Self-Managing Support at Home: How It Works and Choosing Your Own Support Workers

Yes, if you self-manage that part of your care and your registered provider agrees, you can choose your own support workers under Support at Home. It works through your provider, not around them, and there are four things worth understanding before you start: what you can manage yourself, what your provider still has to do, what it costs from your budget, and why the worker you choose is called a "third-party worker."

None of that is a catch. It is how the arrangement is set up, and it helps to see it from your side.

What self-management actually means

Support at Home replaced the Home Care Packages Program on 1 November 2025. The Australian Government's Support at Home guidance says that "participants can choose to self-manage parts of their care, depending on their needs, preferences and abilities."

The word doing the work there is parts. Self-management is not a switch you flip. The department says self-management activities can include:

• choosing or coordinating services, according to your needs and budget

• managing your own workers and scheduling services

• paying invoices for services delivered, and seeking reimbursement from your provider

• managing your budget

• navigating the aged care system

• sourcing assistive technology and home modifications

That means you might take on some of these and leave others with your provider, depending on what suits you and what you agree together.

It is worth deciding deliberately rather than by default. If you take on managing your workers, work out with your provider who handles the practical side, such as a worker who cannot make a visit.

You still need a registered provider

Self-managing does not mean going it alone. You still have a registered provider, and the department's guidance to providers is direct about it: "You must still carry out care management activities, even if a participant wants to manage most of their care."

Concretely, your provider keeps:

• Care management. They must deliver at least one direct care management activity per month, including for people who self-manage.

• Your care plan. A care partner develops it with you, and any self-management arrangement gets recorded in it, before or on the day your care starts.

• Rostering, in one example. One of the department's own examples of what a care plan might detail is that "a participant has chosen specific workers, but that the provider is still responsible for rostering them."

So the picture is not "provider or independence." It is a division of labour that you and your provider agree on and write down.

What it costs from your budget

Two program rules matter here.

Care management: 10% of your budget (ongoing services). For ongoing Support at Home services, the department deducts 10% of each participant's quarterly budget for care management activities, and states plainly that this "stays the same, regardless of whether participants choose to self-manage." Self-managing more does not reduce it. (The Restorative Care Pathway and End-of-Life Pathway fund care management differently, so this figure is about ongoing services, which is what this guide covers.)

A third-party worker overhead: up to 10% of that service's cost. If you choose a worker your provider does not employ, your provider may charge an overhead for that arrangement. The department's guidance is that "Overheads are capped at 10% of the actual cost of the third-party service." The overhead has to be included in the final service price.

The cap is a ceiling, not a rate: the department says overheads are capped at 10%, not that they are 10%. It is a fair question to ask your provider what they actually charge and how it is reflected in the final service price.

The 10% care management deduction (for ongoing services) sits separately, and applies to your budget as a whole.

"Third-party workers", in plain English

The official term for a worker you choose who is not employed by your provider is a third-party worker. The department describes it simply: "some participants prefer to choose their own workers, including workers from different organisations (for example, a gardener)."

Two things follow.

You and your provider should agree. The guidance is that "you and the participant should agree on any self-management activities or third-party workers," recorded in the care plan.

Your provider may decline if it cannot meet its obligations. The guidance tells providers: "As the provider, you must meet all regulatory obligations and requirements, including when third parties deliver services. If you can't meet these requirements, do not agree to a third-party worker arrangement."

That is not a provider being obstructive. They stay responsible for meeting every obligation, even when a worker you chose delivers the service, so it is worth asking what process they have for it. Ask early (before you have found someone you want to work with) whether your provider supports third-party workers and what they need from you.

If the answer is no and it matters to you, that is a reason to look at what other registered providers offer.

If you were on a Home Care Package

The Home Care Packages Program ended on 1 November 2025, when Support at Home replaced it (along with the Short-Term Restorative Care Programme).

Self-management is part of Support at Home, which started under the Aged Care Act 2024. If you were self-managing a Home Care Package, read your current care plan to see how your arrangement is now described rather than assuming it carried across unchanged.

Before you choose a worker

A few things save time later:

Confirm the arrangement first. Ask your provider whether they accept third-party workers, what they will charge as an overhead, and what they need in writing. Get it into the care plan.

Be clear about the tasks. Check which services your plan covers before you agree tasks with a worker. If you are unsure what a support worker usually does, what a support worker actually does day to day is a reasonable starting point.

Work out who is scheduling. Scheduling can be one of the activities you take on, and the department's example has the provider still rostering a worker you chose. Agree with your provider who does what, and have it recorded in your care plan.

Ask about continuity. If seeing the same person each week matters to you, check a worker's actual availability against your routine rather than in the abstract.

If you are not yet receiving Support at Home services, our guide to registering with My Aged Care is a useful place to start.

Where CareVicinity fits

CareVicinity is an Australia-wide care marketplace connecting people with independent support workers. It is not a registered Support at Home provider, and it does not replace one. If you are self-managing, you will still have a registered provider, and everything above still applies to any worker you are considering.

On CareVicinity you can look at individual independent support workers, including their experience and their rates, and choose who you would like to talk to. Support workers set their own hourly rates, and the rate you agree is what you pay. Care seekers pay no platform fee. Availability of specific services and workers may vary by location.

Whether your provider will agree to an arrangement involving a worker you find through CareVicinity is a decision for you and your provider, so check with your provider before you commit to anyone.

Frequently asked questions

Can I choose my own support worker under Support at Home? Yes, if you self-manage that part of your care and your registered provider agrees. The arrangement should be recorded in your care plan.

Do I still need a provider if I self-manage? Yes. Care management stays with your provider whether or not you self-manage.

Does self-managing save me money? Not on care management: for ongoing services the 10% deduction applies either way. A third-party worker may also bring an overhead of up to 10% of that service's cost.

Can my provider refuse a worker I have chosen? Providers are told not to agree to a third-party arrangement if they cannot meet their regulatory obligations for it, so ask early.

Who rosters the worker I chose? In the department's example, the provider is still responsible for rostering. Agree the day-to-day split with your provider and record it in your care plan.

I had a Home Care Package. Can I still self-manage? Self-management is part of Support at Home. Check your current care plan for how your arrangement is now described.

Sources

• Self-management by Support at Home participants, health.gov.au, last updated 31 October 2025

• Care plans for Support at Home participants, health.gov.au, last updated 31 October 2025

• Funding for Support at Home care management, health.gov.au, last updated 6 November 2025

• Support at Home program manual, version 4.4, sections 11.5 (using third-party workers) and 11.5.1 (self-management overhead cap)

• Support at Home, My Aged Care