Key Takeaways
- A Registered Supporter is someone officially authorised to help manage another person’s aged care services.
- You can register by calling My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 together or applying online via myGov.
- Explicit consent from the person receiving care is required in most cases.
- Being a family member or spouse does not automatically grant you access due to strict federal privacy laws.
- Registering early prevents severe administrative delays when care is urgently needed.
When your partner or parent needs help, it is a natural instinct to step in and handle the logistics. But without the right paperwork, privacy laws will quickly create administrative roadblocks. Setting up a Registered Supporter arrangement is the easiest way to bypass this red tape and manage your loved one’s home care smoothly.
Who Can Become a Registered Supporter?
Almost anyone chosen by the older person can become their Registered Supporter, provided they are a trusted individual willing to take on the responsibility. Most commonly, people choose:
- A spouse or de facto partner
- An adult child or another family member
- A close friend or neighbour
- A professional advocate or trusted advisor
The primary requirement is that the person in need of care must explicitly consent to that specific person acting on their behalf.
It is also possible to have more than one Registered Supporter attached to a My Aged Care file. This is highly practical for families where siblings or partners are sharing the responsibility, as it allows multiple people to contact providers or government departments without hassle.
Why You Need to Register (Even if You Are Immediate Family)
The biggest misconception families face when dealing with My Aged Care is assuming that being a son, daughter or spouse grants automatic access to an older person’s health records. It does not.
All Australian aged care services are bound by strict federal privacy laws. If you call My Aged Care or a home care provider to ask a basic question about your parent or partner’s funding, they cannot legally give you an answer unless you are officially listed on their file.
Registering early saves a significant amount of time and stress. If you wait until your family member urgently needs an assessment or a change in their services, you will have to pause and clear these administrative hurdles before you can actually get anything done.
What Does a Registered Supporter Actually Do?
On 1 November 2025, under the new Aged Care Act, the Australian Government introduced the Registered Supporter role, which replaced the old system of regular and authorised representatives.
A Registered Supporter is a trusted person who is officially authorised to help someone navigate the aged care system.
Once registered, you are legally permitted to:
- Speak directly to My Aged Care, assessors and service providers on the person’s behalf
- Access and update their personal information and care records
- Help them make and communicate decisions about their Support at Home budget
- Sign service agreements and coordinate with their chosen home care provider
Crucially, becoming a Registered Supporter does not remove the person’s right to make their own choices. It simply allows you to handle the heavy lifting and communicate their wishes for them.
How to Register as a Supporter
There are three main ways to register as a supporter on My Aged Care. Every method requires the older person to provide their explicit consent:
- Over the phone: The fastest method is to call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 together. As long as your family member can get on the phone to give their verbal consent to the operator, you can be set up immediately. You will both need your Medicare cards handy when you call.
- Online through myGov: If the person you are supporting is comfortable using the internet, they can log into their My Aged Care Online Account through myGov. From their dashboard, they can submit a request to add you as their supporter.
- During an assessment: If your loved one is having a face-to-face aged care assessment in their home, you can ask the assessor to add you to the system right then and there.
What If They Cannot Give Consent?
If the person you are supporting has severe cognitive decline, such as advanced dementia, they may not be legally able to provide consent for you to become a Registered Supporter.
In this situation, you will need to be set up as an Appointed Decision-Maker. To do this, you must provide My Aged Care with legal documentation proving you have the authority to act on their behalf.
This usually requires uploading a certified copy of an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPOA) or a formal Guardianship order to the My Aged Care portal. Once approved, you will have full authority to make care and financial decisions regarding their Support at Home funding.
Read more about Guardianship and Enduring Power of Attorney.
Setting Up Care on Their Behalf
Once the paperwork is sorted and your family member is assigned a Support at Home budget, you can use your authority as a Registered Supporter to find a provider and negotiate a service agreement.
Bringing professional care workers into someone’s home can feel disruptive to their routine. As their Registered Supporter, you can establish strict rules with the provider to protect your loved one’s privacy and comfort:
- Set dedicated care zones: Specify which rooms care workers can access and which areas remain strictly private.
- Consolidate visiting hours: Work with the provider to schedule all care tasks within a single morning or afternoon block so your family member is not waiting around for workers all day.
- Put it in writing: Ensure your required visiting times, parking rules and access boundaries are formally written into the Support at Home service agreement.
How Our Free Service Helps
Once you are registered as a supporter, the next step is finding a home care provider with availability in their area. Calling multiple providers to check their fees and availability is time-consuming, but Aged Care Decisions takes that workload off your plate.
- We provide a tailored Options Report matched to your loved one’s specific care needs and location.
- We only connect you with providers who have current availability, so you are not left waiting.
- Our service is completely independent with no cost to you.
What To Do Next
If you are ready to put support in place and take control of the administration, here are the practical steps to take today:
- Talk to your family member about becoming their Registered Supporter so you can help manage the paperwork.
- Call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 together to officially register the relationship on their file.
- Ensure you have your Enduring Power of Attorney documents ready if they cannot provide verbal consent.
- If they do not yet have funding, apply for a Support at Home assessment during the same phone call.
- Request an Options Report from our team to find trusted, available providers in your local area.
Contact us today to get your free Aged Care Provider Options Report.
Here’s how Aged Care Decisions’ FREE aged care matching service works:
