As we grow older, our ability to perform everyday tasks slowly begin to deplete, especially if we are ridden with various illnesses that inevitably come with old age. For senior citizens, especially those who live alone or do not have an all-around-the-clock care provider, in-home support means getting any help and care they need delivered right into their doorsteps.
In Australia, this kind of in-home support has started to become a countrywide aging trend. The June 2024-25 Senate budget estimates 68,109 individuals in line for the Home Care Package, which was a sharp rise from the 28,665 figure from the previous year. In this article, we will take a look at why this gradual shift is happening.
What is In-Home Support?
In-home care, as the name suggests, are care-related services provided at home by professionals.
These support services come with all kinds of things a senior citizen might need. It can be as simple as providing companionship. It can be daily activities like buying groceries, cooking, doing the laundry, cleaning the house. Or it can be for emergency situations, like an unfortunate accident at home. There are also options to hire professional clinical support for those suffering from health complications.
This support is usually personalized to the person’s family situation, financial state, lifestyle habits, and other factors. Thanks to this kind of support available within arm’s reach, a senior citizen can lead their days with a sense of safety and a greater control over everyday routine.
Why Are Senior Citizens of Australia Choosing In-home Care?
In the past, most of the older population choose either to stay under the care of their families, usually comprising of their children and grandchildren, or they would admit themselves to senior care homes. In recent years, the preference is shifting towards in-home personalized care instead. Those who do not have anyone to look after them around the clock and also don’t wish to live at a residential care facility, now choose in-home care services.
Both social and financial reasons are contributing to this shift. In-home support works in favor of both factors with all the benefits it provides. For example:
Living in the comfort of home
Home is not just a place of residence, it’s a place with years of memories and most importantly, familiarity. The comfort and ease of mind from this kind of familiarity cannot be found at a care home. Moreover, home is a place of privacy, a place where we can feel like we have the highest authority. To older people, this feeling of dignity and independence is often very important.
In-home support allows senior citizens to enjoy care within the comfort of their familiar homes. They don’t have to experience the anxiety of being in a new environment around new people. They can also have the attention solely on themselves.
Personalized support
In-home care packages go into great lengths to offer a fully personalized service, catering to individual needs and circumstances. Whether it’s cooking a favorite meal, going on a walk at the park, or reading a book, a care assistant is willing to provide all kinds of support if appropriate. The care plans can also be adjusted according to changing needs at any time.
Better affordability
Private home care sounds costly. But in the long run, it is actually healthier on the budget. A full-time residential care home requires a specific fee every month or year. But a personalized in-home care package will only contain the services that you need, and you will only pay for those services. Some months you might need more services, other months you might need less. So it is a more optimized choice.
For older people who are sick, it’s often recommended to get admitted to a hospital to be under constant supervision. But hospital bills can accumulate to very high numbers, and the environment at an hospital can also be depressing for many. Clinical supervision can be taken as part of the in-home care package to solve this problem.
Closeness to family
Staying at home allows the comfort of getting frequent visits from family members and being able to spend time with them freely in a homely environment. In care facilities, visit times and days are fixed and limited, so relatives can’t visit unless it can fit in their schedule. The visits feel less like family bonding time and more like appointments. So to preserve the social connection, many people are choosing in-home support.
Australian Government’s Role in Popularizing In-Home Support
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing are working on reforming in-home aged care with the Support at Home program that officially launched on November 1st, 2025. By 1st July, 2027, they are also planning for the Commonwealth Home Support Program to transition to the new program.
Under this government-funded program, older people can comfortably stay at home for a longer time if their health allows, while remaining active, healthy and socially connected to their communities. All they have to do is get an approval through an aged care assessment, then enter a service agreement with a Support at Home provider of their choice.
This kind of government support is encouraging more and more people to participate in this trend, further driving this revolution.
Conclusion: Aging Should Feel Like Home
The desire to have more autonomy and dignity in the process of aging is what’s ultimately pushing the senior citizens of Australia towards opting for in-home support services. The in-home aged care programs are catering to the evolving needs of the aging population of the country in the most compassionate and practical way.
So if you or your loved one wants to plan ahead for a future of comfortable aging, maybe you can join the trend and look into in-home care service providers as well. After all, a little support at a vulnerable age can go a long way in improving quality of life.
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