The new Aged Care Act has started on 1 November 2025. To support the transition to the new Act, we are upgrading some website tools. You can read more or contact My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 for general information.

My Aged Care | Australian Government

Some older people need extra, intensive support to access aged care services and other supports in the community.

In these situations, a care finder may be able to help.

Care finders is a free service. It exists to support vulnerable people – who have no one else who can support them – to learn about, apply for and set up support services.

Who can use the care finder service?

The care finder service is not available for everyone. It is specifically for vulnerable older people who need intensive support to access aged care and other local services.

To receive care finder support, a person must: 

  • have no carer or support person who can help them, or
  • not have a carer or support person they feel comfortable or trust to support them, and
  • be eligible for government-funded aged care (check eligibility requirements using our online tool)

In addition, they should have one or more of these reasons for needing intensive support:

  • have difficulty communicating because of language or literacy problems
  • find it difficult to understand information and make decisions
  • be reluctant to engage with aged care or government
  • be in an unsafe situation if they do not receive services.

If someone doesn’t meet the criteria above, there are a range of other support options available.

Learn more about getting support.

How does the care finder service work?

If someone requires this support, then a local care finder organisation can connect them with a dedicated care finder. 

The care finder will visit them, usually in person. This can be at their home or another place they would like to meet. They will ask questions to understand the person’s situation and support them to work through the steps to address their needs.

What help can care finders provide?

Care finders can help vulnerable older people navigate the aged care system and find support services to improve their quality of life. Care finders can help with both accessing services for the first time and changing to new services and supports.

They can help someone with:

  • talking to My Aged Care on their behalf and arranging an assessment
  • attending and providing support at the assessment
  • finding and shortlisting aged care providers in their area
  • completing forms and understanding aged care service agreements
  • checking in once services are up and running to make sure everything is okay
  • other challenges by connecting them to supports in the community such as health, mental health, housing and homelessness, drug and alcohol services and community groups.

How do vulnerable older people contact a care finder organisation? 

There are care finder organisations across Australia. To connect with this service, a person can call any care finder organisation in their region. 

When someone calls, they will need to answer some questions about why they need help from a care finder.  

Every care finder organisation can support people who meet the criteria for this service. However, some also focus on particular groups. See specific organisation details below. 

Care finder organisations by state and territory

Primary Health Networks (PHNs) are responsible for managing care finder services, using their expertise and understanding of local community needs.

Care finder organisations are listed below and separated into state and territories by PHN.

You can see which PHN covers your region in the PHN locator map

Australian Capital Territory

New South Wales

Northern Territory

Queensland

South Australia

Tasmania

Victoria

Western Australia