Meal preparation jobs in Australia
146 care requests a meals assistant could take on were submitted across Australia in the last 90 days. Register free to see the ones still open.
Get work near you
- Tell us your availability and credentials
- See real care requests within 30 km of you
- Contact the ones that fit directly
- No agency fees, no cut of your pay
Two minutes. Requests near you are on your dashboard.
How it works
Carevo is not a job board with fixed listings. You register once, and the requests near you come to you.
Register your availability
Tell us your role, the suburb you work from, how far you will travel, your availability and the checks and credentials you hold. It takes about two minutes, there is no CV to upload, and you can update any of it later as your situation changes.
You see the requests near you
Open care requests within 30 km of your suburb that match your services and funding types show on your dashboard, and each new one is emailed to you: area, needs, funding and timing, with contact details shown when you choose to contact them.
You contact the ones that fit
Choosing to contact a request shows you the contact details, and up to two workers can contact each one, so acting early helps. Providers hiring in your area can also see your profile and reach out to you directly. Either way, you decide which requests to pursue and which conversations to take.
Care requests across Australia
146
requests in 90 days
59
in the last 30 days
7
meals assistant profiles on Carevo in the same area
In the 90 days to 2 November 2026, people across Australia submitted 146 care requests through Carevo that a meals assistant could take on. The services asked for most were meal help, household help and personal care. The suburbs with the most were Kingston (9), Perth (6), Melbourne (5) and Sydney (5). 59 of the 146 arrived in the last 30 days.
55% of these requests were sent by the person needing care, and 30% by a family member or carer. 67% asked for support to start within a week, so a quick reply counts for a lot here.
Where the requests came from
- Kingston, TAS9 requests
- Perth, WA6 requests
- Melbourne, VIC5 requests
- Sydney, NSW5 requests
- Brisbane City, QLD4 requests
- Townsville City, QLD4 requests
- Keysborough, VIC3 requests
- Adelaide, SA2 requests
- Armadale, WA2 requests
- Doncaster, VIC2 requests
A suburb is named only when it has at least three requests of any kind in the window. Distances are straight lines between suburb centres.
Counted from care requests submitted through Carevo between 5 August 2026 and 2 November 2026, in the service categories meals assistant work covers. They are enquiries from people looking for support, not advertised vacancies, and some will have been filled.
Support work requested across Australia
Care requests submitted through Carevo in the last 90 days in service categories related to meals assistant work, newest first. These are examples of recent demand, not confirmed open vacancies or evidence that each request needs this specialist role. Check the scope, credentials and current status before contacting anyone.
Family carer in Keysborough, VIC needs meal help
CHSP-funded · needs to start soon
Older person in Keysborough, VIC needs meal help
Home Care Package / Support at Home
Older person in Keysborough, VIC needs meal help
Home Care Package / Support at Home
Family carer in Bowral, NSW needs meal help
needs to start soon
Family carer in the Eastern Suburbs region, NSW needs personal care, household help and meal help
Home Care Package / Support at Home
Support coordinator in Victoria needs meal help
NDIS, plan-managed · needs to start soon
Family carer in the Brisbane South & Logan region, QLD needs nursing, meal help and personal care
privately funded · needs to start soon
NDIS participant in the Perth region, WA needs support work, household help and meal help
NDIS, plan-managed · starting in the coming weeks
Family carer in the South East Melbourne region, VIC needs personal care and meal help
privately funded · planning ahead
Older person in Baldivis, WA needs meal help
CHSP-funded · needs to start soon
Support coordinator in Maryborough, QLD needs meal help
Home Care Package / Support at Home · needs to start soon
Family carer in the Gawler region, SA needs meal help
CHSP-funded · planning ahead
134 more related care requests across Australia in the last 90 days. Register your profile to see them in full and contact the ones that fit (contact details are shown when you choose to contact a request, and up to two workers can contact each request).
Requests are anonymised: no names, contact details or health information are stored or shown. A suburb is named only when it has at least three requests in the window; otherwise the region is shown. Who is asking and the timing are inferred from the request by Carevo's classifier, and timing is described in the past tense once a request is more than 30 days old. Regenerated from Carevo's database at each deployment. How we calculate these numbers.
