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Bring us in as your nursing, personal care or domestic support supplier without changing who manages your funding.

Self-Managed Support at Home & NDIS Support Workers in Melbourne

Self-managing your Support at Home or NDIS funding is supposed to mean you’re the one who decides.

In practice, it can mean texting three different independent workers from a self-serve support platform, hoping one of them can cover tomorrow. It can also mean wondering whether the person you’ve found is really who they say they are, or working out at 9pm whether last month’s invoice adds up.

You shouldn’t have to choose between staying in control and getting someone reliable. You can bring in Absolute Care & Health as your support worker, or your team of them, while your existing administering provider or plan manager keeps handling the paperwork. Nothing about how your funding is managed changes. It’s just a new line item, delivered by people who turn up.

We work across nursing, personal care and domestic assistance, for people self-managing under Support at Home and under the NDIS alike.

Is self-managed the right fit for you?

Self-managed support looks a little different depending on which program you’re under, but the frustration usually sounds the same.

There will be too much time spent managing people, not enough time actually being supported. Here’s how it breaks down:

	Self-Managed Support at Home	Self-Managed NDIS
What "self-managed" means	Your registered provider still holds and administers your Support at Home budget. You take on the day-to-day coordination, such as choosing who delivers your services yourself, rather than having them organise it for you	You manage your own NDIS funding and pay providers directly, without a plan manager or agency in between
Who still handles your funding	You, or a family member or nominee managing it on your behalf with your Registered Support at Home provider	You, or a family member or nominee managing it on your behalf
What changes if you choose us	Nothing about your funding management. We simply become one of your chosen suppliers for care and support workers and services	Nothing about your plan management. We simply become one of your chosen providers
Best suited to	People confident managing their own Support at Home budget who want a reliable, professional supplier instead of a marketplace search	People confident managing their own NDIS plan who want a registered, insured supplier instead of a marketplace search

Not sure how this fits with your specific plan? Talk it through with one of our Care Managers. Call 1300 030 032 and we’ll help you work out what’s possible.

How self-managed support with us actually works

Managing your own funding was never supposed to mean running your own recruitment agency on the side.

You’re allowed to use more than one provider under both Support at Home and the NDIS. Most self-managed people already do, whether they think of it that way or not; a cleaner for domestic assistance, a nurse for clinical care, a support worker for personal care.

Choosing Absolute Care & Health as a supplier means we deliver the service. Your administering provider or plan manager keeps managing your budget, paying invoices and reporting to the government, exactly as they do now.

If we’re not already your plan’s administering provider, here’s what to expect on fees. Under Support at Home, your administering provider may charge a small overhead for processing our invoice. That’s a government rule, capped at 10% of the cost of our service, and worth asking them how they’ve calculated it. That fee comes from them, not from us; our quote only ever covers our own price for the service we deliver.

Under a self-managed NDIS plan, there’s no equivalent overhead. Self-managed funding isn’t bound by the NDIS Price Guide the way NDIA-managed or plan-managed funding is. You pay us directly at a rate we agree together, typically in line with standard NDIS rates.

Why self-managed clients choose us over a marketplace search

Self-serve platforms connect you with an independent worker, but you’re the one doing the vetting, the backup planning, training and the checking-in when something goes wrong.

We work differently, in ways you can check for yourself rather than take our word for it:

We employ our own workforce - our nurses and support workers are our employees, not independent contractors you're left to vet yourself
Police checks, qualifications and training are handled before anyone reaches your door, and kept current afterwards
We're a registered NDIS provider, listed with the NDIS Commission
We're an approved Support at Home provider, registered with My Aged Care
We're a registered provider for TAC and WorkSafe Victoria
We're HDAA certified and certified to ISO 9001
Because our workers are our employees, we can arrange cover from within our team if someone's sick, rather than leaving you to find a replacement yourself

What we can provide as your support worker

Whatever combination you need, our teams can support with:

Each of these is one of our core services in its own right. You can read more about how we deliver nursing care, personal care and domestic assistance on their own pages.

Whatever you need, it’s important you feel you have the right person supporting you. We take our brief from you about the sort of person you’d like working with you, and involve you in choosing them. That way you get the specific person you need, not whoever happened to be free.

Self-managed, plan-managed or agency-managed: What's the difference?

If you’re not sure which category you fall into, here’s the short version and it’s worth knowing upfront that these terms don’t map onto Support at Home and the NDIS in quite the same way.

Self-managed

You take an active role in choosing your own providers and coordinating your services, sometimes with support from a family member or nominee. It works a little differently depending on the program. Under the NDIS, self-managed can mean your funding is paid directly to you, and you pay providers yourself. Under Support at Home, your registered provider always holds and administers your funds, self-managed or not. Self-managed there means you take on more of the day-to-day coordination sourcing and scheduling your own workers while your provider still handles the payments and paperwork.

This page is built around self-management, where bringing in a separate supplier like us is most straightforward. If you’re plan-managed, agency-managed or fully managed and want to explore your options, give us a call and we’ll talk you through what’s possible for your plan.

What does it cost?

Cost depends on which services you need and how many hours a week you’re looking for. Nursing, personal care and domestic assistance are priced differently. If we’re not your administering provider, they may add their own overhead on top of our price under Support at Home rules. That’s a cost between you and them, separate from the quote we give you for our service.

