Your Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Home Care Support

Most families start looking into home care after something changes: a fall, a hospital stay, a diagnosis, or simply noticing that a parent is managing less well than they used to. The system can look confusing from the outside, but the path through it is fairly fixed. This guide walks through the steps in order, for both aged care and the NDIS.

Step 1: Work out what help is needed

Before any application, spend a week noticing what is hard. Common areas are:

• Personal care such as showering, dressing and getting in and out of bed.
• Meals, shopping and housework.
• Medications and health monitoring.
• Getting to appointments and social activities.
• Safety at home, including falls and leaving the stove on.
• Loneliness and low mood.

Write it down. This list becomes the basis of the assessment and the care plan.

Step 2: Identify the right funding stream

• Support at Home is the government program for people aged 65 and over, or 50 and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who need help to keep living at home. It replaced Home Care Packages in November 2025.
• The NDIS supports people under 65 with a permanent and significant disability.
• The Commonwealth Home Support Programme provides lower-level help such as cleaning and transport for older people with simpler needs.

If someone turns 65 while on the NDIS, they can generally choose to stay on it. If in doubt, our team can help you work out which stream applies.

Step 3: Apply and be assessed

For aged care, the first step is to register with My Aged Care, online or by phone on 1800 200 422. An assessor then visits the home, talks through the needs you listed and recommends a level of support. For the NDIS, you apply to the National Disability Insurance Agency with evidence of the disability from your doctor and specialists. In both cases the assessment is where your week of notes pays off, so bring it.

Step 4: Understand the funding you are offered

Support at Home places people in one of eight classifications, each with an annual budget, plus separate funding for assistive technology and home modifications. Most people make a contribution towards some services based on their income and assets. NDIS plans set out budgets for core supports, capacity building and capital items. Ask the assessor or planner to explain what the numbers mean in hours of help per week.

Step 5: Choose a provider and build the care plan

With funding approved, you choose a provider to deliver the services. Look for one that works in your area, speaks your language, is registered where that is required and can start when you need them. The provider then sits down with you to turn the funding into a weekly schedule: which services, which days, which workers. This is the care plan, and you should have a copy.

Step 6: Start, then review

The first month is a trial. Expect to adjust visit times, swap a worker who is not a good match or add a service you had not thought of. A good provider reviews the plan with you after the first few weeks and then at least every few months, and whenever your needs change.

Questions to bring to the first meeting

• What services can I get within my budget, and what would I pay towards them?
• Will I have the same workers each week?
• Do you have workers who speak my language?
• What happens if I go into hospital?
• How do I change or cancel a visit?
• Who do I call with a problem?

Start the conversation

Avida Care helps families across Australia through every step, from the My Aged Care or NDIS application to the first visit, in English, Mandarin and Cantonese. Call 0477 399 714 or 0421 986 841, or contact us to book a free care planning conversation.