — it can affect your ability to switch providers easily.

3. Staff quality and consistency

The quality of care depends almost entirely on the people delivering it. Ask every provider:

Q“Will my loved one have a consistent carer, or does it change each visit?”
Q“What qualifications do your care workers hold?”
Q“How do you handle situations where the scheduled carer can't attend?”
Q“Do you use agency staff, or are all carers direct employees?”
Q“What is your training process for dementia care or complex needs?”

Red flags to watch for when comparing Support at Home providers

These are signs that a provider may not be the right fit:

Refuses to provide a written fee schedule before you sign
Cannot clearly explain what their management fee covers
Vague about staff qualifications or turnover rates
Pressures you to sign quickly or doesn't give you time to think
Has multiple formal complaints or compliance issues with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
Doesn't ask about the care recipient's specific needs, preferences, or personality before matching a carer
How WithSally helps

We do the comparison for you — free

WithSally reviews providers against all the criteria above. Tell us your loved one's needs, location, and funding level — we'll shortlist the best-matched options and call you back within one business day.

No cost to families. Ever.

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