Our Mate editorial policy
Our Mate publishes guides, explainers, and directory content covering aged care, NDIS, and community support services in Australia. Because many of our readers are making decisions that affect their health, safety, and finances, or those of people they care for, we take our editorial responsibilities seriously.
This page describes how we create and maintain content, what sources we use, and how to tell us when something is wrong.
How we create content
Our guides are written by the Our Mate editorial team and reviewed against current Australian government guidelines, legislation, and publicly available research before publication. Where content covers clinical, legal, or financial matters, we check it against the primary source: the relevant government website, legislation, or authoritative professional body.
We do not accept payment to influence the content of our guides. Provider listings are separate from editorial content. No provider can pay to appear in a guide or to receive a positive editorial mention.
We update guides when government programs, eligibility criteria, fee structures, or other relevant information changes. The "last reviewed" date on each guide reflects when the content was last checked against current sources, not just the original publication date.
Sources we rely on
- For aged care content: the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care, My Aged Care, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, and the Aged Care Acts and associated legislation.
- For NDIS content: the NDIA (National Disability Insurance Agency), the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, the NDIS Act 2013, and the NDIS Practice Standards.
- For community services: Services Australia, the Department of Social Services, Carer Gateway, and relevant peak bodies.
We link to primary sources where possible rather than to third-party aggregators or other directories. If a figure or policy detail can only be accurately confirmed by checking the relevant government website, we direct readers there rather than reproduce information that may date.
What we do not do
We do not provide individual financial, legal, or medical advice. Our guides explain how systems work and what options exist. For advice that takes individual circumstances into account, we direct readers to qualified professionals: aged care financial advisers, lawyers, GPs, occupational therapists, and social workers as appropriate.
We do not publish fee schedules, payment rates, or other figures that change regularly without a clear last-verified date and a link to the authoritative current source. Published figures can be wrong within months; we do not want readers making financial decisions based on outdated information.
Corrections and feedback
If you believe anything on Our Mate is factually incorrect, outdated, or misleading, please contact us. We take corrections seriously and will review and update content promptly where an error is confirmed.
If you are a qualified professional in aged care, disability services, allied health, or a related field and would like to contribute to our review process, we would like to hear from you.
Accessibility
Our Mate is designed to be accessible to older Australians and people with disability. We follow WCAG 2.2 AA standards for colour contrast, text size, and navigability. If you encounter an accessibility barrier on our site, please contact us so we can address it.