Do you operate an aged care digital platform?

An aged care digital platform is an online system that connects older people directly with care workers or services and often facilitates booking and payment between them.

Simply put, a digital platform in this context operates as a marketplace model, acting as an intermediary rather than delivering care itself. It connects people who need care with those who provide it and supports the interaction between them.

An aged care digital platform is not:

• Your client management system (CMS)
• Your rostering system
• Your finance or claiming system
• Any internal system used to deliver care

If you are using software to manage and deliver care directly, you are not operating a digital (marketplace)platform.

In a traditional provider model, the aged care organisation may use digital systems to support care planning and delivery such as a CMS or rostering platform, but the relationship is still directly between the organisation and the person receiving care. They use a platform or system to support the delivery of services but are not operating an aged care digital platform.

In today’s digital environment, a new service model has emerged – primarily in larger scale, urban contexts. Through websites and apps, older people can search for available workers or services, select and book services directly. These platforms may also handle payments between the individual and the worker. When operating in this way, the platform serves as both a connector and, at times, a financial intermediary. This is an aged care digital platform under the regulatory definition.

For smaller-scale providers, operating a digital platform model is generally not practical. These models rely on a level of scale and service volume that most smaller services do not have. There can also be limitations in access to technology for care recipients and their families, particularly in rural and remote areas. In addition, workforce availability may be less flexible, making it more difficult to respond quickly to client needs within a platform-based model.

Digital platform or support tool?

Support tool

Jenny is a coordinator in a small home care service. She uses her organisation’s client information management system (CIMS) to record assessments and reviews, schedule staff, and track services. The organisation also uses the CMS to generate statements and an accounting system to send out invoices. The organisation delivers care directly to the person. Even though Jenny uses digital tools every day, her organisation is not operating a digital platform. It is simply using internal systems to run its service.

Digital platform

Let’s look at a different scenario. Tom is an older person who has been approved for Support at Home. He is registered with a provider but chooses to take a more active role in organising his own services. Instead of the provider arranging workers directly, Tom uses an online platform where he can browse profiles of support workers, choose someone he prefers, and arrange visits aligned to his preferred timing. The platform may also manage payments between Tom and the worker, while the registered provider continues to oversee the package, funding and compliance requirements.

In this situation, the platform is acting as the connector and facilitator between Tom and the worker. This is what the legislation refers to as an aged care digital platform.

But what if the provider uses a platform to source staff?

There is also a middle ground that often causes confusion. Some providers use platforms to find workers or fill shifts.

For example, a provider might engage a worker through a platform but still deliver the service under their own organisation, with their own care planning and oversight. In this situation, the provider is simply using a platform, not operating one. The responsibility for care still sits with the provider, so the answer to the registration question is still “No.”

This distinction matters because operating a digital platform brings additional responsibilities under the Aged Care Act 2024. It changes your role from being a service provider to being an intermediary in how services are arranged and delivered. Most providers are not doing this, even if they are using technology every day.

So, when you see that question in the application, a simple way to think about it is this: are you delivering care directly, or are you running a system that connects people to care providers?

• If you are delivering care directly, even with the help of digital systems, you are not an aged care digital platform.
• If you are running a marketplace that connects people and services, then you are.

Summing up:

If it is your organisation and:

• You assess the client
• You develop the care plan
• You allocate staff
• You deliver the service

Answer: NO, you are not operating a digital platform model

If it is a platform:

• The client chooses their own worker
• The system connects them
• The platform may manage bookings and payments

Answer: YES – this is a digital platform model

• • • • • • • •

If you’re working through registration or re-registration and want to be confident your application is accurate, complete and aligned with the requirements under the Aged Care Act 2024, we can help.

We support providers every day to work through these exact questions, clarifying obligations, reviewing applications, and identifying gaps early in the process, highlighting any areas that might need strengthening.

If you’d rather get it right the first time and avoid delays or rework, contact us to organise a short discussion with our team.