Private home support agency for older people

Older people and their families paying privately, often adult children organising care for a parent living at home.

You charge clients an hourly rate and pay your carers a lower hourly rate. The difference covers insurance, admin, screening and your own income.

• Organising rosters and bookings
• Warm, patient communication with families
• Recruiting and managing reliable carers

• Government-funded aged care (such as Support at Home) has registration and quality requirements, so check whether your services fall under them
• Police checks and any worker screening required in your state for carers
• Public liability, professional indemnity and workers compensation insurance once you hire (check your state scheme)
• Whether carers are employees or contractors, and award pay rates, check with the Fair Work Ombudsman
• Personal care or medication help may bring extra rules and training requirements
• Council approval may be needed to run a business from home

Startup costs are typically around $3,000 to $15,000, depending on your set-up, insurance and how you recruit and screen carers. Treat this as an estimate and get quotes for insurance and any checks before you start.

Monthly revenue is typically around $3,000 to $15,000, depending on how many clients and carer hours you roster. The idea assumes at least about 20 hours a week of your time. This is an estimate of revenue, not profit.

Check whether your services fall under government-funded aged care registration and quality requirements. Also check police and worker screening in your state, insurance including workers compensation, employee or contractor status and award rates with the Fair Work Ombudsman, extra rules for personal care, and council approval.