About
Who we are, and why we built this.
The locked line on the homepage holds here too: we rank by suitability. Sponsorship can boost a fit, never invent one.
Why we built it
Most Australians find out what aged care, NDIS, and retirement services exist only when they urgently need them. Hospital discharge, a parent’s diagnosis, a partner’s sudden need for in-home support: the searches happen at the worst possible moment, on a phone, while juggling everything else.
The existing options are scattered government directories that list providers without ranking them, glossy commercial pages that rank by who paid, and Google results that mix both. None of them tell you why one provider is shown above another, when the data was last checked, or who is taking new clients.
Our Mate is the directory we wished existed for our own families. It ranks by suitability against what you ask for, shows the date each listing was last checked against the official register, and discloses every commercial interest plainly on the page.
What you can do here
- Search across aged care, NDIS, retirement living, and community services in one place, filtered to your suburb or LGA.
- See plain-English summaries of each provider, with the official register identifier and a link back so you can audit our claims.
- Compare up to three providers side by side, including RAD ranges, star ratings, and key services.
- Shortlist providers as you browse; sign in to save and share the list.
- Post a help request through Need a hand and have verified providers come to you.
Who this is for: everyone
Our Mate is for older Australians and for people with disability of all ages, alongside the carers, families, and community members who use it on their behalf. It is not a seniors-only directory.
Accessibility is built in, not bolted on. The site is designed to meet WCAG 2.2 AA as a floor: a larger base text size, the Atkinson Hyperlegible typeface designed for low-vision readers, strong colour contrast, visible keyboard focus, generous tap targets, and reduced-motion support. If anything is hard to use, tell us and we will fix it.
We are also building toward making cultural safety easy to find: surfacing Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and services that are welcoming to First Nations, multicultural, LGBTIQ+, faith-based, and veteran communities. We only flag these where a provider genuinely offers them; suitability can be shown, never invented.
Our Mate acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to Elders past and present.
Meet the founder
Hi, I’m John Williams. I built Our Matebecause finding aged care, NDIS support, or community services for someone you love shouldn’t depend on who paid the most for the top of a Google result.
The information is out there. The My Aged Care register, the NDIS Commission, the state registers, the council pages, the carers’ forums. What isn’t out there is anyone joining it up into something you can actually use at the moment you need it: on a phone, in a hospital car park, with someone you love depending on what you decide next. That gap is what this directory exists to close.
I spend my working life helping organisations be found, trusted, and chosen online: websites, search, and content that earns its place rather than buys it. I moved from the UK to the Gold Coast in 2025, and the more I looked at how care and community services are listed here, the more it bothered me that the most important search many families ever make is also one of the worst served. So I pointed the same craft at a problem that actually matters.
I’m personally responsible for the editorial line on this site. The rules I follow are documented on the methodology page: we rank by suitability, we date every check, we disclose every commercial interest on the page where it appears. The contract is the same one I’d hold someone else’s directory to.
If something on the site is wrong, out of date, or doesn’t pass the sniff test, I want to hear about it. Reach me directly at founder@ourmate.com.au or connect on LinkedIn. Real person, real inbox, no auto-reply.
How we make money
Three revenue lines. All three are visible to you on the page where they appear.
- Listing subscriptions.Providers pay a monthly or annual fee to unlock owner-editable content, photos, and the “Featured” placement scope. Tiers are shown on /pricing. Subscriptions never change ranking order.
- Display advertising. Clearly labelled ad slots on category and listing pages. Ads never enter the ranked list.
- Sponsored editorial. Some articles are affiliate or sponsored. They carry an Australian Consumer Law-compliant disclosure banner at the top of the article.
For the full ranking + verification contract, see /methodology.
Who we are, legally
Our Mate is operated by John Charles Williams, trading as Our Mate, an Australian sole trader based in Queensland, running from ourmate.com.au. Our Australian Business Number is ABN 14 299 695 746. As a sole trader I am personally accountable for what this directory publishes and how it is run.
For privacy queries, see our Privacy Policy. For accessibility, see our Accessibility Statement. For the rules governing your use of the site, see our Terms of Service.