Five Good Friends offers a self-managed membership plan that enables Members to coordinate their own care and services by using features and tools we provide in the app. One feature, the Helper Match Request, supports you to search and communicate with Helpers to set up your services, negotiate days, times, rates, and book visits.
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Choice and control are essential for people who wish to self-manage – but it’s vital to offer this experience without compromising on our values of high-quality care. Matching Helpers to Members is an important aspect of quality service delivery. In our research, families regularly tell us about the confidence and reassurance you feel from having the same trusted people in their homes. Helpers also tell us how much this improves their experience and their ability to provide help and support.

This article will show you how the self-managed features work for Members and Authorised representatives.

Note: These features are only available to Members on self-managed plans.

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You can access the Find a Helper search function from three different places in the app. Start by navigating to the schedule view at the bottom of the screen:

Once you select Find a Helper, you will be able to set your search filters.

Introduce yourself, who you are, what you’re looking for (in a Helper) and what support you will need.

Helpers who match your location and preferences will read what you write here. Think of this as a friendly job posting that is also an invitation to connect with someone in your local community.

The list of Helpers you get will depend on what Services and Preferences you choose.

Checking off the services you want for the visit, will surface Helpers who are qualified to deliver them.

You also have the option of selecting the Language and Gender preference of your Helper. The app will be able to search for Helpers who can speak languages other than English.

Adjust filters or tap the Filters button if your search didn't return enough results. This will take you back to your Helper Search Filters page where you can adjust the services or preferences.

To avoid having to fill out the details of the visit a second time, avoid tapping on the back arrow, as that will clear the form you just filled out, simply tap Adjust filters or Filters to amend.
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Shortlisting will help build a list of candidates for review, where you can compare the details of each profile, before deciding to send a Helper match request.

You can quickly shortlist Helpers by going into their profile from the search results screen and hitting the shortlist button. This will place them into a shortlist on the right-hand side of the search tab.

Take the time to peruse and compare a Helper's profile as you consider:

Send Request will share the details of your visit and profile directly to the Helper on their app for their consideration.

The Helper will receive a notification about the new request, review your profile, and decide if they want to engage with you. If a Helper decides to connect, they will be empowered to communicate directly with you to discuss the opportunity, negotiate services, rates and propose the first visit. We encourage you to also arrange an initial meet-and-greet in a public place or via video chat to confirm you are happy with the candidate.

When you and the Helper are ready, the Helper can propose your first visit. You will need to accept the proposal before a service can occur. This proposal can be adjusted as many times as needed by both parties until you reach an agreement. You can request changes through the chat interface with the Helper. You can find the visit proposal in the chat thread with the Helper. You will also receive a notification about the proposal.

Once you have accepted the proposal from the Helper, a visit will appear in your schedule.

At any time before the visit, you can request a change. Please note: A cancellation fee applies if a visit is changed within 48 hours of the scheduled time. This is at the discretion of the Helper. Requesting changes to a visit can be negotiated in the Helper chat thread. The Helper can edit the visit, and you will receive a new visit proposal. You will need to accept this proposal before the service can take place.

At any point, after the first visit is accepted, the Helper can make additional visit proposals. Each of these will come through to you as a notification. You must accept each proposal before it will appear in the schedule.

When you’d like to schedule regular visits with a Helper, you can do this in the app under Manage Recurring Visits. Here's how:

This 10-minute video demonstration shows you how a Member uses the app to

If you have additional questions, please use the app to book a consult with your care navigator.

You can also email [email protected] or call us on 1300 787 581.