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
Local Guardians have been fantastic to deal with. Extremely helpful and insightful. Karen Denny has been a lifesaver helping me through the difficult task of understanding how Aged Care Hope Packages work and all the legal requirements
The assistance that Karen Denny has provided me has been excellent. I wish her well in her forthcoming retirement. Gary Bevern.
I've only tried one provider so there's nothing with which to compare Local Guardians. However, I have no complaints with my self managed package. Karen gets back to me promptly if I need some bureaucratic thing cleared up and the new changes in November were no problem. I'd recommend this provider.
Local Guardians Services have provided exceptional care and support for our family. Karen is compassionate professional and generally committed to ensuring that my father receives the highest standard of care. Communication has always been excellent and nothing is ever too much trouble. I highly recommend Karen and the Local Guardian service to anyone looking for trustworthy, high-quality age care support. Their dedication and kindness and professionalism truly sets them apart ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️