Private Home Care: Aged Care on Your Terms
When government-funded support doesn’t cover everything, private home care fills the gap. It gives you flexibility and control: extra hours, a specific carer, or support that starts straight away without waiting for an assessment.
We help older people and families understand the options, compare providers and choose support that works for your situation and budget. As always, we’re paid by you, not by any agency, so the guidance is yours alone.
When private home care makes sense
While waiting for a Support at Home assessment or for funding to be allocated.
Extra hours, or services outside your Support at Home budget.
A particular carer, a set routine, or a specialist skill.
Private care is arranged directly, on your terms.
Private vs government-funded home care
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Private home care
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Support at Home (government)
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Assessment
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Not required
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My Aged Care assessment required
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Speed to start
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Usually quick
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Can involve a wait for funding
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Cost
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The provider's full rate, which varies by provider, location and type of care
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Government-funded, with no contribution for clinical care and a means-tested contribution for other services
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Flexibility
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High: you choose hours and carer
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Set within your Support at Home budget
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Private care and government support work well together: funding for core needs and private care for the rest. See our Support at Home page.
How to choose a private provider
Tasks, hours, and any clinical care.
Rates, inclusions, carer matching and reliability.
Insurance, police checks and continuity of carers. Ask whether the provider is a registered aged care provider, since care paid for entirely privately generally sits outside the government aged care regulatory system. Ask too whether carers are employees or independent contractors, which affects insurance and who is responsible if something goes wrong.
A trial period tells you a lot.
We don’t run a care agency and we don’t take referral fees. When we help you compare private providers, we’re only weighing what’s best for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is private home care?
Private home care is in-home support you arrange and pay for directly, without a government assessment. It can include everyday help, personal care, nursing and companionship, with the flexibility to choose your hours and carer.
How is private home care different from Support at Home?
Support at Home is government-funded but needs an assessment and can involve a wait. Private home care needs no assessment, usually starts quickly, and is paid in full. Many people combine both: government funding for core support, and private care to fill gaps.
How much does private home care cost?
You pay the provider’s full hourly or package rate, which varies by provider, location and the type of care. We help you compare rates and inclusions. For advice on how it fits your budget, we encourage you to talk with your existing financial adviser, or we can introduce you to someone suitable, on merit and with no fee in either direction.
Can I use private care while waiting for a home care package?
Yes. Home Care Packages have now been replaced by Support at Home, but the principle is the same, and this is one of the most common reasons people use private care. A few private hours can keep someone safe at home while a Support at Home assessment or funding allocation comes through.
How do I find a good private home care provider?
Compare providers on rates, inclusions, carer matching, reliability, insurance and police checks. Ask whether they’re a registered aged care provider and whether carers are employees or contractors, and start with a trial. We can help you shortlist and compare independently, since we take no commissions.
Do you provide the care yourselves?
No. We’re an independent advisory service, not a care agency. We help you understand your options and choose the right provider. We don’t employ carers or take referral fees.
Why older people and families choose Aged Care Conversations
Our guidance comes from people who have worked inside the system and still do. Louise Greene is a Registered Nurse with an MBA and more than 40 years in health and aged care across clinical, executive, consulting and board roles, including chairing clinical governance committees. Kerry Mann is a former CEO in aged care and retirement living, holds an MBA, and has board experience including Ageing Australia’s NSW/ACT State Member Council.
How much we do is up to you. Some people want a single conversation to get their bearings. Others want us to manage the whole process, from the assessment through to finding and securing a place in the right home, with regular updates along the way.
We’re independent. Older people and families pay us directly, and we take no commissions from aged care homes, retirement villages or providers. When we help with placement, we’re working for you: homes pay us nothing. Where we introduce a partner, it’s on merit, with no fee in either direction. People come to us in the hardest weeks and leave with a clear plan and a person to call.