In-Home Care in Melbourne: What’s Included and What It Costs

For most families, in-home care starts with a moment of realisation: Mum is skipping meals, Dad’s medications are getting missed, or a hospital discharge is looming, and home suddenly feels unmanageable.

The good news is that staying at home is achievable for far longer than most people expect, with the right mix of support.

This guide walks through exactly what in-home care services include, how the three funding pathways work, and what drives the cost.

One quick note to avoid confusion: in Australia, “In Home Care” is also the name of a federal childcare subsidy program for families. This guide is about in-home aged care and disability support for adults.

What’s included in in-home care services

In-home care is not one service but a menu. Most people combine a few of the following, adjusting the mix as needs change. A good provider will build a personalised care plan rather than sell you a fixed package.

Personal care

Help with activities of daily living: showering and bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting and continence care, and moving safely around the home.

This is the foundation of most in-home care arrangements, delivered by trained support workers who understand how to preserve dignity and independence.

Domestic assistance and home maintenance

Cleaning, laundry, changing linen, and keeping living areas safe and hygienic. Light home maintenance may also be funded where it relates to health and safety.

Meal preparation and nutrition

Shopping, cooking and preparing meals that match dietary needs, plus mealtime assistance where swallowing or motor difficulties make eating unsafe alone.

Nursing and clinical care at home

Registered and enrolled nurses can deliver clinical care in the home: wound care, medication management, catheter and stoma care, injections and post-hospital monitoring.

Nursing care in the home often makes the difference between staying home and moving into residential care.

Allied health at home

Physiotherapy, occupational therapy and other allied health services can be delivered at home to maintain mobility, prevent falls and support recovery, usually on referral or as part of a funded care plan.

Companionship and social support

Regular visits for conversation, outings, hobbies and community access. Loneliness is a health risk in its own right, and companionship visits are one of the most underrated forms of care.

Respite care

Short-term care that gives a family carer a break, from a few hours to overnight. If you are caring for someone yourself, in-home respite is often the first service families use, and we cover it in detail in our dedicated respite guide.

Transport and community access

Support to get to appointments, shops and social activities, either in the worker’s vehicle or accompanying you on transport.

Dementia and specialised care

Support workers experienced in dementia care can maintain routines, manage changed behaviours calmly and keep someone living safely at home for longer.

24-hour, overnight and live-in care

For higher needs, care can extend to overnight support (active or on-call) and around-the-clock arrangements.

These are the most intensive and most expensive forms of in-home care, but still often compare favourably with residential alternatives once you weigh everything up.

What in-home care costs in Australia

The honest answer is that cost depends on three things: how many hours you need, when those hours fall (weekday daytime is cheapest; evenings, weekends and public holidays cost more), and how the care is funded.

Here is how the three funding pathways compare:

The five things that drive your cost

• Hours per week: The single biggest factor. Most families start with a handful of hours and adjust.
• When the hours fall: Weekday daytime is the base rate; evenings, weekends, public holidays and overnight support carry loadings.
• Skill level required: Support worker hours cost less than nursing hours; high-intensity or clinical care costs more than standard personal care.
• Your means assessment (for Support at Home): Your assets and income affect only your contribution, never your eligibility or budget.
• The provider’s pricing: Price caps are ceilings, not set prices. Providers differ in rates, minimum visit lengths and cancellation terms, which is why a written rate card matters.

Government-subsidised costs under Support at Home

Support at Home replaced Home Care Packages as Australia’s in-home aged care program. After an assessment through My Aged Care, you are approved for a classification with a quarterly budget, which you spend on services through your chosen provider.

Contributions work differently from the old system.

Services are grouped into categories: clinical care (such as nursing) is fully government-funded with no contribution, while independence supports (such as personal care) and everyday living supports (such as cleaning and meals) attract a participant contribution that scales with your means assessment.

Full pensioners pay the lowest contributions; self-funded retirees pay more.

Here is what you need to know about the Support at Home programme, and a breakdown of how it is different from the old Home Care Package scheme.

NDIS-funded in-home care

For people with disability, in-home care is funded through the NDIS, mostly under Core Supports as Assistance with Daily Life.

Registered providers must charge within the NDIS price limits, which set maximum hourly rates by support type, day and time.

Our NDIS price guide explains how the limits work and what changed this year. As a registered provider, Homage supports NDIA-managed, plan-managed and self-managed participants.

Private in-home care costs

Private care is the fastest to arrange because there is no assessment or waitlist; you simply pay the provider’s published hourly rate.

Private rates in Australia broadly track the same territory as the government price caps, with weekday daytime hours at the lower end and overnight, weekend and public holiday care at the upper end.

Many families use flexible private care from one hour at a time to bridge the gap while waiting for a Support at Home budget, or to top up subsidised hours.

Because rates change each year, treat any specific dollar figure you read online with caution. Ask providers for a current written rate card, and compare it against the government’s published price caps for Support at Home and the NDIS.

Signs it might be time for in-home care

Families rarely regret starting support; they regret not getting the help they need earlier. Here are some signs from your loved one that show that it might be time to consider in-home care.

• Weight loss, skipped meals or an emptier fridge than usual
• Missed medications, or doses doubled up by accident
• A fall, a near miss, or new bruises without a clear story
• The house or garden slipping in ways that are out of character
• Withdrawal from social activities they used to enjoy
• A primary carer who is exhausted, unwell or increasingly on edge

Starting with just a few hours a week, often domestic assistance or companionship visits, lets everyone get comfortable before needs grow.

Care that starts small and early usually delays bigger interventions.

How to access in-home care: step by step

The aged care pathway (Support at Home)

• Contact My Aged Care online or by phone and ask for an assessment.
• Complete the assessment, which looks at what you can do and where you need support.
• Receive your approval and quarterly budget, then choose a provider you trust.
• Agree a care plan and start services; you can change providers later if you wish.

The NDIS pathway

• Check eligibility and apply to the NDIS with supporting evidence from your health professionals.
• Work through a planning meeting to have daily living supports included in your plan.
• Choose providers based on how your plan is managed, and agree service agreements.

The private pathway

• Contact a provider directly; reputable providers can usually start care within days.
• Agree the schedule, services and rates in writing, then adjust as you learn what works.

Homage provides in-home care services for your loved ones. We are a registered NDIS provider, and also provide support for self-funded Support at Home participants, and out-of-pocket customers. Fill up our form and speak to our care advisor to find out more.

Can family members be paid to provide care?

This is one of the most common questions families ask. In general, government-funded programs do not pay family members as carers for their own loved ones, and the NDIS funds family-provided care only in limited, exceptional circumstances.

What is available is income support for carers through Services Australia, such as Carer Payment and Carer Allowance, which recognise the caring role rather than paying a wage for it.

If caring is stretching you thin, respite and shared care with a professional provider is usually the more sustainable path.

Choosing an in-home care provider

Whichever funding route you use, apply the same tests to any in-home care provider:

• Screening and training: are workers police-checked, screened and trained for your needs?
• Consistency: will you see the same familiar faces, with backup arranged when your regular worker is away?
• Flexibility: can you book from one hour, change the schedule easily, and leave without lock-in contracts?
• Transparency: do you get a clear written rate card and visit reports you can actually see?
• Clinical depth: can the provider add nursing care if needs increase, so you are not forced to switch later?

Frequently asked questions

Start with a conversation

Every family’s situation is different, and the right answer is usually a mix: some funded hours, some private top-up, some respite for the carer.

If you would like help translating needs into a plan, Homage’s Care Advisors can talk you through options and match you with screened local support workers, whether you are funded, waiting for funding, or paying privately.

Speak to a Care Advisor.

References