Editorial
How to choose a home care provider in Australia
A plain-English walkthrough of Home Care Packages, the questions worth asking every provider, and the fees to check before you sign.
About Australia · 10 June 2026
Editorial · about Australia
A carer's guide to respite care
By Our Mate editorial ·
Respite is for the carer as much as the person cared for. The types available, how to access subsidised respite, and why using it early matters.
If you are caring for someone, respite care gives you a planned break, an afternoon, a few days, or longer, while the person you care for is well looked after. Using it is not a failure; it is how carers keep going.
The main types
- In-home respite, where a worker comes to you.
- Centre-based day respite, often at a day centre with activities and company.
- Residential respite, a short stay in an aged care home, useful after surgery or when you travel.
- Emergency respite, when something unexpected means you cannot care for someone right now.
How to access subsidised respite
For older Australians, respite is arranged through My Aged Care, which can assess eligibility for subsidised respite, including a set number of subsidised residential respite days a year. For younger people with disability, short-term accommodation and respite can be funded through an NDIS plan.
Use it before you are desperate
Carers often wait until they are exhausted. Booking respite early, while things are steady, makes the break restful rather than a crisis measure, and helps the person you care for get used to it gradually.
Browse respite and day centre options by suburb on Our Mate; each listing shows when we last verified it.
