Trilogy Care vs Australian Unity: fees and models compared
Last updated 20 August 2026
Provider fees verified from published pricing, accessed August 2026. Budget figures current as at 1 July 2026.
The short version
- This is really a comparison of two models, not just two brands: Trilogy Care is the biggest self-managed provider; Australian Unity is a flagship full-service mutual. Both publish their pricing in full.
- The headline gap is stark: personal care at $72/hr (Trilogy, self-managed) versus $130.20/hr (Australian Unity). The gap isn’t a trick - it’s the price of coordination. Self-managing means you find and organise workers yourself, so there’s less overhead in the rate.
- At Classification 5, that difference is roughly 127 hours versus 70 hours of personal care a quarter from the same budget - if you’re willing and able to do the coordinating.
- Trilogy adds a 10% service loading when you use a service; Australian Unity has no separate loading - its coordination costs sit inside the hourly rate.
Side by side
| Trilogy Care | Australian Unity | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Self-managed | Full-service |
| Ownership | Private (Brisbane-based) | Member-owned mutual |
| Care management fee | 10% of quarterly budget (the government-set cap that applies to all registered providers); care management listed at $120/hr within that allocation | 10% care management fee deducted from your quarterly budget; care management activity rate $163.10/hr (weekdays 6am-6pm) |
| Other admin / loading fees | 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 | No separate package administration fee specified |
| Personal care, weekday | $72/hr (self-managed rate) | $130.20/hr (weekday 6am-8pm) |
| Cleaning, weekday | $66/hr (general house cleaning, self-managed rate) | $121.70/hr (domestic assistance and meal preparation) |
| Coverage | Australia-wide (self-managed; you choose local workers) | National scale following the 2024 acquisition of the myHomecare Group - 29,000+ home care recipients, 3,600+ workers (states not itemised on its pricing guide) |
| Distinctive features | Self-management specialist - “clients choose trusted local workers at local rates”; no loading charged if no visit is booked; RN clinical care $132/hr; fully coordinated tier available (personal care $106/hr, RN $172/hr) | Full-service organisation with employed and rostered workers; RN $224.40/hr, EN $207.90/hr; short services of 30 minutes or less at reduced rates; maximum single service duration 8 hours; 48 hours cancellation notice |
Weekday standard rates shown; evening and weekend rates are typically higher. “Not published” means the figure does not appear on the provider’s published pricing as at August 2026. The rates are not like-for-like: Trilogy’s assume you coordinate your own workers, Australian Unity’s include the organisation doing it for you.
Why is the gap so big - and what it means at Classification 5
$72 versus $130.20 an hour for the same task looks odd until you see what’s inside each rate. A full-service rate pays for the worker and the organisation around them: rostering, a replacement when your regular worker is sick, supervision, training, scheduling staff and insurance. A self-managed rate is closer to the worker’s own local rate, because you do the coordinating - finding workers you trust, agreeing times, arranging cover - while the provider stays responsible for compliance, worker checks and paying invoices from your budget. Cheaper hours, more homework.
Here’s the 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. Care management is clinical care, so it costs you nothing personally.
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 (a $60/hr worker bills at $66); Trilogy’s published self-managed personal care rate is $72/hr
- In hours
- ≈ 127 hrs/qtr of personal care at the published $72/hr rate - around 9-10 hours a week, with you coordinating the roster
Australian Unity
- Classification 5 · $10,182.38/qtr
- 10% care management = $1,018.24, leaving $9,164.14
- Then
- No separate loading - coordination is built into the hourly rate, and Australian Unity organises workers, cover and scheduling for you
- In hours
- ≈ 70 hrs/qtr of personal care at $130.20/hr - around 5.4 hours a week, fully organised for you
Same budget, roughly 57 hours a quarter apart. That’s the honest trade: the extra hours aren’t free, they’re paid for with your (or your family’s) time and organisation. If self-managing later becomes too much, Trilogy’s fully coordinated tier (personal care $106/hr) sits between the two models - or you can switch providers at any time. Your own means-tested contribution applies per service the same way with either provider - see what you’ll pay.
Every figure on this page comes from Trilogy Care’s and Australian Unity’s published pricing, verified in August 2026. Providers adjust prices often, and 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 Trilogy Care if…
- You or a family member are organised, comfortable on the phone and online, and happy to find and schedule workers - and you want your budget to buy substantially more hours in return.
- You already know local workers you trust, or live somewhere with plenty of independent workers to choose from.
- You like that no loading is charged in weeks where nothing is booked, and want every rate published up front.
Choose Australian Unity if…
- You’d rather one organisation handle rostering, backup workers and scheduling - especially if there’s no family member nearby to help coordinate.
- Your needs are more clinical or likely to change, and you want employed nursing staff and care management from the same large organisation.
- You value scale and continuity - a provider that will still be there, in most parts of the country, if your circumstances move.
Neither answer is “better” - this is a genuine trade-off between hours and hassle. Plenty of people sit in the middle, too: hybrid and fully coordinated tiers exist precisely because the right amount of management differs from household to household.
Not sure which model fits your situation?
Tell us your classification, postcode and who’d be doing the organising, and we can help you weigh self-managed against full-service - and compare the providers servicing your area.
Common questions
Is the $72/hr worker less qualified than the $130.20/hr one?
Not necessarily. The difference is mostly what’s wrapped around the worker, not the worker themselves: a full-service rate funds rostering, supervision, guaranteed cover and organisational overheads. Under self-management, the provider still handles compliance and worker checks - but you choose the workers, so it’s on you to satisfy yourself about experience and fit. Ask any worker about their qualifications, police check and insurance arrangements.
What happens with Trilogy if my regular worker is sick?
That’s the core of the trade-off: under self-management, arranging cover is largely your job, while a full-service provider like Australian Unity re-rosters for you. If reliable backup matters - for example, personal care you can’t safely miss - weigh that heavily, ask Trilogy exactly what support it provides when a worker cancels, and get the answer in writing. Our guide to self-managing your budget covers what the model asks of you.
Do both charge the same 10% care management fee?
The 10% allocation is government-set and applies to all registered providers - see the care management fee, explained. The rate booked against it differs: Trilogy lists $120/hr, Australian Unity $163.10/hr, so the same allocation buys more care-management time at Trilogy. Trilogy’s 10% service loading is separate and comes on top of service prices when you book; Australian Unity has no equivalent loading.
Can I start self-managed and change my mind later?
Yes. Trilogy offers an optional fully coordinated tier (personal care $106/hr) without changing provider, and you can switch to a full-service provider like Australian Unity at any time - no new assessment, your funding and unspent funds follow you, and exit fees are banned under Support at Home. See switching providers for the steps.
Sources
- 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.
- Australian Unity - Support at Home pricing, australianunity.com.au/sah-pricing, accessed August 2026.
- Australian Unity - myHomecare (home services), australianunity.com.au/assisted-living/home-services/myhomecare, accessed August 2026.