Healthcare · Disability services marketplace · Case study
CareFlair: Commission-free NDIS support worker marketplace
Two-sided MERN marketplace connecting Australian NDIS participants with support workers, with geospatial search, real-time messaging and WCAG design.
- Client
- CareFlair is an Australian marketplace that connects NDIS participants with independent support workers and registered providers without commissions or lock-ins.
- Team
- 2 mobile engineers, 1 backend engineer, 1 designer
- Timeline
- 16 weeks to store release, then ongoing support
- Services
- UI/UX design, Web development, Enterprise software
- 4
- user roles with distinct experiences
- 0%
- commission on participant and worker connections
- 2dsphere
- geospatial matching across Australian regions
- WCAG
- accessibility guidelines applied throughout
In short
CareFlair needed a marketplace that lets Australian NDIS participants find, message and book independent support workers without paying agency commissions. Innovation Insight handled research, UI/UX design and full-stack development on the MERN stack, including geospatial search, Socket.io messaging, a job board, bookings, four user roles and an admin panel, with WCAG accessibility built in. The platform is live at careflair.com.au.
Where they started.
- NDIS participants struggled to find independent support workers without agencies that charged, per the client, 20 to 40 percent commissions.
- Participants had little visibility of a worker's qualifications, screening status, availability or reviews before committing.
- Finding local workers across Australia's regions was hard through traditional channels, and many platforms locked users into contracts.
- The audience includes people with disabilities, so accessibility could not be an afterthought.
The approach.
- Designed and built the platform end to end on the MERN stack: React single-page application, Node.js and Express REST API, MongoDB with Mongoose.
- Ran user research with participants and support workers, then wireframes, interactive prototypes and a design system aligned to WCAG guidelines.
- Implemented geospatial search with MongoDB 2dsphere indexes, combined with text search, availability and service-type filters.
- Built real-time messaging on Socket.io with read receipts, typing indicators and persistent history, plus in-app and email notifications.
- Created role-based access for participants, support workers, providers and admins, with JWT auth, bcrypt hashing, rate limiting and Helmet headers.
- Added trust and safety features: NDIS Worker Screening Check verification workflows, reviews with moderation and reporting tools for admins.
What shipped.
- Complete UI/UX design system, wireframes, prototypes and brand identity
- React SPA with responsive, mobile-first layouts and server-side rendering for SEO
- Node.js and Express REST API with auth, search, messaging, notifications and admin services
- MongoDB schema with geospatial and compound indexes
- Job board with posting, search, applications and matching
- Booking and availability calendar with recurring appointments
- Admin panel for moderation, user management, analytics and content
- Production deployment with CI/CD, SSL, monitoring and backups
How the engagement ran.
Context
Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme gives participants funding to choose their own support, yet most of that choice ran through agencies that took a large share in commissions and locked people into arrangements. CareFlair set out to offer a direct, commission-free alternative where participants, independent support workers and registered providers connect on their own terms. Innovation Insight was engaged for the complete build, from research and design through development and deployment.
What we built
- Participant tools: job posting with schedule, location, qualifications and budget; worker search with filters for location, service type, availability, experience and ratings; profile views with screening status and reviews; direct messaging; booking and recurring scheduling.
- Support worker tools: a professional profile builder with certifications and NDIS screening status, an availability calendar, a job board with alerts, application tracking and reviews to build reputation.
- Provider tools: organisational profiles, team management, worker assignment and service-area configuration across Australian regions.
- Platform features: role-based access for four roles, geolocation-powered matching, real-time and email notifications, a review and rating system, an admin dashboard and server-side rendering with managed meta tags for search visibility.
Architecture and stack
| Layer | Technology | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Frontend | React SPA with React Router, responsive mobile-first UI | One codebase for phone, tablet and desktop with adaptive layouts |
| API | Node.js, Express, REST with middleware auth, validation, error handling and rate limiting | Stateless design that scales horizontally |
| Data | MongoDB with Mongoose, 2dsphere geospatial and compound indexes | Fast proximity search combined with text, availability and category filters |
| Real time | Socket.io | Chat with read receipts, typing indicators, online status and live notifications |
| Auth and security | JWT with refresh tokens, bcrypt, Helmet, CORS, input sanitisation | Role-based access for participants, workers, providers and admins |
| Email and files | SendGrid or NodeMailer, cloud storage with CDN | Transactional email and secure document uploads such as certifications |
How we worked
Design came first. We researched participant and support worker demographics, technical comfort and pain points, then produced wireframes and interactive prototypes for every major flow so stakeholders could agree on the experience before development. The visual brand, colour palette, typography and design system components were created in the same phase.
Engineering followed a modular structure with separate modules for authentication, users, jobs, messaging, search, notifications and administration. Trust and safety were treated as product work: screening verification flows, moderated reviews and admin reporting tools shipped alongside the core marketplace, and the whole platform was deployed with CI/CD, SSL, monitoring and backup procedures.
Scale and complexity
| Area | Detail |
|---|---|
| User roles | Participant, support worker, provider, admin |
| Search | Text, geospatial proximity, availability, service type and rating filters on indexed queries |
| Messaging | WebSocket chat with persistent MongoDB history |
| Scheduling | One-off and recurring bookings with completed-session tracking |
| Accessibility | WCAG guidelines, screen reader compatibility, keyboard navigation |
What this means for your project
Marketplaces live or die on trust and matching. CareFlair shows the pattern we apply to any two-sided platform: research the real users, design for the least confident of them, make search fast and local, keep communication inside the product until trust is established, and give administrators the tools to moderate.
Innovation Insight delivers marketplaces end to end, including brand and UX design, so you work with one accountable team from the first wireframe to launch.
What changed.
- Launched as a commission-free NDIS marketplace serving the Australian disability care sector, live at careflair.com.au.
- Two-sided marketplace with job posting, worker discovery, messaging and booking, and no lock-in: participants may continue off-platform.
- WCAG-aligned experience with screen reader support, keyboard navigation and high-contrast design.
- Scalable MERN architecture with stateless APIs and indexed queries
Questions about this project.
How do you approach accessibility for healthcare and disability products?
We start with research into the actual users' needs, then apply WCAG guidelines through design and build: semantic markup, screen reader support, keyboard navigation, high contrast and clear calls to action. On CareFlair this was a requirement from the first wireframe, not a late audit.
What does a two-sided marketplace MVP include?
Typically profiles for both sides, search with the filters that matter (for CareFlair, location, service type, availability, qualifications and ratings), messaging, a booking or application flow, reviews and an admin panel for moderation. That scope usually lands in the $30k to $60k range over three to five months.
Can you build for regulated schemes like NDIS, Medicare or insurance?
Yes. We design verification workflows around the scheme's requirements, such as NDIS Worker Screening Check status, and structure data and access controls to match. Local compliance review remains with the client's advisers.