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HomeCare models
Choose the right model

The extra 15% — what exactly does it buy?

Both models are delivered by the same bilingual CareU team. What changes is the depth of management and how your budget gets used. Simple, self-managed needs suit the 10% standard model; complex, chronic or language-dependent needs suit the 25% MDT model.

−20%core hourly rate on the MDT model — $90 → $72/hr
4 disciplinesOT · AHA · Physio · Registered nurse
Co-contributionpaid up-front by CareU on the MDT model
Who suits which

Start with your family, not with the fee

Neither model is "better". The right one is the one that matches how much coordinating your family can realistically absorb.

Best suited to the standard model

10% · Standard care management

  • Children or the senior speak good English and can deal with government and providers directly
  • The family self-manages well and is happy to do its own scheduling and paperwork
  • Service needs are simple — domestic help, meal delivery, escorted appointments only
  • The roster is fixed long-term and rarely needs changing
  • Mostly SAH levels 1–3, with a stable health picture
Best suited to the MDT care model

25% · MDT rehabilitation model

  • Many service types in combination, needing one person to orchestrate them
  • A chronic condition, or rehabilitation needs after surgery or a fall
  • Limited English — bilingual paperwork and escorting are needed throughout
  • Health changes month to month, so the service mix must be re-tuned regularly
  • Children live overseas or are time-poor and want measurable progress they can see
Side by side

Everything that changes between the two

Item Standard · 10% MDT · 25%
Management fee10% care management10% care management + 15% MDT team = 25%
Your teamBilingual concierge + support workerConcierge + support worker + OT + AHA + physio + registered nurse
Rehab managementReferred as needed; each discipline works separatelyMonthly case conference; the team jointly owns the rehab goal
Core hourly rate$90 / hr (weekday standard hours)$90$72 / hr — 20% lower, and the co-contribution base falls with it
Co-contributionPaid by the client month to monthCareU pays it up-front, settles with you afterwards, and our funding team optimises how it is claimed
Budget & rolloverReconciled with the government quarterly; unspent funds roll over only up to 10% of the quarter's remainder — the rest returns to governmentThe monthly budget is used in full; some services can be pre-purchased and locked in, so nothing is lost at quarter end
FlexibilityRostered to a fixed plan; changes require a new applicationService mix and frequency adjust monthly with rehab progress — handled inside the team
ReportingService records and statements synced to WeChatMonthly rehabilitation report (function, vitals, progress metrics) + statements, synced to the children on WeChat

For comparison only — final rates, inclusions and government budget rules are confirmed in your personalised quote and service agreement.

How our fee works

Where every dollar of your budget goes

The government pays your classification budget quarterly. The management fee is taken from that budget — the rest is delivered to you as hands-on care.

Standard model — 10% care management, 90% to your care

90% · Your care
10%
Mgmt

MDT model — 25% combined management, 75% to your care

75% · Your care
10%
Care mgmt
15%
MDT team

🗂️ 10% · Care management

Your dedicated concierge team, care plan, rostering and coordination, My Aged Care reporting and WeChat account sync.

🩺 15% · MDT allied-health management

Monthly integrated rehabilitation management by the OT, allied health assistant, physiotherapist and nurse — case conference plus a monthly progress report.

💙 The remainder · Available for your care

Spent entirely on nursing, personal care, allied health, domestic help, meals and transport — at the MDT discounted rate where it applies.

Worked example — SAH Level 5, one quarter

Quarterly budget $9,924.35Standard · 10%MDT · 25%
Care management (10%)$992.44$992.44
MDT allied-health team (15%)$1,488.65
Available for care$8,931.91$7,443.26
≈ personal-care hours it buys89.3 hrs @ $100/hr103.4 hrs @ $72/hr

Because the MDT hourly rate is roughly 20% lower, a higher management fee does not automatically mean fewer hours of hands-on care. It does mean fewer dollars available for services that are not discounted — clinical and allied-health visits. Run your own classification through the calculator to see both sides.

Open the side-by-side calculator
Your multidisciplinary team

Four disciplines, one recovery plan

Conventional home care sends services to your door; the MDT model sends a rehabilitation team to your door. The extra 15% funds an OT, allied health assistant, physiotherapist and registered nurse who jointly own your parent's monthly rehabilitation outcome — assess, prescribe, deliver, review.

🛡️

Occupational therapist (OT)

Assesses home function and safety, sets functional goals, prescribes assistive technology and home modifications, and leads the monthly plan review.

🙋

Allied health assistant (AHA)

Delivers the therapist's prescribed daily exercise program at home — high frequency, low cost, so the plan actually lands in everyday life.

