Once you have been approved for Support at Home, the next step is choosing a provider. It is a decision many people make quickly, under time pressure, and it is one that shapes how your care actually feels day to day. The good news is that you do not have to guess. There is an official tool for comparing providers, a set of things every provider must tell you, and a clear list of questions worth asking before you sign anything. This guide walks through those steps in plain English, so you can compare providers with confidence — and choose one that fits the person you or your family member actually are. If you are partway through a change already, our guide to changing home care providers covers the transfer itself. If your approval has been delayed or you are waiting on a start date, waiting for Support at Home sets out the realistic timelines.
What actually matters when choosing a home care provider?
Five things matter most: location, the services they offer, cost, quality of care, and availability. Because all of your Support at Home services must come from a single provider, the most important question is whether they can deliver everything you have been approved for.
Every Support at Home provider can usually offer the same common types of care — nursing and allied health, personal care, respite, transport, domestic assistance, meals, home maintenance, assistive technology and home modifications. What differs between providers is how they deliver those services: whether they have the staff available, whether those staff have the skills and experience you need, whether they can match your language or culture, and how they charge.
That last point matters more than it might sound. The official guidance is to think about the fit between you and the provider — not just the list of services on paper. A provider who genuinely understands your needs, preferences and background will deliver better care than one who simply ticks every service box.
Before you start: check your approval and your 56-day window
You can only connect with a provider once you have been approved and have received your Notice of Decision letter. From the date on that letter, you have 56 calendar days to find a provider and sign a service agreement — and you can ask My Aged Care for a further 28 days if you need more time.
Your Notice of Decision letter and support plan set out exactly which services you have been approved for. It is worth reading them before you start calling providers, because the services in your plan are the services a provider must be able to offer. It also tells you whether you have been approved for short-term supports such as assistive technology and home modifications, or for the Restorative Care or End-of-Life pathways.
The 56-day window is a deadline, not a suggestion. But there is no penalty for asking for more time — if you are still researching providers, ring My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 and ask about the additional 28 days before the window closes.
How to find and shortlist providers near you
The easiest way to compare providers is the official Find a provider tool on the My Aged Care website. You can filter by location, the services you have been approved for, specialisations, cost and quality — then shortlist up to 16 providers and compare up to 3 side by side.
The more filters you use, the fewer results appear — so it is worth filtering by the services you actually need, not just the program. If you have already told My Aged Care you are approved for certain services, some filters may already be pre-selected for you.
It is also worth being honest about the experience of using it. The Find a provider tool is thorough, but it is built to list every approved provider nationally rather than to make one local decision easy. Even after filtering by service and postcode, it can still return hundreds of results, ordered by criteria that may not matter to you at all. For a family who is already tired, or who is not confident what to look for, that can turn a short decision into an afternoon of scrolling — and it is a common reason people put the decision off.
Using the tool is still worthwhile, and you should never feel that you have to choose on your own. But if the searching is the part that feels difficult, it does not have to be yours to do alone. A local provider who already works in your area can tell you what is genuinely available nearby, answer the questions on your list honestly, and help you build a realistic shortlist — so your time goes into choosing the right care rather than into filtering menus. If that would help, ring Highfield Care and we will walk you through it.
- Use the Find a provider tool to search providers in your area who deliver the services in your support plan
- Add up to 16 providers to a shortlist, saved to 'My Guide' so you can come back to it
- Compare up to 3 shortlisted providers side by side to see how services, costs and quality compare
- Ask your assessor to recommend local providers who can contact you directly
- Call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 if you would like help narrowing down your options
The questions to ask before you choose a provider
The most important step is the conversation itself. You do not have to commit to a provider at the first meeting — you can talk to several, ask anything, and walk away if it is not the right fit.
Write your questions down before the meeting if that helps — there is a lot of information to absorb, and it is easy to forget what you wanted to ask. You are also welcome to bring a family member, friend or support person with you, or to ask for advocacy support, so that someone is there with you to take notes or ask a follow-up question.
- Can you provide every service listed in my support plan?