How the work across Australia is funded
Of the 134 requests that stated how the support would be paid for, 32% were CHSP-funded, 27% were funded by a Home Care Package or Support at Home and 19% were NDIS plan-managed. 38 were NDIS plan-managed or self-managed, the two arrangements under which a participant can choose an unregistered provider, which includes a sole trader with an ABN. The 2 agency-managed requests can only be delivered by a registered NDIS provider.
- CHSP32% (43)
- Home Care Package or Support at Home27% (36)
- NDIS, plan-managed19% (26)
- Privately funded11% (15)
- NDIS, self-managed9% (12)
- NDIS, agency-managed1% (2)
Share of the 134 requests that stated a funding type. Who can deliver a support under each NDIS arrangement is set by the NDIA: ways to manage your funding.
Responses and competition across Australia
125
had a provider respond
33
had an independent worker respond
13
had no response from any provider or worker
Carevo sent out 144 of these requests. A provider responded to 125 and an independent worker responded to 33. No independent worker responded to the other 111; a provider responded to 98 of those. 13 (9%) had no response from any provider or worker through Carevo. Each request goes to providers as well as workers, and up to two independent workers can contact it, so a request with no response on the day it arrives may not stay that way.
7 meals assistant profiles on Carevo list a suburb across Australia. Against 146 requests in 90 days, that is about 21 requests for each profile. Profiles are self-reported and not all are active, and providers respond to the same requests.
Meals Assistants already on Carevo
- meals assistants registered
- 7meals assistants registered
- with self-declared safety checks
- 5with self-declared safety checks
Register your profile to see the care requests near you, contact the ones that fit, and be visible to providers hiring. Availability is as each worker reported it.
Madita
Meals Assistant
Drives their own insured vehicle. Helps with meal preparation. Available weekdays and weekends, and says they can start immediately. Can work as an employee or under their own ABN.
- Insurance
Reported by the worker. Carevo has not sighted or verified these documents; ask to see them before engaging anyone.
Brunswick Heads
Location
15+ yrs
Experience
1
Check
Brunswick Heads
Location
15+ yrs
Experience
1
Check
Joohyun
Meals Assistant
Helps with community outings, cleaning and transport. Speaks Korean. Available weekdays and weekends, and says they can start immediately.
- Working with Children Check
- Police Check
- First Aid
- NDIS Worker Screening Check
- Insurance
Reported by the worker. Carevo has not sighted or verified these documents; ask to see them before engaging anyone.
Perth
Location
5
Checks
Perth
Location
5
Checks
Rohan
Meals Assistant
Helps with meal preparation. Available weekdays.
- Police Check
- First Aid
Reported by the worker. Carevo has not sighted or verified these documents; ask to see them before engaging anyone.
Dee Why
Location
2
Checks
Dee Why
Location
2
Checks
Kulbir
Meals Assistant
Available weekdays and weekends, and says they can start immediately. Helps with meal preparation.
- Police Check
- NDIS Worker Screening Check
Reported by the worker. Carevo has not sighted or verified these documents; ask to see them before engaging anyone.
Ballarat Central
Location
2
Checks
Ballarat Central
Location
2
Checks
Krupa
Meals Assistant
Speaks Tamil and Kannada. Says they can start immediately. Helps with transport and meal preparation.
Northfield
Location
Northfield
Location
Neena
Meals Assistant
Helps with meal preparation.
- Working with Children Check
- Police Check
- First Aid
Reported by the worker. Carevo has not sighted or verified these documents; ask to see them before engaging anyone.
Brisbane City
Location
3
Checks
Brisbane City
Location
3
Checks
The provider network you would join
Register once and you are visible to the providers hiring across Australia, alongside the requests you can contact yourself.
35,541
NDIS and aged care providers listed in the Carevo directory
8,609
care requests submitted through Carevo with NDIS or aged care funding
How we calculate these numbers, including the difference between providers listed and providers active in the last 30 days.
