Finding and engaging an independent worker

An independent worker is someone with their own ABN who works for you directly rather than for a big agency. A cleaner, a gardener, a support worker who takes Mum shopping on Tuesdays. Many families find this gives them the same person every week, someone who knows the house and the dog’s name, and often more hours from the same budget.

It also means you, or someone helping you, does a little more of the organising. Here’s how to do it without tears.

Where to look

Start local. Ask the neighbours, the pharmacy, the community noticeboard, the local Facebook group, and anyone who already has help. In small towns the best workers are rarely advertised: they’re busy, and they’re found by word of mouth.

Platforms such as Mable, Hireup and CareVicinity list independent workers too, and they handle some of the paperwork. They charge for that. On Mable, for example, the worker pays a fee out of their rate and you pay a platform fee on top. Check the current fees on each platform before you decide, because they change and they add up over a year.

What to check before they start

Your provider has to be satisfied about some of these before they’ll pay, so it saves time to collect them up front.

An ABN. Look it up on ABN Lookup. It should be active and in the worker’s name or their business name. Our invoice checker checks that the number itself is valid.

Screening. Aged care workers need either a police certificate that is no older than three years and shows no precluding offences, or an NDIS Worker Screening clearance. The provider is responsible for making sure this is in place, so they will ask for a copy.

Insurance. Most providers ask independent workers for public liability insurance, and some ask for a current certificate every year. A worker who already has it ready is a good sign.

The right services. Make sure what they’ll do fits a service type on the official list, such as Domestic assistance, Home maintenance and repairs, or Social support and community engagement. That’s what the provider will pay against.

Agree on the work, then on the price

Write down what the worker will do, which days, roughly how long, and the hourly rate. One page is plenty. Include what happens if a visit is cancelled, and whether travel is built into the rate (many providers won’t pay travel to and from your house as a separate item).

Then send that page to your provider and ask them to approve the arrangement and the price, in writing. Remember they can add an overhead of up to 10% for a self-managed third-party worker, so the cost to your budget may be a little higher than the worker’s rate.

A word on fair pay

A good independent rate isn’t a cheap rate. The worker pays for their own insurance, car, phone, tax and time off, and most don’t get paid when they’re sick. A rate that looks lower than an agency’s can still be a fair living, because no one in the middle is taking a share.

If a worker is paid mostly for their labour, the law can still treat them as an employee for some purposes, such as super. If that’s a question for your arrangement, the Fair Work Ombudsman explains how to tell.

Then keep it simple

Ask the worker to invoice weekly, with each visit on its own line. Weekly invoices are small, easy to check and quick to fix if something’s wrong. The worker’s invoice guide is a good thing to forward to them.

Need help finding someone, or getting a provider to say yes? Talk to Colin.