Why choose Local Guardians?

Local Guardians is an independent Support at Home Care Manager. We maintain oversight on risk and compliance and require a key contact for regular communication and updates on the wellbeing of the package holder.

The key elements of care management in the Support at Home program include:

• The development of a care plan that outlines the care recipient’s needs, goals, and preferences, as well as the services and supports that will be provided.
• The management of the Support at Home funding budget to ensure that services and purchases are scheduled in accordance with the budget limitations, allowable items, and included in the care plan and budget prior to purchase.
• Ensuring that appropriate independent care providers have signed Provider Agreement with police check and insurance evidence and that they deliver services in accordance with the care plan.
• Regular review of the care plan and budget to ensure that they are up to date and reflect the care recipient’s changing needs and preferences.

All clients have a dedicated Care Advisor who will provide ongoing support and assistance throughout the Support at Home program.

Under Support at Home, self-management means having control over:

• Who provides your care
• When and how your services are delivered
• What you’re willing to pay

That control matters because when you negotiate prices directly, you can often get more care hours from your package.

You still have the safety net of:

• A care manager to support you
• Help with compliance, budgeting, and service agreements
• Oversight to meet all government care standards

Local Guardians support all levels of self-management – from full Self-Management to Provider-led Shared Management.

What we don’t offer is Full-Service Provider Management, where clients have no say in who delivers their care.

The Five Levels of Independence in Home Care

Local Guardians helps keep your Support at Home care, budget and provider arrangements organised. You have a dedicated Care Advisor, with responsibilities agreed according to how much you want to manage yourself.

Local Guardians helps with:

• Managing your budget to maximise your funding
• Organising your payments to support workers
• Finding local service providers
• Handle regulatory reporting, documentation and compliance requirements
• Tracking unspent funds and manage monthly statements

Can I choose my own support workers and services?

Local Guardians supports you to choose independent workers and businesses for your approved Support at Home services.

Your choices must still meet your assessed needs, available budget and the program’s safety and provider requirements.

You can ask to use an existing worker or service business. Local Guardians needs to review the arrangement and complete the required provider setup before funded services begin.

Local Guardians supports you to choose independent workers and businesses for your approved Support at Home services.

Your choices must still meet your assessed needs, available budget and the program’s safety and provider requirements.

You can ask to use an existing worker or service business. Local Guardians needs to review the arrangement and complete the required provider setup before funded services begin.

Under Support at Home, the government keeps 10% of each participant’s care funding for Care Management. This amount pays the provider’s Care Managers for the time they bill when planning, checking, and adjusting care to meet each person’s needs and follow government rules. If not all of the 10% is billed and it isn’t used to support other participants’ care management, the government keeps what’s left.

The 10% also works a bit like insurance – care management is a mandatory government defined service, and everyone must receive it. Some people will need more support than others, and when that happens, the provider must still deliver the care management required, even if the time spent goes beyond what can be paid for.

Local Guardians is an Approved Support at Home Provider registered with the Department of Health and Aging to manage Support at Home funding for Australians.

Capital Guardians manage all the financial payments of their clients. This is done in a transparent and efficient manner, with a simple invoicing process that enables invoices to be paid weekly. It acts as both storage for compliance documents such as police checks and insurance. Capital Guardians charge providers a 2% merchant fee, similar to Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, etc.

In exchange, providers:

• Are paid monies a month (30-40 days) in advance of the actual government funding. Home care is paid by the Government only after invoices are claimed the month following the service.
• Are paid every Friday, for all approved invoices close of business Wednesday (that have valid compliance documents and for clients who have funds available).
• Are promoted within the online service finder for thousands of homecare, aged care clients.
• Share a single set of compliance documents, such as police check, ABN and insurance also allowing differentiation of their business’s compliance through the provider finder.
• Use a paperless, simple invoicing system with no mail or postage.
• Access all transactions and payment history online.

Once you have been approved for Support at Home funding, you can start researching and comparing different home care managers to find the right fit for you. Talk to our team to find out if our services match your needs and preferences.

If so, we’ll send you a copy of our simple, easy to read agreement for you to read before signing. Once returned, we’ll process (generally within 1 business day) and put you in touch with your dedicated Care Advisor.

Yes! Switching is easy. Here’s all you need to do:

1. Talk to our team to find out if our services match your needs and preferences.
2. Agree on an exit date with your current provider – this may depend on your home care agreement and could be as soon as two weeks from the date of notice.
3. We’ll send you a copy of our simple, easy to read agreement for review. Once signed and returned we’ll process it (generally within 1 business day) and start the process of getting you set up with Local Guardians, which will include introducing you to your own dedicated Care Advisor.

The transfer of unspent funds between Support at Home Funding providers can take up to 70 days. The process involves your current provider notifying the government that you have departed their service.

The government will then make the funds available to you through your new provider. The unspent funds cannot be transferred directly to you or to a family member, and as the unspent funds are held by the government, the transfer is initiated by Services Australia, not the providers.

A carefully planned transfer can reduce the risk of an interruption, but service availability and timing need to be confirmed before you switch.

Tell us about any support you cannot safely miss.

Such as:

• Nursing visits
• Help with personal care or medication support.

Also let us know about upcoming appointments and any equipment or home modifications already being arranged.

Before confirming your exit date, agree on when your existing services will finish and when replacement services will begin. Ask for confirmation of your first visits and who to contact if a worker is unavailable.