The short answer
For a solo NDIS support worker who would rather talk than type, Sparks Scribe is our pick: you tap the Mic button, speak your shift, and its AI Assist turns your words into a finished, professionally formatted note in about 60 seconds, which you review and approve before it saves under your name. It is $15 a month including GST (Essentials), with the Mic, AI-written notes and NDIS-coded invoicing all on the one plan. For comparison: ShiftCare also offers voice-to-text AI progress notes, but it is built for teams, with a minimum of five licences on every plan on the public pricing we checked (July 2026). Astalty, Visualcare and Bugal describe typed notes, and EasyAs is an invoicing-first app. Full disclosure: we make Sparks Scribe.
Voice dictation is the feature that finally makes notes bearable at the end of a long shift. Instead of thumb-typing in the car park, you press a button, say what happened, and let the app do the writing. But "voice" means different things in different apps, and the gap matters. This guide looks at one feature only: dictating a support-work note by voice, and whether AI turns those spoken words into a finished note. It compares apps by name: Sparks Scribe, ShiftCare, Astalty, Visualcare and Bugal, with a note on EasyAs.
One thing up front: we make one of these apps. Sparks Scribe is our product, so read our verdict on it knowing that, and check every competitor claim against the vendor's current public pages. Every competitor detail below was collected from each product's public website, help centre or app-store listing in July 2026. Where we could not verify something, we say "we could not verify this from their public pages" rather than guessing, and we never invent a feature.
What "dictate a note by voice" actually means
Before the rankings, it helps to separate three things that all get called "voice". They are not the same, and only the last one saves you real writing time:
- Your phone keyboard's dictation. Almost any app lets you tap the little microphone on your iPhone or Android keyboard and speak into a text box. That types what you say, word for word, filler and all, into whatever note field the app happens to have. It is not a feature the app built.
- A Mic button that transcribes. Some apps add their own microphone that records and transcribes your speech into the note. Better, but you still get raw words that you then have to shape into something a plan manager would accept.
- A Mic button plus AI that finishes the note. This is the one worth paying for. You speak in plain language, and AI turns it into a clear, structured note in the format a support record needs. You read it, correct anything, and approve it. The writing is done for you, but you stay the author.
So the questions this guide scores are simple. Is there a real Mic button in the app? Does AI turn your spoken words into a finished note, or just transcribe them? Do you review before it saves, so the note goes out under your name? And, because notes are only half the admin, are notes and NDIS invoicing in the same app, or is voice bolted onto a tool built for something else? Everything below was checked against public pages in July 2026.
1. Sparks Scribe: the Mic button plus AI that finishes the note
Full disclosure first: this is our product, built in Australia by Sparks Support Pty Ltd for independent NDIS support workers. On this specific feature, here is exactly what it does. When you write a shift note you can type it or tap the Mic button and speak. AI Assist then drafts a finished, professionally formatted note from your words, and it comes back in about 60 seconds. There is an in-app warning, "Please check before saving", because the point is that you stay in control: you read the draft, fix anything that is off, and approve it. Only then does it save, and it goes out under your name.
You also choose the shape of the note. Templates include Start Blank, SOAPIE, Daily Progress Report, Incident Report Template, Behavioural Observation, Medication Administration and Community Access Report, so the dictated note lands in the structure you need rather than a wall of text. You can import completed tasks and attach a photo to the same note.
Because Sparks Scribe is built for one person, the Mic sits alongside the rest of a solo worker's admin rather than a team platform. NDIS-coded invoicing is on the same $15 Essentials plan, not gated behind a higher tier. How the AI handles what you dictate is set out plainly at sparkscribe.app/ai-use, and the app's data is stored in Australia. On the record: a 5.0 rating on the Australian App Store, more than 90,000 shifts booked through the platform, and a 14-day free trial with every feature unlocked and no card required.
Our verdict: the strongest pick for a solo worker who wants to speak a note and get back something finished, on a plan built for one person. It is not a team platform, so if you are rostering staff and running payroll, look at ShiftCare below instead.
2. ShiftCare: voice-to-text AI notes, but priced for teams
ShiftCare's help centre describes AI Progress Notes where, inside a note, a carer taps a microphone button, speaks the note, presses stop, and the AI rephrases the dictated words into a reworded note that the worker can accept or discard. ShiftCare says the AI also summarises and highlights key details such as follow-ups or incidents, and that the feature can be switched off in the account's AI settings.
