The CareSide vs Trilogy Care: fees and models compared
Last updated 21 August 2026
Provider fees verified from published pricing, August 2026. The CareSide’s figures are its published rates, undated, accessed August 2026. Budget figures current as at 1 July 2026.
The short version
- Both market hard on price, from opposite directions: The CareSide is a low-fee full-service provider ($97/hr personal care, fully managed); Trilogy Care is the biggest self-managed brand ($72/hr personal care, you coordinate the workers).
- The $25/hr gap is the cost of management: CareSide finds, rosters and supervises the workers; with Trilogy, that’s largely your job (plus a 10% service loading when you use a service).
- Both rates sit below the national median of around $115/hr for personal care - these are two of the sharpest published price points in the market.
- One caution on marketing: CareSide’s long-running “15% combined fee” claim is framing from the old Home Care Package era. Under Support at Home the 10% care management deduction is set by government for every provider, so compare the hourly rates - that’s where the real difference lives.
Side by side
| The CareSide | Trilogy Care | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Full-service (low-fee challenger) | Self-managed |
| Ownership | Private (Perth-based) | Private (Brisbane-based) |
| Care management fee | 10% of quarterly budget (the government-set cap that applies to all registered providers). Fully managed clients pay only the listed hourly rates, with no additional invoicing fee | 10% of quarterly budget (same government-set cap); care management listed at $120/hr within that allocation |
| Other admin / loading fees | Fully managed: no separate invoicing fee. Self-managed arrangements: 10% invoicing and compliance fee | 10% service loading, “added only when you use a service” (a $60/hr gardener becomes $66/hr). Optional full coordination adds 20% to service pricing before the loading |
| Personal care, weekday | $97/hr (personal and companion care, 6am-8pm, fully managed) | $72/hr (self-managed rate) |
| Cleaning, weekday | $97/hr (domestic assistance) | $66/hr (general house cleaning, self-managed rate) |
| Coverage | WA base; services in multiple states (full list not published - check availability for your area) | Australia-wide (self-managed; you choose local workers) |
| Distinctive features | Nursing $140/hr weekday ($149 weeknight, $182 Saturday); overnight care $34/hr; live-in care $44/hr; private care $85/hr; 24/7 support claims on its site (confirm details when enquiring) | Publishes a full rate card (RN clinical care $132/hr); no loading charged if no visit is booked; fully coordinated tier (personal care $106/hr, RN $172/hr) |
The CareSide’s rate card carries no printed effective date - the figures above are its published rates, undated, accessed August 2026, so confirm they’re current when you enquire. Trilogy’s pricing PDF is dated November 2025 and current as at August 2026.
What the fee structures mean in practice
Here is one worked example at Classification 5, which has a quarterly budget of $10,182.38 in 2026-27. With both providers, the government’s 10% care management allocation comes off first: $1,018.24, leaving a service pool of $9,164.14 for the quarter. Care management is clinical care, so it costs you nothing personally.
The CareSide
- Classification 5 · $10,182.38/qtr
- 10% care management = $1,018.24, leaving $9,164.14
- Then
- Fully managed: no additional invoicing fee - the full $9,164.14 goes to services at listed rates
- In hours
- ≈ 94 hrs/qtr of personal care at $97/hr, fully managed - around 7 hours a week
Trilogy Care
- Classification 5 · $10,182.38/qtr
- 10% care management = $1,018.24, leaving $9,164.14
- Then
- 10% loading applies when you use a service, so roughly $8,331 of worker charges fit in the pool
- In hours
- ≈ 127 hrs/qtr of personal care at Trilogy’s published $72/hr self-managed rate - around 9-10 hours a week
Trilogy’s self-managed rate buys roughly a third more hours at this level - if you (or a family member) are willing and able to do the coordinating. CareSide’s $97/hr is the fully managed price: workers found, rostered and replaced when someone is sick, without you managing any of it. Note the models can converge: Trilogy’s optional fully coordinated tier prices personal care at $106/hr - above CareSide’s $97 - while CareSide’s self-managed arrangements add a 10% invoicing and compliance fee. Compare the tier you’d actually use, not the headline. Your own means-tested contribution then applies per service - see what you’ll pay.
Every figure on this page was verified from The CareSide’s and Trilogy Care’s published pricing in August 2026 - and CareSide’s rate card shows no effective date, so ask it to confirm current rates in writing. The government publishes a quarterly National Summary of Support at Home Prices for benchmarking. Ask each provider for its current price list in writing before signing a service agreement.
Which suits you?
Choose The CareSide if…
- You want full management - rostering, replacements, supervision - at one of the lower published full-service rates in the market.
- You may need overnight ($34/hr), live-in ($44/hr) or regular nursing care, where its published rates are distinctive.
- It services your area - its base is WA, and the full coverage list isn’t published, so check first.
Choose Trilogy Care if…
- You’re confident self-managing and want the most hours per dollar from published rates ($72/hr personal care, $66/hr cleaning).
- You like choosing your own trusted local workers, with no loading charged in weeks where nothing is booked.
- You want a published fallback - the fully coordinated tier - if self-managing later becomes too much.
Neither answer is “better” - this is the clearest published example of the market’s central trade-off: cheaper hours with more work for you, or dearer hours with the management done.
Not sure which fits your situation?
Tell us your classification, postcode and how hands-on you want to be, and we can help you compare these two - and any others servicing your area - for your situation.
Common questions
What about The CareSide’s “15% combined fee” advertising?
That claim dates from the old Home Care Package program, where providers set their own management and admin percentages and CareSide’s combined 15% undercut a much higher industry average. Under Support at Home, the care management deduction is a flat 10% for every registered provider - see the care management fee, explained - so percentage-fee comparisons no longer separate providers. What separates them now is hourly rates, and CareSide’s $97/hr fully managed rate remains genuinely low on that measure.
Why is Trilogy so much cheaper per hour?
Because you’re doing part of the work. Trilogy’s $72/hr is a self-managed rate: you find and coordinate local workers, and Trilogy handles the registered-provider side (with a 10% loading when services are used). CareSide’s $97/hr includes the coordination. Priced like-for-like - Trilogy’s fully coordinated tier at $106/hr against CareSide’s $97 - the full-service comparison actually flips.
Can I get either provider where I live?
Trilogy operates Australia-wide on the self-managed model - its reach depends on finding workers near you, which it helps with. The CareSide is Perth-based with services in multiple states, but doesn’t publish a full coverage list, so ask directly whether it staffs your suburb and how quickly it could start. See choosing a provider for what else to check.
Do either charge exit fees or minimum hours?
Exit fees are banned under Support at Home for every provider. Neither publishes a minimum visit length as at August 2026 - confirm minimums, cancellation notice and any surcharge times in writing before signing. And if your choice doesn’t work out, you can switch providers at any time, with unspent funds following you.
Sources
- The CareSide - pricing (published rates, undated, accessed August 2026), thecareside.com.au/pricing/.
- The CareSide - compare our prices, thecareside.com.au/compare-our-prices/, accessed August 2026.
- Trilogy Care - services and pricing, trilogycare.com.au/services-pricing, accessed August 2026.
- Trilogy Care - Service Pricing PDF (November 2025, current at August 2026), trilogycare.com.au/uploads/202511_Service_Pricing.pdf.
- Trilogy Care - “Understanding fees under Support at Home”, trilogycare.com.au/understanding-fees-under-support-at-home, accessed August 2026.