Providers in the Carevo network
Some of the meals assistant-relevant providers across Australia, ordered using service relevance and activity on Carevo. Register your availability and providers like these can see your profile and contact you.
What a Meals Assistant Does
Meals assistants help NDIS participants and aged care clients prepare, cook, and sometimes eat their meals. This is personal, everyday work that has a direct effect on someone’s health and quality of life.
In practice, the job involves planning meals with the participant based on their preferences and any dietary requirements, shopping for ingredients, cooking in the participant’s own kitchen, portioning and storing meals safely, and cleaning up afterwards. For participants who need help eating, you may also assist with that, whether it is adjusting seating and positioning, adapting utensils, or providing hands-on support at mealtimes.
Dietary needs can be complex. Some participants are on texture-modified diets due to swallowing difficulties. Others have diabetes, heart conditions, renal disease, or allergies that require careful menu planning. You work from guidelines set by the participant’s care team, and you flag any changes in appetite or food intake that might indicate a health concern.
The participants you support in Australia may be older Australians whose mobility or cognition makes cooking risky, or NDIS participants whose disability means preparing their own meals is not safe or practical. Mealtimes also carry social value, and a good meals assistant understands that sitting with someone while they eat is part of the support.
How Carevo Works
Carevo is not a jobs board with advertised vacancies. It is a curated availability directory that connects support workers with NDIS and aged care providers across Australia.
Here is how it works. You register your availability, experience, and certifications with Carevo. Carevo makes your profile visible to providers in its network who are looking for meals assistants near Australia. When a provider has a participant who needs food preparation support in your area, they can view your profile and reach out directly. You decide whether the role suits your schedule and skills.
Rather than applying for one specific position, you become visible to multiple providers operating in and around Australia at the same time.
What Providers Are Looking For
Providers want meals assistants who are competent in the kitchen, safe with food handling, and genuinely comfortable spending time with participants during what is often an important part of their day. Experience with special diets is a real advantage. A Food Handling Certificate is required, and your police check and NDIS Worker Screening Check must be current.
What providers look for
The experience and qualities providers in the Carevo network look for in a meals assistant.
Checks and credentials
The checks and credentials providers ask for in meals assistant work, with indicative cost and timing. Which ones apply depends on the provider (registered or unregistered NDIS, or aged care), whether the role is risk-assessed, and your state. You can register your availability with Carevo before every check is finalised.
Varies by state, $112 (NSW) to $163 (ACT) · Valid 5 years Australia-wide; no unit publishes a guaranteed turnaround (Victoria quotes up to 3 weeks after employer verification)
Varies, around $50 to $80 · Valid 3 years (renewed by employers), often issued within days
Free · Online, around 90 minutes
Around $20 to $150 · Online course, a few hours; refresh as required by employer
Around $90 to $160 · 1-day course, valid 3 years (refresh CPR every 12 months)
Free to around $150 (often provided by employer) · Half-day to 1-day course, refreshed annually
Varies (licence renewal around $30 to $100 per year) · Ongoing, must remain current
What meals assistant pay looks like
Meals assistants delivering and preparing meals in home care are generally paid under the SCHADS Award home care stream at the entry classification (Level 1); those in residential aged care are covered by the Aged Care Award.
$0 to $90 an hour
| Weekday | $27 to $33 an hour |
|---|---|
| Saturday | $40 to $49 an hour |
| Sunday | $54 to $66 an hour |
| Public holiday | $68 to $82 an hour |
Casual employees receive a 25% loading on the ordinary rate (about $34 to $41 an hour on weekdays), with casual weekend and public holiday rates of 1.75x, 2.25x and 2.75x the ordinary rate. Figures are full-time and part-time minimums for employees; independent contractors set their own rates.
How that compares, as of 1 July 2026
$27.28–$32.61
an hour · SCHADS Award minimum, home care employee, Level 1, full-time (Fair Work pay guide)
$73.58
an hour · NDIS price limit for standard weekday self-care support: the most a provider can bill a participant's plan for that hour, which funds wages, on-costs and overheads. A service price cap, not a worker wage (Pricing Schedule 2026–27)
Work out your own rate with the SCHADS award tool or the pay rate calculator.
