SupportNetworkHome Care in Sylvania

Personal care, assistance with household and garden duties, nursing and good company, provided by support workers based in the Shire, for a suburb where a car has always been part of the arrangement.

• Workers who live in the Shire
• Waterfront and canal properties understood
• You choose who supports you
• No agency margin on your rate

the northern Shire is bus and car dependent

you pay for nursing and allied health, whatever your income

personal care becomes fully funded for everyone

The Home Care Services We Provide in Sylvania

All of your funding supports, arranged around your schedule. You can visit once weekly at first or gradually increase visits to daily; it depends on you.

Showering, dressing, grooming, continence support and mobility support, done with patience and by a person you know and trust.

Domestic assistance

Homekeeping, laundry, bed making and other chores that get harder, keeping the house the way you want it.

Shopping and preparing meals that you enjoy, and even the food that you grew up eating, in a way that you like.

Social support & community access

The people who help you keep your life your own, at home, outings, appointments, clubs or church.

Getting to medical appointments, the shops, family visits and errands, with someone who accompanies you if you wish.

Respite care: planned rest periods so the person doing most of the caring can rest, work or enjoy an afternoon of their own.

Overnight & sleepover support

Someone in the house overnight for safety, help or to provide a family carer with a continuous, unbroken sleep.

Fully funded, so you won't have to pay: wound care, medication management, continence support and clinical supervision from registered nurses.

Allied health & therapy

Occupational therapy, physiotherapy and podiatry, including home assessments which can often reduce the amount of paid support required.

Clinical services cost you nothing

Nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and podiatry are fully funded by the Government, with no contribution regardless of your income or assets. Effective from 1 October 2026, there is full funding for personal care too.

What Home Care in Sylvania Involves

Water and the absence of a train line are the two features that dominate home care in Sylvania, which sits at the northern gateway to the Shire, on the Georges River.

Losing the licence hits harder here

There is no train station at Sylvania. The Cronulla line runs through Jannali, Sutherland and Kirrawee to the south, not through Sylvania, and although the bus network is adequate, it is a bus network: timetables, a walk to the stop, a transfer, and a wait.

For a fit sixty-year-old, it's just fine. It's not really an option for an eighty-three-year-old with a walker and a hip that plays up, and what we see repeatedly in Sylvania is people who technically have public transport and genuinely don't use it.

The consequence is that giving up the car here is a much larger event than in Miranda or Sutherland. It's not an inconvenience, it's the time when someone's world shrinks to the size of their house, and the moment a move into permanent care can start to look closer than it needs to. Families don't realise this and then are shocked when it all falls apart, they don't show up for appointments, they don't see as many people anymore, they don't make meals anymore because the shopping didn't happen.

Therefore, transport support is one of the most valuable services in a Sylvania plan, and it is better to establish it before the licence goes than after. If you've got a backup plan in place, the driving conversation is a lot easier, because you're providing a service instead of just removing one.

Sylvania Waters and the waterfront

Sylvania Waters is truly special: a canal estate where many of the houses have water frontage and private jetties, and the layout that comes with both. For home care, it raises a couple of specific considerations that do not arise elsewhere in the Shire.

Properties are often multi-level, with external stairs to a jetty or pontoon leading down to the water, and paths that get slippery. The most frequent falls site reported here is not in the house but on the outdoor steps and along the path down to the water, where no one ever imagined it would be hazardous.

The maintenance aspect is also a consideration. Waterfront homes require more of it, salt air is hard on everything, and gardens are big on these blocks. On a Sylvania Waters property it is often the maintenance of lawns and gardens that keeps people home, and it is a fundable service under Support at Home in the everyday living category.

An occupational therapy home assessment is free under Support at Home regardless of income, and is genuinely worth doing: an OT will assess the external steps, the lighting on the path, and the level changes between floors, and much of what they recommend is funded from a separate stream that does not touch your service hours.

Established, comfortable, and quietly isolated

Sylvania and Sylvania Heights are long-established suburbs of good-sized houses, many of which have been in the hands of the same families for many years. Southgate at Sylvania provides all your normal shopping needs, and Miranda is only a short drive for everything else.

