Respite Care: Giving Family Carers the Break They Deserve

Australia has more than two and a half million unpaid carers. Most of them are family members looking after a parent, partner or child, often while holding down a job and raising children of their own. Respite care exists so that carers can rest, and it is one of the most under-used supports in the system.

What respite care actually is

Respite is any arrangement that gives the carer a planned break while the person they care for is looked after safely. It is not a sign that you are failing. It is the thing that lets you keep going.

The main types are:

• In-home respite. A support worker comes to the house for a few hours or overnight so you can go out, sleep or simply sit in another room.
• Centre-based respite. The person attends a day program with activities, meals and company while you have the day free.
• Short-term residential respite. A stay of a few days to a few weeks in an aged care home, often used for holidays or a carer’s own surgery.
• Emergency respite. Fast help when a carer falls ill or is called away unexpectedly.

How respite is funded

Aged care. Support at Home budgets can be used for in-home respite. The Commonwealth Home Support Programme funds centre-based and flexible respite. Residential respite has its own subsidy of up to 63 days a year, with extensions possible.

NDIS. Short Term Accommodation, sometimes still called respite, sits in the Core budget and can fund up to 14 days at a time in a supported setting. Support worker hours at home also give carers a break even when they are not labelled as respite.

Carer Gateway. Any carer can call 1800 422 737 for counselling, peer support and emergency respite, regardless of whether the person they care for has a package or plan.

Signs you need a break sooner rather than later

• You are sleeping less than six hours most nights.
• You have cancelled your own medical appointments more than once.
• You feel resentful, then guilty about feeling resentful.
• Friends have stopped inviting you because you always say no.

If two or more of these sound familiar, respite is not optional.

Making respite work for the person receiving care

The most common objection we hear is “Dad will not accept a stranger.” Our approach is to introduce the support worker while the carer is still present, keep the first sessions short, and match language and culture. A Cantonese speaking worker who can talk about Hong Kong in the 1960s is not a stranger for long.

Ask for help this week

Avida Care provides in-home respite across Box Hill and Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, including evenings and weekends. Call 0477 399 714 or 0421 986 841, or contact us online, and tell us what a good break would look like for you. We will build the plan around that.