Indicative hourly rates based on the SCHADS Award (MA000100), from the Fair Work pay guide effective 1 July 2026 (Fair Work pay guides). Modern award rates are national and do not vary by state. Pay is set by each provider and can be higher under an enterprise agreement. General information only, not financial advice.
How getting care work compares
Most care workers find work by searching a job board or signing on with an agency. Carevo works differently: you register once, the care requests near you come to your dashboard and inbox, and you choose which to contact. Providers hiring can contact you as well.
| Job board | Care agency | Carevo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you get work | Search listings and apply to each one | The agency offers you shifts as they arise | Register once; see the requests near you and contact the ones you want. Providers can contact you too |
| Who sets the arrangement | The provider you apply to | The agency, usually as a casual employee | You and the provider or participant, agreed directly |
| Ongoing effort | Keep searching and applying as listings expire | Stay available for shift offers | Keep your profile and availability current |
| Choice over work | You choose what to apply for | You can decline the shifts the agency offers | You choose which offers to take up |
| Cost to you | Free | Free to you; the agency takes a margin on your rate | Free to register; no cut of your pay |
| Main trade-off | Time spent searching; listings can be out of date | Less say over which provider or client you get | Depends on demand for care near you |
Working for yourself
If you plan to take on participants directly rather than joining a provider team, these guides cover the practical side.
Frequently asked questions
Does Carevo have meals assistant jobs I can apply for?
Carevo is not a traditional job board. Instead of applying for fixed listings, you register your availability and credentials once. Real care requests within 30 km of your suburb that match your services and funding appear on your dashboard and are emailed to you as they arrive. You contact the ones that fit, and the contact details are shown when you do. Providers hiring meals assistants can also see your profile and contact you.
Does it cost anything?
Creating a profile and seeing the requests near you is free. To contact a request you need the Support Worker Plan: $99 a month (ex GST) for up to 5 contacts a month, with a 7-day free trial. Carevo charges no commission and takes no cut of what you earn.
What do I need to start meals assistant work?
Most providers ask for a current Police Check and an NDIS Worker Screening Check (the screening check is legally required for risk-assessed roles with registered NDIS providers, and widely requested otherwise), plus any role-specific licences or qualifications. You can register your interest before every check is finalised and let providers know what is still in progress.
How soon will I see requests?
As soon as your profile is live: open requests near you that match your services and funding are on your dashboard immediately, and new ones are emailed to you when they arrive. How many there are depends on demand in your area. Providers hiring may also contact you, on their own timing.
Do I have to take every request?
No. You choose which requests to contact and which providers to talk to. Registering simply shows you the requests near you and makes you visible to providers seeking workers near you.
This role by location
Pick a state or city for its own request figures. Each state page lists every suburb with a page for this role.
By state
By city
Suburbs with the most requests
- Kingston, TAS 9
- Brisbane City, QLD 4
- Townsville City, QLD 4
- Keysborough, VIC 3
- Armadale, WA 2
- Doncaster, VIC 2
- Ferntree Gully, VIC 2
- Morley, WA 2
- Narellan Vale, NSW 2
- Nelson Bay, NSW 2
- Penrith, NSW 2
- Toowoomba City, QLD 2
- Ascot Vale, VIC 1
- Balmain, NSW 1
- Batemans Bay, NSW 1
- Beenleigh, QLD 1
- Bowen Hills, QLD 1
- Box Hill, VIC 1
- Bracken Ridge, QLD 1
- Capalaba, QLD 1
- Chipping Norton, NSW 1
- City, ACT 1
- Emerald, VIC 1
- Five Dock, NSW 1
- Freshwater, NSW 1
- Glenelg, SA 1
- Golden Grove, SA 1
- Gosnells, WA 1
- Hahndorf, SA 1
- Heathridge, WA 1
- Holland Park, QLD 1
- Kingsford, NSW 1
- Kirrawee, NSW 1
- Lidcombe, NSW 1
- Liverpool, NSW 1
- Lockridge, WA 1
See the care requests near you
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