The catch for an independent worker is not the feature, it is the platform around it. ShiftCare is care-management software built for agencies, with team rostering and payroll. On the public pricing we checked in July 2026 it sets a minimum of five licences on every plan, even if you are the only person using the account, and invoicing sits on its Professional plan, which works out at roughly $65 to $75 a month excluding GST for one person, depending on billing. You get voice dictation, but you pay as if you had a team of five.
Our verdict: ShiftCare has this feature, but it is priced for teams. If you run an agency, its voice notes sit inside a rostering and payroll platform. If you work alone, a five-licence floor is a lot to carry for one microphone. See our Sparks Scribe vs ShiftCare comparison.
3. Astalty: typed case notes, Smart Prompts are reminders
Astalty is a platform for NDIS support coordinators and providers, with a dedicated support-worker app. On the public pages we checked, its notes are typed: staff record structured case notes directly in the app, using organisation templates, with rich text and the option to attach images or documents. That is a notes workflow, but it is typing, not dictation.
Astalty's "Smart Prompts" are sometimes mistaken for AI writing. They are not. Astalty describes them as reminders, nudges to finish a case note, log travel or clock in and out, so a shift is not left half-recorded. A reminder to write your note is not the same as AI writing it for you. We could not verify a dedicated Mic button or AI note-generation for Astalty from its public pages in July 2026.
Our verdict: a typed-notes app for coordination-heavy teams, but not a voice-dictation tool on the evidence of its public pages. If dictating the note is the job, this is not the tool for it. See our Sparks Scribe vs Astalty comparison.
4. Visualcare: provider platform, voice and AI notes not verified
Visualcare is a care-management platform aimed at NDIS and aged-care providers rather than solo workers. Progress notes are part of it, but on the public pages we checked in July 2026 we could not verify a Mic button for dictation, nor AI that writes a note from spoken words. We are not saying it lacks these things; we are saying we could not confirm them from public pages, and we will not guess.
Two other things a solo worker should note. Visualcare does not publish a self-serve price we could verify, which usually signals a provider-scale, quote-based product rather than a $15-a-month app for one person. And as a provider platform, its roadmap points toward organisation-wide record-keeping, not toward the one-tap "speak your shift" workflow an independent worker wants at the end of the day.
Our verdict: built for providers, not sole traders, and we could not verify voice dictation or AI note-writing from its public pages. If this feature matters to you, ask Visualcare directly before assuming it is there.
5. Bugal: shift notes and reports, entered by hand
Bugal is a platform for Australian independent support workers, and it does list "Shift Notes & Reports" as an included feature across its paid tiers. So notes are in the box. What we could not find anywhere on its public pages in July 2026 was any mention of voice dictation, speech-to-text or AI note-writing. On the evidence of its own site, the shift note is entered by hand.
A couple of practical notes for the feature at hand: Bugal describes itself as a web-based, mobile-first platform, with no App Store or Google Play listing mentioned as of July 2026, which shapes how comfortable dictating on a phone would be, and its paid Solo plan is $35 a month, more than double Sparks Scribe's $15 entry plan.
Our verdict: notes are there, but on its public pages they are typed, with no voice or AI note-writing mentioned, so on this feature the note is written out by hand.
And one that does not really do notes: EasyAs
EasyAs (the NDIS invoicing product at easyasinvoicing.com.au) is worth a mention only to place it correctly. It is invoicing-first: its whole job is turning shifts into NDIS invoices, with support item numbers pre-loaded. On the public pages and app-store listings we checked in July 2026 it does not centre on progress or shift notes, and we could not verify voice dictation or AI note-writing anywhere. It lists apps on the App Store and Google Play, and its smallest plan is $19.95 a month on its website ($19.99 via in-app purchase). If dictating notes is what you came for, EasyAs is solving a different problem.
