Health insurance

Get the support you need with the Australian Unity Crew app

Supportive care: it’s an essential part of your recovery

Supportive care—you may have heard this term mentioned if you’ve started treatment after a diagnosis, but what does it actually mean in the context of your illness or injury?

Over the years, the way we treat some serious illnesses and conditions has changed. Despite our world-class healthcare system, most guidelines also suggest that supportive care—that is, the help you receive from your family and friends—is a key pillar of effective treatment, alongside medications and other procedures.

It’s why we’ve partnered with Gather Group to provide the Australian Unity Crew app. We believe in the power of providing supportive care to loved ones and how it can improve recovery, health and wellbeing.

The app helps you to coordinate your friends and family, letting them know exactly what support you need and when—whether that’s cleaning the house, a home-cooked meal or dropping the kids off at school. It’s our way of supporting you through this journey.

I was a single mum of two little boys when I was diagnosed with aggressive cancer. My best friend used the app to build an army of helpers, who have lifted me up and given me the support I need to get through this overwhelmingly difficult time.

They complete tasks such as shopping, cooking, child-minding and cleaning. They turn up at my place for kids’ activities without me having to lift a finger. The app takes the job of organising these things out of the equation and has made me feel exceptionally loved and supported. Seriously a godsend!

How the Australian Unity Crew app works

Choose a Captain

The Captain is in charge of your Crew—they add tasks and invite people to join. Feeling overwhelmed in this tough time? Eighty percent of users ask a family member or friend to act as Captain, which means one less thing on your plate.

Gather your Crew

Invite people to join your Crew, using mobile numbers or phone contacts. Think: family, friends, work, school or community, and absolutely anyone else who’s offered to help.

Work out the help you need

Start to write down the tasks you need help with. If you’re struggling to think how people can help, try our quick one-minute questionnaire. It uses your responses to build a Help List based on common requests.

Create tasks

To ask for help, simply create a task—like walking the dog or doing the grocery shopping. You can use tasks from your Help List or create a completely new task.

Build a schedule

The date and time for each of your tasks is added to the Crew’s shared calendar and published task list, so everyone knows what’s meant to happen—and when.

Frequently asked questions

Want to know more? These are some of the questions we’re commonly asked

About the app

Who should set up a Crew?

If you need help with day-to-day tasks, you can set up a Crew—or you can ask someone you trust to do so. The person who sets up the Crew is known as the Captain, or administrator, and they’re responsible for adding tasks, inviting people to join the Crew, and answering any questions from the Crew.

If you want to set up a Crew for someone else, make sure you check if it’s okay first.

I want to help someone. What do I need to do?

If you’re keen to set up a Crew and act as Captain (and you’vre received the all-clear from the person you’re supporting), download the Australian Unity Crew app from the Apple App Store or Google Play. Once you’ve downloaded the app, you’ll receive a series of prompts to set up your account and invite your Crew.

If you want to help as a Crew Member, you must be invited by the Captain. Crew Members receive an SMS invitation with a link to join the Crew.

Is there any cost to use the Australian Unity Crew app?

No, the app is completely free to use.

Do my Crew need to be members of Australian Unity?

No, it can be used by anyone who wants to help you.

Is there a limit on how many people can be in my Crew?

Yes, there is a limit of 15 people per Crew.

Will Australian Unity have access to the information that I put in the app?

No, we won’t be able to access data that can be linked to a single person. However, we do receive aggregated data that has been de-identified so we can track how useful the app is to our members.

For Captains

How do I create a Crew?

Start by downloading the Australian Unity Crew app from the Apple App Store or Google Play. Once you’ve done this and have set up your account, you can create your Crew. Simply name your Crew, provide some detail about why the Crew is needed and, if you want, upload a photo.

Who should I invite to be a Crew Member?

Anyone can be part of your Crew, so think broadly—don’t forget about neighbours, school parents, workmates or sports teammates.

Can I share the admin duties?

Yes, you can nominate as many people to be administrators as you’d like. Administrators can add and delete tasks, invite Crew Members, send messages and edit details.

How do I ask for help?

Simply add the help you need into the app as a “task”. Your Crew Members will be able to see each task, and they can then click to accept the task.

Can I select people to do certain tasks?

Yes, you can choose Crew Members to be your “inner circle”. When you’re creating a task, you can allocate it to this group only. The rest of your Crew won’t be able to see these tasks or accept them.

Can I use the app to communicate with Crew Members?

Yes, the app has a chat function where you can share updates, and add photos and documents.

The app also sends notifications to the Crew when new tasks are added or when help is still needed for a task.