Shopping Assistance

Shopping Assistance is practical, everyday support that helps you get groceries and essentials without doing it all alone. Delivered under the Support at Home program, it sits within Domestic Assistance, part of the broader Everyday Living  category, alongside services like Meal Preparation and Light Gardening. 

With Chris Barnard Health, Shopping Assistance can look like: 

• Help writing a shopping list, making sure nothing important gets missed 

• Accompanied shopping trips, with a support worker by your side to browse, carry, and choose items together 

• Groceries picked up on your behalf, when getting out isn’t practical that day 

• Putting items away, so unpacking doesn’t become another hurdle after the trip itself 

Whichever version suits you best, the goal stays the same: keeping your kitchen stocked and your independence intact. 

On your scheduled day, your allocated support worker can take you to the shops together, in their car or yours. It’s genuinely one of the activities our clients enjoy most: picking out your own favourite items at your own pace, without worrying about reaching a high shelf, bending down to a lower one, or wearing yourself out before you’ve even made it to the checkout. 

As an Everyday Living service, Shopping Assistance typically carries a contribution somewhere between 17.5% and 80%, based on income and assets, unlike fully funded clinical services such as Nursing or Physiotherapy. Your Care Partner can confirm exactly what applies to you and help you build it sensibly into your quarterly budget. 

Not yet receiving government funding, or want more shopping support than your current plan covers? Privately funded Shopping Assistance is also available, so a well-stocked pantry never has to wait on paperwork. 

Skipping the shops, or settling for whatever’s easiest to reach, can quietly affect nutrition, variety, and even safety over time. Heavy bags, slippery car parks, and long aisles all add real risk for someone managing mobility or balance concerns. 

There’s a less obvious benefit too. Many clients tell us the outing itself, choosing their own produce, browsing at their own pace, having a chat along the way, matters just as much as the groceries that come home with them. 

Support That Fits How You Shop 
Some people want company and conversation on the trip. Others prefer a list handed over and groceries delivered quietly. We take the time to understand which approach actually suits you, rather than defaulting to one standard method for everyone. 

A Familiar Face Who Knows Your Preferences 
Because we invest in our own workforce rather than relying on rotating agency staff, the same support worker is likely to help you time and again, someone who already knows your usual brands, dietary needs, and the little preferences that make shopping feel personal rather than transactional. 

Every Chris Barnard Health service, Shopping Assistance included, is guided by your rights under the Aged Care Act 2024. You always have the right to: 

• Make decisions about your care and how your shopping is managed 

• Be treated with dignity and respect, always 

• Have input into who delivers your services and how 

• Raise concerns and know they’ll genuinely be heard 

Support at Home participants generally qualify from age 65 (50 for First Nations people) if they need coordinated help to remain safely and independently at home. Younger people living with disability, dementia, or other unmet care needs may also be eligible. 

• Shopping done your way. Whether you want to come along, hand over a list, or have groceries delivered, we shape the service around your preference, not a fixed routine. 

• The same trusted person over time. Building our own workforce, rather than depending on agency staff, means continuity is the norm, so your support worker already knows what you like and how you like it done. 

Call 1300 602 469 to talk through Shopping Assistance and how it fits into your Support at Home plan, or complete our website enquiry form and our team will reach out.