A personal care operator in Toowoomba has a small team and a name that gets passed around at the local shops. She wants to grow into aged care. Two options: buy into a home care franchise, or partner with a registered provider. The franchise pitch is polished (brand, systems, territory), but she already has a brand people trust. Why pay to trade under someone else's?
This example is illustrative, created to show how the local partner model works in practice.
What a franchise sells you
A franchise sells an established brand, operating systems, marketing and a defined territory. You pay upfront and ongoing fees, trade under the franchisor's name, and follow its rules on pricing, suppliers and advertising. If you already have clients and a reputation, you're paying to replace the asset that got you this far.
What a local partnership leaves with you
Under the new Aged Care Act (from 1 November 2025), providers must be registered with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, and registered providers carry the compliance and audit obligations. PWC acts as the registered backbone, so those obligations and the claiming sit with us. The partnership adds access: your business becomes bookable by Support at Home clients, whose funding pays for the services you already deliver. The mechanics are at become a partner.
The compliance question: backbone vs rulebook
A franchisor hands you a rulebook and audits your adherence to it. A backbone provider carries the obligations itself and asks only for safe service and prompt reporting.
The most valuable asset in community care is local reputation, the name a family passes to a neighbour over the fence. Self-managing Support at Home clients choose their own suppliers, so the name they know is the name that gets booked.
Exit flexibility: whose business is it at the end?
Exit a franchise and the brand, the territory and often the client goodwill stay with the franchisor, on terms the franchise agreement dictates. Exit a local partnership and you keep your brand, your clients and your goodwill. The partnership was infrastructure, not ownership.
Who owns the business that meets the demand? See how we back that at why us.