The comparison at a glance
Collected from public pages, help centres and app-store listings in July 2026. "Finishes the note with AI" means the app turns your spoken words into a written note, not just a transcript.
| App | Mic button for notes | AI turns speech into a finished note | You review before saving | Notes + NDIS invoicing in one app | Price for 1 person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sparks Scribe | Yes, Mic button | Yes, AI Assist, finished note in about 60s | Yes, "Please check before saving", saved under your name | Yes | $15/month incl GST |
| ShiftCare | Yes, microphone in progress notes (help centre) | Yes, dictated words rephrased by AI, accept or discard | Yes, accept or discard the rephrase | Invoicing needs Professional | About $65 to $75/month ex GST (min 5 licences on every plan) |
| Astalty | Not verified from public pages | No, Smart Prompts are reminders, not AI writing | n/a (typed notes) | Yes, plus coordination tools | $30/month support-worker profile ($64 standard seat) |
| Visualcare | Not verified from public pages | Not verified from public pages | n/a | Provider platform | Public price not verified |
| Bugal | No, not mentioned | No, not mentioned | n/a (typed notes) | Yes, Shift Notes & Reports | Free (2 invoices/month) or Solo $35/month |
All details collected from each vendor's public pages, help centre or app-store listing in July 2026 and simplified for comparison; prices and features change, so check the vendor's own pages before deciding. "Not verified" means we could not confirm the detail from official public pages and chose not to guess. EasyAs is invoicing-first and is discussed above rather than ranked here.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best app for dictating support-work notes by voice?
For a solo NDIS support worker, Sparks Scribe is our pick: you tap the Mic button, speak your shift, and its AI Assist turns your words into a finished, professionally formatted note in about 60 seconds, which you review and approve before it saves under your name. It starts at $15 a month including GST (Essentials), with a 14-day free trial and no card, and the Mic, AI notes and NDIS-coded invoicing all sit on the one plan. For comparison: ShiftCare also offers voice-to-text AI progress notes, but it is built for teams, with a minimum of five licences on every plan on the public pricing we checked (July 2026). Full disclosure: we make Sparks Scribe.
Can you dictate NDIS progress notes by voice?
Yes. Several apps let you dictate a progress note instead of typing it. In Sparks Scribe you tap the Mic button, speak, and the note is drafted for you. ShiftCare's help centre describes a microphone button in its progress notes that captures your voice and then rephrases it. On the public pages we checked in July 2026, Astalty, Visualcare and Bugal describe typed notes and we could not verify a dedicated voice-dictation button; EasyAs is an invoicing-first app and does not describe note-writing on the pages we checked.
Which support-worker apps turn your spoken words into a finished note with AI?
Two of the apps we looked at do. Sparks Scribe's AI Assist drafts a finished note from your spoken or typed words, with an in-app reminder to "Please check before saving". ShiftCare's help centre describes AI that takes your dictated words and rephrases them into a reworded note, which you accept or discard. For Astalty, Visualcare and Bugal we could not verify AI note-writing from their public pages (July 2026); Astalty's Smart Prompts are reminders to finish notes, not AI that writes them.
Do I still need to check an AI-written note before I save it?
Yes. AI drafts the note, but you are still the author. Sparks Scribe shows an in-app warning, "Please check before saving", and the worker reviews and approves the note before it saves, so it goes out under their name. Treat every AI draft as a first pass to read, correct and confirm, not a note to trust unread.
How long does a voice-dictated shift note take to write?
In Sparks Scribe, a finished, professionally formatted note comes back in about 60 seconds from the moment you speak or type, and you review it before saving. The exact time varies with how much you dictate and how much you edit.
How much does an app with voice dictation for notes cost for one person?
It varies. Sparks Scribe's Essentials plan is $15 a month including GST and includes the Mic button, AI-written notes and NDIS-coded invoicing. ShiftCare has voice-to-text AI progress notes but is priced for teams, with a minimum of five licences on every plan and invoicing on its Professional plan, which works out at $65 to $75 a month excluding GST for one person, depending on billing, on the public pricing we checked (July 2026). Astalty's support-worker profile is $30 a month ($64 for a standard seat), Bugal's Solo plan is $35 a month, and EasyAs starts at $19.95 a month on its website. We could not verify a public price for Visualcare.
Is my client data safe when I dictate a note?
Check each vendor's privacy policy before you enter client information. Sparks Scribe stores its data in Australia, and how its AI handles what you dictate is set out at sparkscribe.app/ai-use. For the other apps, read their own privacy and AI statements, because voice dictation and AI note features often send text to a third-party service for processing.
Which apps have a Mic button on both iPhone and Android?
Sparks Scribe runs on iOS, Android and the web, so the Mic button is on both iPhone and Android. ShiftCare offers a support-worker app, and Astalty lists apps on Google Play and the App Store. EasyAs lists apps on both stores, though it is invoicing-focused. Bugal describes itself as a web-based platform, with no App Store or Google Play listing mentioned as of July 2026, and we could not verify app-store availability for Visualcare.