The Benefits of choosing an independent support worker

One of the great things about NDIS and home care funding is that it gives Australians plenty of choice over who delivers their care. This can happen in two ways:

• You can choose a disability or aged care service provider who uses your funding to organise support workers for you, or;
• You can manage your NDIS funding or home care package yourself, choose your own support coordinator and even organise your own support team.

There are plenty of good reasons why people choose the first option and hire a provider to manage their package for them – for example, they may not want the stress of self-scheduling multiple supports, reviewing their own care plan and adjusting their budget when needed.

But there are also many reasons why hiring and managing your own independent support workers may be right for you. It may also help you feel more control of your life if you are able to directly hire and manage a support team yourself.

Here are some benefits to consider when it comes to self-managing your NDIS or home care funding:

Choose your own support workers

One of the main benefits of managing your own support is being able to directly interview and hire the carers you want. This may be an appealing option if you have a very specific set of criteria you are after, want to manage your own funding, or prefer to research available support workers yourself. Online platforms like Support Network make it easy to find independent carers yourself, allowing you to easily search for carers offering different services in your area.

Put together your own personalised care team

You may already have someone you would like to hire as your support network (e.g. your neighbour, a friend or an existing support worker – just not a family member), or perhaps you find the idea of putting together and managing your own team appealing. Either way, self-managing your funding allows you to put together your own personalised care team, in the same way an employer hires staff to work for them.

Cut down on management fees

Home care packages and NDIS funding can be eaten up by provider administration and overhead costs, which leaves you with less funding for improving your quality of life. Managing your funding yourself means your money can go further, leaving you with more room in the budget for more hours of care or services you need.

Control your timetable

You may prefer to manage their own schedule, especially if you require multiple support workers for different services throughout the week. Hiring a team of independent carers gives you flexibility to control your own timetable and arrange your care for when it suits. You can also select carers based on what hours they are available to work, or how flexible they are.

Hire carers local to your area

Having your support network close by is convenient and can also allow more flexibility in your care. If you don’t live near a provider that you are happy with, self-managing your home care or NDIS package is a good option for finding carers who are local to your area. At Support Network, you can search for support workers according to postcode. Register and start searching today.