At 9am, a support worker helps an NDIS participant shower. At 11am, she does the same for a Support at Home client two streets away. On the roster, the two visits look identical. They're funded by different schemes and claimed through different systems, and since 2025 they can be paid at different award rates.
What's the difference between NDIS and home care software?
NDIS software runs NDIS plan budgets, price limits and claims to the NDIA or plan managers, and keeps evidence for the NDIS Practice Standards. Home care software now means Support at Home software: quarterly budgets, means-tested client contributions and claims through Services Australia. If most of your work is NDIS, choose NDIS-first software.
This NDIS vs home care software comparison covers how the two differ, what breaks when one system runs both schemes, and which setup fits your client mix.
What is home care software in Australia now?
Home care software is the system an aged care provider uses to run in-home services: client budgets, rostering, care notes, claims and contributions. Since 1 November 2025, government-funded home care runs through the Support at Home program, which replaced Home Care Packages and Short-Term Restorative Care. So in 2026, "home care software" mostly means Support at Home software.
NDIS software does the same jobs for disability supports, under different rules. Plenty of providers deliver both, which is why the NDIS vs home care software question keeps coming up. NDIS only? Start with the best NDIS software in Australia.
NDIS vs home care software: side-by-side comparison
NDIS software | Home care (Support at Home) software | |
|---|---|---|
Funding | The participant's NDIS plan, by support category | A quarterly budget set by the client's Support at Home classification |
Regulator | NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission | Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission |
Audit standard | NDIS Practice Standards | Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards |
Client contribution | None on most NDIS-funded supports | Means-tested, collected by the provider after the service |
Claims | NDIA provider portal, plan manager or self-managed participant | Aged Care Provider Portal or B2G software, paid in arrears |
Care management | Support coordination is a separate funded support | 10% of each quarterly budget goes to care management |
SCHADS home care stream | Disability care | Aged care |
Services Australia's page on Support at Home claiming for providers confirms the portal options, payment in arrears and the quarterly care management amount.
What breaks when one system runs both schemes?
Back to the support worker with two morning visits. Here's where software built for one scheme gets the other one wrong:
Pay. From 1 January 2025, the SCHADS Award split its home care classifications into two streams, aged care and disability care. Only the aged care stream received the work value increases from 1 January 2025 and 1 October 2025. If payroll can't tell which scheme funded each shift, one visit gets paid at the wrong rate. See the SCHADS Award pay rates for 2026 and what good NDIS payroll software shows.
Budgets. NDIS funding sits in support categories within a plan. Support at Home gives each client a quarterly budget, with 10% set aside for care management. A budget check built for one shape gives wrong answers on the other. More on NDIS participant budget tracking.
Contributions. Support at Home clients pay a means-tested contribution on services like cleaning or transport, but none on clinical care such as nursing. NDIS software doesn't calculate that.
Claims. From 1 December 2026, NDIS supports must be claimed within 90 days of delivery. Support at Home claims go to Services Australia instead. See what good NDIS claiming software does.
Audits. NDIS Practice Standards evidence doesn't map itself to the Aged Care Quality Standards. Here's what NDIS auditors check.
Which do you need: NDIS software, home care software or both?
Your client mix decides this, not the feature list.
Your client mix | Best option | Why |
|---|---|---|
NDIS only | NDIS-first software | Pay, budgets and claims all follow NDIS rules |
Mostly NDIS, a few Support at Home clients | NDIS-first software, plus a separate tool for Support at Home claims and contributions | Cheaper than moving everyone onto aged care software for a few clients |
Roughly even split | One platform that handles both schemes, tested on both | Two systems means entering every shared worker twice |
Mostly aged care | Aged care software built for Support at Home | Contributions and quarterly budgets drive most of your admin |
NDIS and aged care software in one platform, or two systems?
