Self-managing your Home Care Package

  • Choose your services
  • Choose who comes to your home and when
  • You could get more hours of support from the same funding

Why self-manage

Greater choice and control, more hours and better value

Just because you need some assistance with day-to-day things, doesn’t mean you have to give up your independence or control over your life decisions. When you choose to self-manage your Home Care Package, you choose to stay in charge.

Click here to watch out how others are self-managing their Home Care Package with Mable

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Learn how others are self-managing their Home Care Package with Mable

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Learn how others are self-managing their Home Care Package with Mable

What is self-management

Everyone who receives a government funded Home Care Package has the option to ‘self-manage’ it.

Self-managing your Home Care Package means you make most of your own choices about how your money is used to best meet your needs. That includes choosing the people who support you, what they do and when.

How Home Care Packages work

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How Home Care Packages work

The Home Care Package (HCP) program provides four levels of support at home (Level 1, 2, 3 and 4) and is the fastest growing component of the aged care system.
Learn more about Home Care Packages in Australia.

How Home Care Packages work

The story of self-management

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The story of self-management

Changes from February 2017 saw HCP funding allocated to the individual, rather than to the aged care provider; and HCPs becoming fully portable. It meant that, armed with their funding allocation, people could really ‘shop around’ and, for the first time, they had the option to exercise ‘self-management’ of their package if they desired.

The story of self-management

How is self-management different?

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How is self-management different?

Self-management gives you the power to make your own decisions around the services you need. For a start, you can choose and engage your own service providers and health professionals directly to suit your particular needs. You might want someone who:

  • lives nearby and knows your neighbourhood
  • who speaks your language;
  • shares your interests
  • can meet your scheduling requirements, or
  • any other preferences you might have.
How is self-management different?

What support and assistance do I need?

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What support and assistance do I need?

Home Care Packages work best when you get the assistance you need most.

Learn how to work out what will work best for you.

What support and assistance do I need?

How much does it cost?

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How much does it cost?

A big positive for those who choose to self-manage their HCP is potentially substantial savings on administration fees. The high cost of fees charged by package providers – on average 35 per cent, but in some cases over 50 per cent for administration and case management - has been another consistent theme for complaints about HCPs and one of the focuses of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

There are various approved Home Care Package providers who offer genuine self-management such as HomeMade Support , Trilogy Care and Just Home Care Packages . Their administration fees are typically around 15 per cent, which is substantially lower than most traditional package providers

The cost of care is generally another positive when choosing self-management.  Rather than pay a marked-up hourly rate to the provider - with only a fraction going to the actual person providing the care - you can negotiate rates of pay directly, knowing the full amount will go to the worker themselves and their associated costs.

How much does it cost?

How do I find the right people to support me?

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How do I find the right people to support me?

When you self-manage, you get to choose who comes to your home to assist you with your needs. Perhaps you need them to speak your language or understand your interests. Self-management lets you choose the people who will work best for you.

On the Mable platform, you can search for independent support workers by location, services provided, qualifications, languages spoken, culture and more. You speak with support workers directly to arrange services on the days and times that work best for you.

How do I find the right people to support me?

Is self-management a good choice for me?


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Is self-management a good choice for me?


With self-management, you need to consider the time and work involved for you or your family member to be in full control - finding, interviewing, engaging and managing people in your support team, including discussing and agreeing on pay rates and other arrangements.

It also helps to have some understanding of the healthcare system, to be comfortable with understanding financial statements and managing budgets.  For many older Australians and their representatives, none of these things are barriers – it’s what they might have done all their lives - but they are important factors to bear in mind when considering the self-management option.

Is self-management a good choice for me?


How self-management works

Learn how to get started

illustration indicating the crossover and connection of Mable, your Home Care Package provider and your government-approved Home Care Package

What services are available

Find independent support workers in your local area who share your interests and can best meet your needs.

Maybe you need someone to speak your language or understand your interests. Mable gives you the freedom to engage your support team directly and choose services that will work for you and your goals.

Every independent support worker on Mable undergoes strict verification processes before being approved to work through Mable.

A wide range of support services are available including:

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Nursing services

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Nursing services

Mable offers Independent Support Workers who have verified nursing qualifications.

It’s important to your ongoing health and wellbeing that you receive quality care and management, as required or on a continuous basis.

Whatever your medical and health needs, having a professional attend to you at home is a great source of comfort and peace of mind.

Nursing services

Social support

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Social support

Ideal for people new to the industry, this might include companionship, help around the house, support getting out and about and lots of other things! You don’t need specific qualifications.

Social support
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Domestic support

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Domestic support

clean and tidy home is a place where you can feel safe, comfortable and happy.

You know just how you like things done and your Mable Independent Support Person will be glad to help.

From ironing, changing the sheets and doing laundry to defrosting the fridge and doing some gardening, there’s always something to be done and you can relax, knowing it’s taken care of.

Domestic support
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Personal Care

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Personal Care

Includes assistance with personal hygiene, manual handling and mobility and assistance with medication.

Find out more about offering personal care to our community.

Personal Care

Therapy assistance

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Therapy assistance

Using Mable, you can find and book independent therapists to visit and treat you in your own home. In-home therapy can help save travel time and expenses while receiving therapy in a familiar environment.

Therapy assistance

Allied health

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Allied health

You can find a range of therapists including Allied Health professionals on the Mable platform. Discuss directly with the therapist on whether they visit your home or provide therapy via video if appropriate.

Allied health

How to get started

Ready to self-manage your Home Care Package?

Whether or not you have already been approved for a Home Care Package, or if you’re wanting to switch to self-management, here’s what you need to do, depending on where you are on the Home Care Package journey:

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Real stories of self-management

People have a wide range of experiences with self-management.

Meet Doug.

Doug and his independent support worker Pam connected over an interest in history. They worked together to compile Doug’s family archives and create a history book about the Battle of the SMS Emden.

“I think Mable is a wonderful thing. I certainly am enjoying life with having found Mable. I find it really easy to use. With Mable, you have the opportunity to choose who comes into your life and what you do and how you do it which has made a big difference to my quality of life.”

Read Doug’s story

Doug, a Mable Home Care Package customer, sits talking to camera

Frequently Asked Questions

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