Rather than a single flat figure, we’ll put together a clear, itemised quote once we understand your situation. If you’ve ever wondered whether a marketplace rate is actually fair, this is the point where you find out, before you commit to anything.

Self-managed support across Melbourne

We provide self-managed nursing, personal care and domestic assistance support across Melbourne, including:

Melbourne CBD & inner suburbs

Bayside

Eastern suburbs

South-East Melbourne

Frankston

Western suburbs

Northern suburbs

Mornington

Mount Eliza

Rosebud

Hasting

If you’re unsure whether we cover your suburb, call us and we’ll confirm straight away.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about self-managed support workers

These are some of the most common questions, answered for you.

How do I find a support worker if I'm self-managing my Support at Home package?

Most people start with word of mouth, or a self-serve support platform. Both can work, but you’re doing the vetting, the chasing and the backup planning yourself. The other option is to approach a provider directly, like Absolute Care & Health, and ask us to be your supplier. We handle the recruitment, vetting and rostering; your existing administering provider keeps managing your funding.

How do I know a support worker from Absolute Care & Health is safe to have in my home?

Every nurse and support worker we place is directly employed by us, not an independent contractor you’re left to vet yourself. Police checks, qualifications and ongoing training happen before anyone reaches your door. We’re a registered NDIS provider, an approved Support at Home provider, registered with My Aged Care, and HDAA and ISO 9001 certified.

What happens if my support worker is sick or can't make a shift?

Because our workers are our own employees, we can arrange cover from within our team rather than leaving you to find a replacement yourself. That’s one of the main things a marketplace search can’t do for you.

Can I hire a support worker without switching my home care provider?

Yes. Choosing a support worker or supplier doesn’t mean changing who manages your Support at Home or NDIS funding. You can add us as a new supplier while everything else about your plan stays exactly the same.

Will adding Absolute Care & Health as a supplier create more admin for me?

No. Your existing administering provider or plan manager keeps handling invoicing, budgets and reporting exactly as they do now. Adding us as a supplier is one conversation, not a new admin project.

What's the difference between a self-managed home care package and a self-managed NDIS plan?

Under Support at Home, your registered provider always holds and administers your funds, even if you’re self-managed. Self-management there means you take on the day-to-day coordination, like choosing your own workers. Under a self-managed NDIS plan, your funding can be paid directly to you, and you pay providers yourself. The mechanics differ, but the outcome is the same either way: you’re the one choosing who actually shows up.

Can I use more than one provider under Support at Home or the NDIS?

Yes, and most self-managed people already do. It’s common to have one supplier for domestic assistance, another for nursing, and another for personal care. We can be one, or several, of those suppliers.

How much does a private support worker or carer cost?

It depends on the service and how many hours you need each week. We put together a clear, itemised quote once we understand your situation, so you always know whether a rate is fair before you commit to anything.

What's the difference between a support worker and a private carer?

In practice, the terms describe the same thing, i.e. someone who comes to your home to help with personal care, domestic tasks or day-to-day support. Some people search for a support worker, others for private carers. “Support worker” is more common in NDIS and Support at Home language, while “private carer” is more common when someone’s paying privately, outside a funded program.

Are there support workers or private carers near me who work with self-managed funding?

Yes. We provide self-managed nursing, personal care and domestic assistance support across Melbourne metro and Mornington Peninsula. If you’re not sure whether we cover your area, call us and we’ll confirm straight away.

Can I use a support worker who isn't already listed with my current provider?

Yes, if you’re self-managed. You choose who delivers your support directly, so you’re not limited to the workers already on your administering provider’s or plan manager’s books.

Do you provide nursing care as well as personal care and domestic assistance for self-managed clients?

Yes. We can be your supplier for any combination of nursing, personal care and domestic assistance, whether you need one of these or all three.

Is there an extra fee if Absolute Care & Health isn't my administering provider?

Possibly, but not from us. Under Support at Home, your administering provider can charge a small overhead for processing our invoice, capped at 10% of the cost of our service. That’s their fee, not ours, and it’s worth asking them how they’ve worked it out. Under a self-managed NDIS plan, there’s no equivalent overhead. Self-managed NDIS funding isn’t bound by the Price Guide the way NDIA-managed or plan-managed funding is, so you pay us directly at a rate we agree together.

How quickly can a self-managed support worker start?

For private clients, we can often start within a week. For funded clients, it depends on your current budget and how quickly your administering provider or plan manager can process a new supplier. Your Care Manager will guide you through it.

Discover more about how we work

Absolute Care & Health provides personalised individual support and nursing services, perfectly matched to you.

We work across in-home aged care, the NDIS (disability support) and recovery care. Each of these areas is led by a specialist team with extensive experience and knowledge of their sector.

With hundreds of Support Workers from Australia and around the World, we can offer many languages and cultural backgrounds.

What our clients say about us

“We have received fantastic support from our primary contact at Absolute – always available and nothing to much trouble. Each of the carers are truly excellent in particular the majority carer goes way and beyond, always well groomed, amazing empathy, displays outstanding skill.”

It's your life. Live it, love it, own it.

By making sure we absolutely understand your goals, your needs and your situation, we deliver great customer experiences, creating and celebrating positive outcomes every day.