One platform for both schemes | Two separate systems | |
|---|---|---|
Pros | One roster, one timesheet per worker, one app | Each system is built around its own rules |
Cons | A demo usually shows one scheme, so you have to test the other yourself | Workers clock in twice, and payroll merges two exports |
Either way, your NDIS rostering software must know which scheme funds each shift before a worker accepts it.
How to compare NDIS and home care software
Split last month's shifts by funding source. That ratio tells you which row of the table above you're in.
Run one shift from each scheme through the trial. Check the SCHADS stream and the hourly rate on both.
Ask for a Support at Home client statement showing the contribution, next to an NDIS invoice from the same worker's day.
Check how claims are lodged. Ask whether Support at Home claiming uses B2G integration or manual entry into the Aged Care Provider Portal.
Our guide on how to choose NDIS software has a full trial scorecard, and the NDIS software red flags checklist covers when to walk away.
How much does NDIS and home care software cost?
Most NDIS and aged care software is priced per client, per user or as a flat monthly fee. Running two systems means paying twice and entering data twice, so compare the total cost of your setup, not one licence. See NDIS software pricing for how the models compare.
Where does CareVisor fit?
On the NDIS vs home care software split, CareVisor sits on the NDIS side. It's built for NDIS providers and covers the left-hand column of the table:
SCHADS pay worked out per shift, with the formula logged.
A hard budget block when a shift would overspend an NDIS plan.
A live audit-readiness score mapped to the NDIS Practice Standards.
An NDIS app for support workers on iOS and Android that works offline.
Pricing by participants, with unlimited staff, no setup fee and monthly billing.
If Support at Home is a large share of your business, ask every vendor, us included, to show both schemes working on real shifts before you sign.
Key takeaways
NDIS vs home care software differs on budgets, contributions, claims and audits. Pay is where it shows first.
Since 1 January 2025, SCHADS home care pay has separate aged care and disability streams.
Choose by client mix. A dual platform only makes sense if you're close to an even split.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use the same software for NDIS and aged care?
Yes, if it's genuine NDIS and aged care software that handles both funding schemes. Check that it pays each shift under the right SCHADS stream, tracks quarterly Support at Home budgets alongside NDIS plans, and calculates client contributions. If it only handles NDIS well, use a separate Support at Home tool for those clients.
What is the new name for Home Care Packages?
Home Care Packages became Support at Home on 1 November 2025. The program also replaced Short-Term Restorative Care, and the Commonwealth Home Support Programme is due to move across no earlier than 1 July 2027. Clients now receive quarterly budgets based on their classification.
What's the difference between My Aged Care and the NDIS?
My Aged Care is the entry point to government-funded aged care, including Support at Home, mainly for people aged 65 and over. The NDIS funds supports for people with a permanent and significant disability who apply before turning 65. Each has its own funding rules, regulator and claiming system.
What compliance requirements does home care software need?
Support at Home providers are regulated by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission against the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards. Aged care software in Australia should keep dated care records, track worker checks and log every edit. NDIS providers need that evidence mapped to the NDIS Practice Standards. See our NDIS compliance software.
Can I switch home care software providers?
Yes. Export client records, care plans, notes and budget balances before you give notice, run a test import, and go live at the start of a quarter so Support at Home budgets line up. For NDIS clients, our guide on how to switch NDIS software has an 8-step checklist.
Run your hardest shift through a trial
It sounds like you're weighing one system against two, and worried the wrong choice will show up at pay time. That's a fair worry. Pay is where these schemes differ most, so the NDIS vs home care software decision should come down to a test, not a demo. If NDIS is most of your work, start a 7-day free trial with no credit card and run your hardest NDIS shift through it on sample data.
About CareVisor
CareVisor is an Australian NDIS operating system for disability service providers. It brings participant management, rostering, SCHADS payroll calculations, progress notes, incident reporting, worker compliance and NDIS claiming into one platform, with a mobile app for support workers on iOS and Android. Pricing scales with participant numbers, every plan includes unlimited staff, and data is hosted in Australia. Learn more about CareVisor NDIS provider software.
