All registered Support at Home providers have the same fee structure:
- Care Management is capped at 10% of the funding set by the government.
- All other administration costs are included in the unit prices of services.
This means the only pricing difference between providers is the unit cost of each service, like nursing or personal support, where most funding is spent.
Local Guardians is different because we’re an independent provider. We don’t employ carers or set fixed service prices. Instead, our clients self-manage and choose their own carers at the best market rate, with a flat 10% administration fee added to the service cost.
Care Management Fee - 10%
Under Support at Home, the government keeps 10% of each participant’s care funding for Care Management. This amount pays the provider’s Care Managers for the time they bill when planning, checking, and adjusting care to meet each person’s needs and follow government rules. If not all of the 10% is billed and it isn’t used to support other participants’ care management, the government keeps what’s left.
The 10% also works a bit like insurance – care management is a mandatory government defined service, and everyone must receive it. Some people will need more support than others, and when that happens, the provider must still deliver the care management required, even if the time spent goes beyond what can be paid for.
Self Management Administration Fee
Because we don’t employ care staff or earn a margin from care services we add a 10% Administration Fee to each service provider invoice. This covers the costs associated with being a Registered Provider – things like quality, compliance, governance, payment processing and support. None of this can be covered by Care Management billing and is what keeps Local Guardians running behind the scenes.
Important: You only pay this fee when you receive services. If you’re not using your funding in a particular period, there are no fees charged.
The good news? Choosing your own third party service providers means you can still save money. Here’s how:
As an example, a traditional ‘full service’ provider (who has their own care workforce) might charge $90/hour for a support worker. With us, you can engage a support worker of your choice for $50/hour + our admin fee ($5), totaling $55/hour. That’s $35 less per hour – resulting in significantly more care hours from the same budget.
Your Wallet Explained
Under the Support at Home program, personal contributions are only applied when services are actually used. This is fairer than the previous system, where a fixed fee was charged regularly regardless of service use.
To support timely payment of your service providers, a Wallet is maintained with a minimum balance (generally around two weeks of expected personal contributions), held safely in trust. If the balance falls below this level, it is automatically topped up by direct debit. Any unspent balance always remains your money and is fully refundable if you leave.
Because contributions are triggered when invoices are received and claimed (which may be after the service date), amounts can vary from month to month. The Wallet helps smooth these timing differences, reduces unexpected bills, and ensures providers can be paid promptly alongside government funding.
Importantly, each time a top-up notification is issued, you retain visibility and decision-making over contribution-attracting expenses, as these are directly linked to the services you choose to use.
Read our blog: https://localguardians.com/understanding-support-at-home-and-personal-contributions/
Interested to chat more about your situation, and find out how we can help you get more care?
Real Reviews From People Just Like You
Doreen Buckley Laura has been professional and ever so helpful at all times. She has made rhe transition to Lical Guardians so easy for me. She responds to my queries immediately and is quite frankly the best coordinator I have had and this is my 3rd provider. Thank you Laura. You are amazing.
Laura Turner (Care Advisor) and Ray Desposito (?) at Capital Guardians, have both been pro-active and helpful in managing my care.
Debbie Ellicott Is a very capable and experienced care advisor. Her knowledge in Aged care has greatly benefited us to navigate through the complex process. She is very quick to give advice and support and is very accommodating with her time and expert knowledge. She responds to all our calls and emails promptly. We highly recommend her and feel so privileged to have her support us at Local Guardians.
Local Guardians have met all my expectations as a care plan manager for my self managed Aged care package. Usually very quick to pay my workers and reimburse me for approved expenses. (There were some holdups whilst new software was being introduced but these problems appear to have been overcome) Debra Ralph, my care plan manager has always been responsive and has helped me navigate what is a terribly complicated Government system Debra is always quick to respond to emails or phone calls and I really appreciate having one person that I need to contact. 10 out of 10 for both Debra and Local Guardians.
Local Guardians have been exceptional, they provide reasonable costs and well managed administration of home care packages.They also provide fast communication, and the professional staff make everything easy. We receive clear monthly updates, quick payments and helpful advice whenever needed. Both my father and mother in law are thriving under their support. Highly recommended
Debbie is a pleasure to work with makes my life so much easier and is very available to contact