📈

Physiotherapist

Gait, balance, falls-risk and strength programs, with measured monthly progress rather than a vague sense of improvement.

💗

Registered nurse

Medication, wounds, chronic disease and vitals monitoring — spots decline early and escalates it to the MDT case conference.

The monthly cycle

A measurable step forward, every single month

1

Assess

The OT and nurse visit to assess function, vitals and risk, and to quantify the baseline.

2

MDT case conference

OT, physio, AHA and nurse hold a joint monthly conference and agree the plan together.

3

Deliver

The AHA and support workers carry out the prescribed training and care at high frequency.

4

Review & report

A monthly rehabilitation report goes to the family on WeChat, and next month's plan is adjusted.

⏱️ Your commitment: full monthly budget utilisation

Families on the MDT model agree to use the full approved monthly budget on care and rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is dose-dependent — sufficient frequency is what makes measurable monthly progress possible, and what lets the team be accountable for the result.

💳 Our commitment: we cover your co-contribution

On the MDT model CareU pays your participant co-contribution on your behalf, then settles with you. Our funding team also optimises how services are categorised and claimed, to keep the contribution-bearing portion as small as legitimately possible.

MDT hourly rates

Which services drop to $72/hr

Weekday standard hours (06:00–20:00). MDT clients pay $72/hr instead of $90 on core support services. Clinical and allied-health rates are unchanged, and surcharges still apply outside standard hours.

ServiceStandard · 10%MDT · 25%
Personal care$100$90$72
Social support & community engagement$100$90$72
Therapeutic services for independent living$120$90$72
Domestic assistance$95$90$72
Nursing care · registered nurse$150 · $160$150 · $160
Occupational therapist · physiotherapist$200 · $185$200 · $185
Respite · remedial massage$100 · $150$100 · $150
Transport (0–20 / 21–50 / 51+ km)$30 / $60 / $90$30 / $60 / $90

Full rates for all 30+ services are on the price list. Surcharges: non-standard hours 125%, Saturday 150%, Sunday 200%, public holidays 250%. Two-hour minimum on all bookings.

Take it home and read it

Download the full documents

Bilingual PDFs — the same documents your concierge will walk you through. Read them with your family before you decide anything.

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Standard model — funding & price list

10% care-management model: SAH budgets by level, co-contributions, all service rates, AT-HM process, surcharges and contract terms. 14 pages.

Download PDF · 4.2 MB
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MDT model — 25% price list

The multidisciplinary rehabilitation program: the four disciplines, the monthly cycle, the 75/10/15 split, the $72/hr rates and the co-contribution commitment. 10 pages.

Download PDF · 3.8 MB
📊

One-page comparison — 10% vs 25%

The whole decision on a single page: who each model suits, and every line item that differs. Print it and take it to the family discussion.

Download PDF · 0.8 MB

Common questions

Can we switch between the two models later?
Yes. Support at Home has no lock-in. Your classification and unspent budget belong to you, and moving between our standard and MDT models is a service-agreement variation, not a new application. Talk to your concierge — the usual trigger is a change in health, or children finding the coordinating load has become too much.
Does a 25% fee mean we get less actual care?
Not necessarily, and it depends on which services you use. Core support services drop from about $90 to $72 an hour on the MDT model, which is roughly 20% cheaper — enough to offset the extra 15% for personal care, social support, therapy for independent living and domestic assistance. Clinical and allied-health visits are not discounted, so if your parent's plan is mostly nursing and therapy, the MDT model buys fewer of those visits. The calculator shows both figures for your own classification.
What does "use the full monthly budget" actually oblige us to do?
It means agreeing a monthly service plan with the MDT that spends the approved monthly amount on care and rehabilitation, rather than leaving it unspent. It is not an obligation to spend more than the government has allocated, and it does not involve any private payment. It exists because rehabilitation only produces measurable results at sufficient frequency — and because unspent quarterly budget is largely returned to government under the standard rollover rules.
Who is eligible for the MDT model?
Any Support at Home participant with a rehabilitation goal the team can work towards — typically after a fall, surgery or hospital stay, or with a chronic condition and gradual functional decline. Higher classifications have more room for it, but there is no formal level restriction. An OT assessment at the start confirms whether a measurable rehabilitation plan is realistic for your family member.

Not sure which one fits? Ask a bilingual concierge.

Tell us your parent's classification and what a typical week looks like. We'll model both options on your actual budget and send you the numbers — in Chinese, on WeChat, with no obligation.

0485 835 655
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