This is an isolation that is nuanced and easy to overlook. These are nice homes on pleasant streets, which is the definition of a good retirement, and it means no one looks in. Unlike a unit block where a neighbour notices, or a walkable suburb where someone is seen at the shops, a person can go a fortnight in a Sylvania home without meaningful contact and nobody registers it.

Which is why social support here is more than meets the eye on a service list. When a household has reduced to one and driving has stopped, company at home, a run to Southgate or Westfield, or a drive along the river isn't a luxury. It is the main thing keeping someone connected to a life outside their own front door, and often what keeps them there rather than moving into a nursing home or aged care home.

Tell us when you call

Whether the property is waterfront or canal-front.

External steps, paths and level changes.

The size of the garden and what still needs doing.

Before the licence goes

In a suburb with no train, transport options are best organised in advance, before driving stops.

It makes the conversation easier, because you are offering a replacement rather than a loss.

Why Families Choose Us

Most providers send those who are rostered. We do things differently, with personalised support, and it changes both what you pay and who walks through your door.

01  Local workers, not dispatched ones

We start with a look at the people who already live near Sylvania. A worker travelling across Sydney is late, charges travel and eventually stops taking the shift. A local one lasts for years.

02  You choose your own support worker

You talk to or meet people first, then you make up your mind. If they're not a good fit, we continue to look; it's normal, not a complaint.

03  Your funding buys more hours

There is no agency margin between you and your worker, so our rates are in the $45 to $70 per hour range versus the $70 to $95 per hour range of traditional agencies. On a mid-level classification, that is approximately three additional hours of support per week.

04  The same person, week after week

Support work is all about continuity. A person familiar with your daily schedule senses when something is different, and that is how problems are detected before they escalate into emergencies.

05  Straight answers about money

We send a comprehensive written price list before your commitment, tell you what your funding covers, and if we are not a good fit for what you need, we will let you know.

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Already with a provider?

Changes are possible at any time. Your funding follows you and there are no exit fees. We'll manage the transition without a break in your support.

Tell Us Your Suburb and We Will Tell You Who Is Available

No charge and no commitment. If we can't find the right person for you locally, we will tell you so.

What Home Care Costs in Sylvania

Nearly no aged care provider provides fee information. We do, because comparing them is the best thing you can do, and because ours hold up.

Service	With Support Network	Typical full-service agency
Personal care, weekday	$45–$70/hr	$70–$95/hr
Domestic assistance	$45–$62/hr	$65–$88/hr
Social support & community access	$45–$65/hr	$68–$90/hr
Overnight sleepover	Flat rate, from ~$280	$280–$450/night
Nursing & allied health	Fully funded, $0 to you	Fully funded, $0 to you

Indicative Sydney ranges for 2026. Loadings are applicable on weekends and public holidays. Prior to committing, we send you a full written price list.

What that difference is worth

Now assume a Classification 5 participant: $39,697 per annum (or $9,924 per quarter). After the 10 percent care management deduction, about $8,932 per quarter of your Support at Home budget is available for services.

Hourly rate paid	Hours per quarter	Hours per week
$88, typical agency rate	101.5	about 7.8
$62, with Support Network	144	about 11.1

This amounts to an additional three and a quarter hours of support per week, from the same funding.

What you contribute

Your contribution is a percentage of the cost of the service, based on an assessment of your income and assets carried out by Services Australia. Everyone has free access to clinical care. Personal care and other independence services attract 5 to 50 percent depending on means, and everyday living services like cleaning and gardening 17.5 to 80 percent.

A full pensioner paying for a $65 hour of personal care pays $3.25. A self-funded retiree without a health card pays a contribution of $32.50. Both pay nothing for nursing.

One piece of paperwork worth doing

If you do not have your income and assets assessed by Services Australia, you will be classified as “means not disclosed” and assessed at the maximum contribution rate, irrespective of your actual income and assets. Some people opt not to and end up paying self-funded-retiree rates on a pension income.

Do not let funding go to waste

The Support at Home program provides funding quarterly, and any unused funds you can carry over are capped at $1,000 or 10 percent of the quarter's budget, whichever is higher. Above that is returned to the government when the quarter ends. On Classification 6, underspending by $5,000 in a quarter results in a permanent loss of approximately $3,825.

We monitor this for those we support and flag it while there is still time to bring services forward.

No hidden charges

Providers cannot charge separate administration, entry or exit fees. The total price is the service price.

