What is an independent support worker?

On Mable, independent support workers are sole traders or independent contractors. 

This means they are self-employed and run their support worker business by providing support through the Mable platform. 

Support workers on Mable manage all aspects of running their small business on their own. This includes:

• Tax and superannuation
• Gaining new qualifications or certifications at their own cost
• Managing work on public holidays and weekends
• Managing income for when they are off sick or on holidays
• Admin-related costs
• Costs of fuel for travelling involving support sessions. 

What is good support?

Good support is one that meets your support needs, helps you achieve your goals and builds your independence.

Your ideal support worker should have:

• The right skills, experience and qualifications to support you
• The qualities that are important to you (for example, cultural background, interests, personality traits).

Support worker rates: what they mean

Hourly rates of independent support workers depend on:

• The complexity of the support they provide
• Their skills, qualifications and experience. 

The more skills and experience the support worker has, the higher their rates may be.

Hourly rates of independent support workers do not reflect their ‘take home’ rate. This is because independent support workers have to manage their own:

• Tax, insurance and superannuation
• Holidays or sick leaves
• Travel expenses 
• Admin-related or business costs.

In addition, support workers on Mable receive the agreed rate less 10%, as part of Mable’s platform fee.

Benefits of booking and managing support through Mable

• Choice and control over who supports you, when and where they support you
• You mutually agree on rates with support workers
• You are safeguarded by Mable’s strict verification processes and a high-level suite of insurances arranged on behalf on all the support invoiced through the platform
• NDIS Registered Providers tend to have higher overheads due to their regulatory responsibilities. However, independent support workers on Mable are non-registered, small businesses, and have the opportunity to charge a more cost-effective rate.

To book independent support workers through Mable, sign up on Mable today and start searching.To understand how to interview a support worker, build and manage a team of support workers, explore our guide to building a support team. You can also learn more about the services that independent support workers offer through Mable.