- How soon can you start, and how much notice do I need to give to pause or change a visit?
- Will I have the same workers each visit, and how do you handle staff absences and sickness?
- What happens if I need support outside standard hours, including evenings and weekends?
- Can you match my language, culture, faith, gender preference, or my dog?
- What does your care plan process look like, and how often is the plan reviewed?
- How do you handle a concern or complaint, and who do I contact if I am not satisfied?
- What are your published prices, what is included, and how do I pay my contribution?
- Do you subcontract any of my services to another company, and which ones?
- Do you charge cancellation fees, and what are your fees if I change providers?
How to check the quality and compliance of a provider
Every provider is regulated by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and must meet the Aged Care Quality Standards. You can check a provider's quality and compliance information on their Find a provider profile, including any non-compliance decisions.
The 'Compliance' section of a provider's profile shows their current and past performance against the standards, including any non-compliance decisions the Commission has made. The 'Finance and organisation' section gives you a summary of how a provider spends, earns and manages its money — useful context when you are deciding whether a provider is stable and well-run.
A non-compliance decision does not automatically mean a provider is poor. What matters is whether they are meeting the standards now, and whether they take feedback and improvement seriously. If you are unsure how to read a provider's quality information, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission explains what to look for.
Understanding costs, contributions and the service agreement
Support at Home providers must publish their prices and must agree with you what you will be charged, why prices may change, and when any change takes effect. Your service agreement is a legal document — read it before you sign.
The costs of a service vary between providers and depend on a range of factors. When comparing, consider your contribution payments, what is included in the service, and whether the provider delivers the service themselves or subcontracts it to another company. You can use the official Support at Home tools on the My Aged Care website to check fees and what you are likely to pay, so the numbers you discuss with a provider can be checked against an independent source.
Not everything in aged care is free. Some categories of support are fully government-funded, while others still involve a contribution. This is worth understanding clearly when you compare providers, so there are no surprises in the first invoice. The service agreement sets out what services you will receive, who will provide them, and what they cost — you must agree to it before services begin.
Matching culture, language and identity
All providers must deliver inclusive care, and some offer specialised support tailored to particular languages, faiths, cultures, health conditions and lived experiences. You can use these specialisations to filter your search and narrow your list.
You are entitled to have your preferences about a worker's language, gender, culture and spiritual needs taken seriously, and these preferences can be recorded in your care plan. If sharing your culture, language or identity matters to you, raise it early — it is much easier to find a provider who can accommodate this before you sign, than to request a change later.
If you would like support to make your choice, free and independent advocates are available through the Older Persons Advocacy Network on 1800 700 600. You can bring an advocate to your meetings, and they can help you understand the service agreement before you sign it.
Your care plan, and your right to change your mind
Once you connect with a provider, they will develop a care plan with you, setting out your needs, goals, preferences and how they will support you. You can ask for a Support Plan Review if your needs or circumstances change, and you are not locked in.
Your care plan should be developed with you, not for you, and should be reviewed at least annually and whenever your needs change. You can ask for a Support Plan Review through My Aged Care if the services in your plan no longer match what you need. Being clear and specific about your preferences early — in the care plan — is the best way to make sure the care you receive actually feels right.
A simple checklist for your provider meetings
Use this checklist to keep your conversations consistent, so you compare every provider on the same things and make a decision that is right for you.
- Notice of Decision letter and support plan
- List of the exact services you have been approved for
- Your questions about availability, staff, costs and quality
- Provider's published prices and what is included
- Confirmation they can deliver all your approved services
- How they handle complaints, changes and cancellations
- Whether your support person or advocate can attend
What to do if something is not right
If something is not right, start by raising it with your provider — most concerns are resolved quickly when they are raised early and respectfully. If it is not resolved, you can escalate to an independent advocate or the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
You have the right to raise a concern and to complain without fear of being treated unfairly. Older Persons Advocacy Network advocates can support you free of charge on 1800 700 600, and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission can be contacted on 1800 951 822. Raising a concern early is not disloyalty — it is how care gets better for everyone.