Price caps were stipulated for 1 July 2026 but postponed in May 2026, so prices differ across providers. Published price lists are your safeguard.

Funded separately

Equipment and home modifications come from their own stream, so they do not use your service hours.

Restorative Care, usually after a hospital stay or fall, and may cost approximately $6,000 for up to 16 weeks.

Four steps, the first of which is a free phone call.

1.  Tell us what you need

Call 1300 671 931. Indicate your suburb and street, the type of property, your classification (if applicable) and the type of support you are seeking. If you are not currently funded, we will outline what you can expect from My Aged Care.

2.  We look for workers nearby

We begin with individuals who already live near you and match what you've requested: times, gender, language, experience. You don't need to be assigned to someone, instead you see who's available.

3.  You meet them and decide

Talk to or visit the individuals we suggest before you make any commitments. You choose. If the first person is not right, we go on seeking until we find the right person.

4.  Support starts, and we stay in touch

Your worker starts work on the agreed schedule. We make sure that it's working, monitor your quarterly budget so nothing gets lost, and adjust accordingly.

Do not have funding yet?

Start with My Aged Care on 1800 200 422. Approval to funding often takes three to six months, so it is good to begin the process before you have a need for assistance. During that waiting period many families use us privately and then continue with the same worker once their plan starts.

The best piece of advice: when you are asked at the assessment, tell about the worst day of a normal week, not the best day. Assessments may take place on a fine morning, and families tend to gloss over the truth to protect their parent, and the classification may become a reflection of a show rather than a life.

Coming home from hospital?

Call before discharge, not after. Support that is put in place during the hospital stay fares better than support that is put together after they're at home, and it's the biggest single way to avoid being readmitted to hospital.

Questions People Ask Us

Yes. We have support workers throughout Sylvania and the surrounding area, including Sylvania Waters, Sylvania Heights, Kangaroo Point, Blakehurst and Taren Point. We don't send people across Sydney; we look for people who live nearby, because in our experience that is the biggest factor in whether an arrangement lasts.

Yes, and in Sylvania it is one of the more important services in a plan. With no rail system and a bus network that is hard for anyone with mobility problems, someone's world can shrink quickly here. Transport is fundable, and we can help the worker come in with you at appointments rather than just dropping you off.

It is worth taking seriously. The most often reported fall site we hear about on canal-front properties is the external steps and waterside paths, places no one considers dangerous. An occupational therapy home assessment is available free under Support at Home (no income limits) and will specifically consider access to the home, lighting and level changes, and the changes it recommends are funded separately.

In Sydney, we charge between $45 and $70 per hour for our support workers, whereas full-service agencies charge between $70 and $95. Loadings are applicable on weekends and public holidays. Under Support at Home, nursing and allied health are fully funded, meaning there is no cost to you regardless of your income or assets. Prior to making any decisions, we provide you with a complete copy of our price list.

No. We work with Support at Home participants, those who have moved from a Home Care Package, clients of the Commonwealth Home Support Programme, and privately funded families. A large number of people start with us privately, and then continue with the same worker once their plan starts.

Support at Home replaced Home Care Packages on 1 November 2025. There are eight classifications ranging from roughly $10,731 a year at level 1 to roughly $78,106 at level 8, released in quarterly budgets. Care management receives 10% of each quarter before care services are purchased. Figures are indexed each 1 July, check current figures with My Aged Care on 1800 200 422.

Yes, and it's very much part of our work. Before making arrangements, you speak with or meet workers and choose who will support you, and you can change if it is not the right choice. Support is personal work, and compatibility is as important as qualifications.

Funding is portable and you can change at any time; under the current rules, there are no exit fees. We take care of the transition, including communicating with your old provider, so there is no gap in your support. Many people report a much easier transition than they had anticipated.

From 1 October 2026, personal care (showering, dressing, grooming and continence support) becomes a clinical support and is 100% funded by the government, with no participant contribution required.

Prefer to just talk?

The majority of the questions can be answered over the phone, and there's no pressure at the end.

Let's Find the Right Support Worker Near You

Tell us where you live, your classification and what you need. We will tell you clearly what is available in the immediate area, what it will cost, and how soon we can begin.

Monday to Friday. Free and no strings attached.