About AskFam
A front door to everyday help for older people, people living with disability, and the families who organise life for them.
What it does
You describe what someone needs in your own words — "Mum can't manage the garden any more", "Dad needs to get to his appointments" — and AskFam works out which kind of service actually covers that, tells you exactly what to ask for, and points you at the organisations and businesses that provide it near them.
The useful part is usually not the list. It's knowing that the phrase which unlocks a subsidised service is "help around the home" rather than "a cleaner", and that the assessment is free and takes weeks so you should start it today.
Where the name comes from
AskFam is short for ask family — the thing most people do first when something changes, and the thing that's hardest when you're the one being asked and you don't know either.
What it will not do
These are the limits, and they matter more than the features. Each one is enforced in the software rather than being a promise in a document.
- AskFam has not checked anybody. Businesses shown are public listings, not recommendations. Someone offering on a job is describing themselves in their own words. We never imply otherwise, because we have no way to verify it.
- Some things don't get a list at all. Coming home from hospital, a fall, confusion or memory, medicines, or worry about whether somebody is coping — those go to a GP, a nurse or an assessor.
- It doesn't arrange the work. AskFam employs nobody, schedules nothing, holds no money, and is not part of whatever you agree with whoever you find.
- It gives no clinical advice, and holds no diagnoses, medications or clinical notes. There is nowhere in it to put them.
How it's free
There is no fee and no commission — not to you, and not to anyone who provides the help. Charging the person asking for help would change which answer we're inclined to give them, and that's the one thing this can't afford. It's run at cost by the people who built it.
For organisations
If you run a government department, council or community organisation whose community would benefit, there's a short briefing on what AskFam is, how it works, and how to refer to or endorse it: Read the AskFam briefing for organisations.
Who's behind it
AskFam is built and run by Circlo.Space in Perth, Western Australia. It is not a government service, not a registered charity, and not affiliated with My Aged Care, the NDIS or any provider it points you at. It covers all of Australia.
Getting in touch
Email [email protected] — for a correction, to have something removed, to tell us it got something wrong, or if you run a service and think families should be able to find you.