- Scheduling
- Support Worker App Overview
Support Worker App Overview
Overview
This guide gives you a sense of the Support Worker App and the features within. It is intended as supplementary information to our other guide articles. Start with the video walkthrough below, then explore each feature.
Downloading the App
Support Workers install Astalty from the Apple App Store (iPhone/iPad) or Google Play (Android). Use these links when someone needs to install the app for the first time, or reinstall it after resetting access:
- Apple App Store — iPhone and iPad
- Google Play — Android
Search for Astalty in either store if you prefer not to use the links. The publisher should be Astalty Pty Ltd.
App Availability
The Support Worker App is available in Australia and the Philippines. Use of the app from other countries is not currently supported.
This restriction applies only to the app. The browser version of Astalty can be used from any country, and no VPN is required for standard Users — see Can I access Astalty from outside Australia?.
Viewing Shifts
Support Workers can view their current shifts or upcoming shifts on the home page, or they can navigate between weeks using the calendar view.
Viewing a Participant Profile
Tap a Participant's name on a shift to open their profile. What you can see there — risks, information items, records, documents and forms — is controlled by your organisation's app privacy settings, so two Support Workers may see different sections.
See Participant Details App View for what each section holds and how it is configured.
Acknowledging Required Records
Where a record is marked as requiring acknowledgement, you are prompted to open it and confirm you have read it. The acknowledgement is recorded against your account, which is how your organisation evidences that the information reached the people supporting that Participant.
See Record Acknowledgement for how records are flagged and tracked.
Writing Notes
Open the support you are documenting, tap Write Note, and enter the details. The note saves as you type — tap the tick in the top right when you are finished. A note left unwritten at the end of a shift shows under Incomplete Shifts on the home screen.
See Case Noting in the App for the full walkthrough, including completing a note you missed.
Editing Notes
Open the shift and select Notes, tap the note you want to change, then select Edit.
See Editing a Case Note.
Travel During a Shift
Travel you do while supporting a Participant is recorded against the shift itself. Open the shift, start the travel when you set off, and end it when you arrive — the app captures the distance and duration for approval.
See Record Travel During a Shift.
Participant Signature
Where a Participant sign-off is required, clocking out shows the Can the Participant sign off on this support checkbox. Tick it to reveal a signature field for the Participant to sign. If you cannot get a signature, leave it unticked and give the reason in the box provided.
See Participant Sign-off Required.
Participant Forms
Open a shift and tap Forms to see everything that needs completing for it. Forms are grouped as Participant Forms, General Forms and Site Forms.
Badges tell you where each one stands — Required means it must be submitted before you can clock out, and Submitted means it is done.
- Tap the form you want to complete.
- Tap Open Form. It opens in a browser inside the app and signs you in automatically.
- Fill it in and submit. The list updates when you return.
Submitting an Incident
Incidents are reported through a form your organisation has built, so the questions you see are theirs rather than a fixed Astalty screen.
- Open the shift and tap Forms.
- Under General Forms, tap your organisation's incident form — for example Participant Incident Report Form.
- Tap Open Form, complete it and submit.
Submitted incidents appear in Astalty for your team to follow up. See Participant Incidents and Staff Incidents for what happens next.
Updating Travel
A travel entry can be corrected after it is recorded — useful when the app captured the wrong distance, or you forgot to end the travel at the right moment.
Viewing Risks
Risks recorded against a Participant appear on their profile in the app, so the people supporting them can read them before the shift starts. They are only visible where your organisation has made them visible to Support Workers.
See Risks.
Clocking into a Shift
On the home screen, under Shifts Today, tap your next support to open it, then tap Clock In. If you are running late the app asks for a reason first.
At the end, tap Clock Out. Anything still outstanding — travel, case notes, required forms — is listed as a reminder before the app lets you finish.
See Clocking In and Out of a Shift.
Adding an Active Overnight Period
Where a sleepover is interrupted, record the period you were awake and working so it can be paid and claimed correctly.
See Adding an Active Overnight Period in the App.
Manage Availability
Submit leave from the app as a once-off or a recurring request, then track its progress. Existing requests can be edited, cancelled or ended from the same screen.
Travelling to or from a shift
Travel to your first support and home from your last is recorded separately from travel during a shift, and is set up separately by your organisation.
See Travel To and From Support.
Shift Hours and Travel Approvals
Once a shift has been through approval, tap Shift Approvals on the shift to see how your hours and travel were finalised.
| Badge | What it means |
|---|---|
| Approved | The times you clocked were kept as they were |
| Adjusted | An approver changed the start or end time |
| Distance Approved / Distance Adjusted | Whether your travel distance was kept or changed |
| Duration Approved / Duration Adjusted | Whether your travel duration was kept or changed |
Distance and duration are approved separately, so one can be adjusted while the other is not. An Active Overnight Period shows Approved or Pending instead. Tap any row to see the detail behind it.
This screen is read-only — it shows you the outcome. See Shift Approvals for how approvals are done and why they matter for pay.
Notifications
Support Workers can open the Notifications page from the bell icon on the Profile tab to review the push notifications they've received, grouped by day. See App Notifications for the full guide.
Resources
Support Workers can open Resources from the Profile tab to browse your organisation's policies, procedures, and other documents, and open any resource marked visible to Support Workers. See Resources in the app.
Chat
Overview
Chat is available from the Chat icon in the bottom bar, which shows how many unread messages you have. From there you can open an existing conversation, start a new one, or search.
See Chat in the App for the full guide.
Replying in Conversations
Tap into the reply field to respond. You can attach a file with the paperclip icon, record a voice message with the microphone, and tag someone by typing @.
See Replying in Conversations.
Creating New Conversations
Tap + at the top right of the Chat screen, choose any User Groups and individual users, name the conversation if it is a group chat, then tap the tick to create it.
Your role decides who you are allowed to start a conversation with. See Creating New Conversations.
Pinned Messages
Important messages can be pinned to the top of a conversation so they stay easy to find.
See Pinned Messages.
Searching in Chats
Search across your conversations to find a message without scrolling back through them.
See Searching in Chats.
