How Support at Home (SaH) Coordination Reduces the Mental Load for Families
Caring for an ageing parent or a loved one with additional support needs is deeply personal and often overwhelming. While families are motivated by love and responsibility, the mental load that comes with navigating Australia’s aged care system can quietly build over time.
With the introduction of Support at Home (SaH), formerly known as Home Care Packages, many families are hopeful for a simpler and more flexible system. However, even positive change can bring confusion. New terminology, new processes, and new decisions can increase stress unless there is someone guiding you through it.
This is where SaH coordination makes a real difference.
What Is Support at Home (SaH)?
Support at Home (SaH) is Australia’s new aged care program, replacing Home Care Packages from late 2025. It is designed to help older Australians live safely and independently at home for longer.
The program provides funding for a range of in-home services, equipment, and home modifications, with care managed by a single provider. This coordinated approach reduces complexity, improves access to services, and creates a more person-centred and integrated system that can respond to changing needs over time.
While the system is designed to be simpler, many families still find themselves managing decisions, services, and communication. This is where effective SaH coordination becomes essential.
What Do We Mean by Mental Load?
Mental load is not just the physical tasks of caring. It is the constant background thinking that never really switches off.
For families supporting older Australians, this often includes:
Understanding My Aged Care and eligibility
Managing assessments, approvals, and reviews
Coordinating multiple service providers
Tracking budgets, invoices, and service hours
Making sure care is meeting changing needs
Being the contact person when something goes wrong
Even when services are in place, families often become the unofficial care coordinators. Phone calls, emails, and follow-ups usually happen around work, parenting, and everyday life.
Over time, this invisible workload can lead to stress, fatigue, and burnout.
What Is SaH Coordination?
Under the Support at Home model, coordination plays a central role in making sure services are not only delivered, but delivered well.
SaH coordination provides families with a dedicated professional who:
Understands the aged care system inside and out
Helps plan, organise, and adjust supports over time
Acts as a consistent and reliable point of contact
Advocates for the older person and their family
Identifies issues early and resolves them proactively
Instead of families managing care around everything else in their lives, coordination helps care fit more smoothly into daily routines.
How SaH Coordination Reduces Mental Load
One clear point of contact
Families no longer need to chase multiple providers or repeat the same information. Having one trusted person who understands the full picture significantly reduces stress and confusion. For many families, the biggest relief is simply knowing who to call.
Clear guidance and fewer decisions
SaH coordination does not remove choice, but it does remove guesswork. A good coordinator helps families understand what supports are available, prioritise what will make the biggest difference, and make informed decisions without pressure. This reduces decision fatigue and the fear of making the wrong choice.
Proactive problem-solving
Without coordination, families often only realise something is wrong when a service is missed or a budget runs short. SaH coordinators regularly review services, funding, and changing needs, addressing issues early before they become urgent or overwhelming.
Emotional reassurance
Caring is emotional as well as practical. Many families carry guilt about not doing enough, living far away, or needing help. Having a knowledgeable and compassionate coordinator provides reassurance, helping families feel supported and less alone.
Supporting the Whole Family
One of the most overlooked benefits of SaH coordination is how it supports families as a whole.
When care is well coordinated:
Adult children can return to being sons and daughters, not just carers
Partners can focus on relationships instead of administration
Families regain time, energy, and emotional space
This flow-on effect improves wellbeing for everyone involved, not just the person receiving care.
Why Values-Led Coordination Matters
Not all coordination is the same.
At Sistability, coordination is grounded in care, dignity, and community impact. As a certified social enterprise, the focus is on meaningful, person-centred support rather than volume or box-ticking.
This means taking the time to understand each individual situation, respecting family dynamics, and ensuring services enhance independence rather than overwhelm it.
When coordination is done with heart, it does more than reduce mental load. It restores confidence and peace of mind.
A Lighter Way Forward
The Support at Home program, formerly known as Home Care Packages, has the potential to simplify aged care. Families should not have to navigate it alone.
At Sistability, SaH coordination is led by Jenn, our dedicated Aged Care Manager. Jenn knows our clients and their families by name, understands their histories, and walks alongside them as needs change. By intentionally keeping our client list small, we are able to provide genuine, relationship-based support rather than one-size-fits-all care.
If you or someone you love is feeling overwhelmed by aged care decisions, you do not need to manage it on your own. With Jenn’s guidance and Sistability’s values-led approach, care becomes clearer, calmer, and more personal.
Reach out to Sistability to speak with Jenn about Support at Home coordination and discover how much lighter aged care can feel when someone truly knows your family.
