Respite care
Cover in the house so the person doing the caring can stop for a few hours, a night, or a week.
The person who needs it isn't the person receiving it
Respite is booked under one person's package and delivered to them, but the point of it is the wife who hasn't slept a full night in two years, or the daughter doing a shower before work and a dinner after it. Someone competent is in the house, so the person who is always in the house can leave it.
Family carers wait far too long to ask. The pattern is that people hold on until something gives way, usually their own back or their own health, and then need far more help than a few hours a week would ever have cost. Booking respite isn't a failure and it isn't the first step towards a nursing home. It's often what keeps someone at home longer, because the person caring for them is still standing.
What respite at home covers
- A support worker in the house for a few hours so you can go out.
- The same block every week, same day and time, so you can commit to something that has a start time.
- Overnight cover, either awake through the night or sleeping over, depending on what the nights are like.
- Several days in a row when you're away, with scheduled visits or continuous cover.
- Personal care, meals, continence support and medication prompting carrying on exactly as they do now.
- Company and something to do, rather than a carer sitting silently on the couch.
- A written handover, so you come home to a note about how it went instead of guessing.
- Short-notice cover when you're admitted to hospital yourself, subject to availability.
Nights are what break people
Getting up three times to reposition someone, or hearing the back door at 3am, wears down a carer faster than any daytime task. Sleep deprivation is what turns a manageable situation into an unmanageable one, and it happens gradually enough that nobody registers it until they're driving badly or snapping at everyone.
Overnight respite comes in two shapes. An active night means the carer stays awake and works through it. A sleepover means they're there and get up when needed. Tell us about the last fortnight of real nights, not the good ones, and we'll tell you which is appropriate.
Book it before you need it
Emergency respite exists and we take those calls, but it's the worst version of the service: an unfamiliar carer, a rushed handover, on the day everything else is already going wrong. A regular weekly booking means that when the emergency does arrive, we already know the medication times, the chair he sits in, and which door has to stay locked.
It works better for the person being cared for as well. Somebody who has been coming every Tuesday for six months isn't a stranger by the time you need to be away for a fortnight.
Getting him to accept it
The most common obstacle isn't funding, it's a parent or a spouse who says they don't want anybody in the house. Presenting it as care rarely helps. What tends to work is a short first visit while you're still there, with an actual job attached: someone coming to help with the shopping, or to go through the photo albums. Introduce the person, not the service.
If a carer of a particular gender or first language would make that easier, say so on the first call. It changes the odds more than anything else we can do.
How respite is funded
Respite is an Independence service under Support at Home, sitting with personal care and transport. Independence services carry a moderate participant contribution: more than clinical services like nursing, which are fully funded, and less than everyday living services like cleaning. Your rate follows your income and Age Pension status, full pensioners pay the least, and it's written into your agreement before you sign.
You can also pay privately, which is what people do while they're waiting on a package or when they want more hours than the quarterly budget stretches to. Same carers either way.
Getting started
Call 1800 434 002 or send the form below. We'll ask what the nights are like, what a normal day involves, and what you'd do with the time if you had it. That last question isn't small talk. Respite booked without a plan attached tends to get spent doing the washing.
Other services
- Dementia care at home — for families where the nights are the hardest part.
- Personal care — showering, dressing and getting through the morning.
- Companionship — regular company, outings and conversation.
- All services
Common questions
Who is respite actually for?
The carer. The service is delivered to the person being cared for, but the point of it is to get the wife, husband, son or daughter out of the house for a while without anything falling over. It is booked under the care recipient's package and it is the carer who gets the benefit.
Can I get respite overnight, in the house?
Yes. Overnight respite comes two ways: an active night, where the carer stays awake and works through it, and a sleepover, where they are on hand and get up when needed. Which one you need depends on what the last fortnight of nights has actually been like rather than the good ones, and we will ask about that specifically.
How much notice do you need?
For a regular weekly block, about a week to get the right person matched and briefed. For a longer stretch, give us as much notice as you can. We do take short-notice requests and we will always try, but a stranger arriving on the worst day of the year is the poorest version of this service. Booking something regular now is what makes the emergency manageable later.
Will it be the same carer each time?
That is what we set up, and with respite it matters more than usual, because the whole arrangement collapses if the person you are leaving behind is unsettled. We match one carer to the booking and keep it stable. When leave or illness gets in the way, the replacement comes briefed on the routine rather than cold.
Is respite covered by Support at Home?
Yes. Respite is an Independence service, alongside personal care and transport, so it carries a moderate participant contribution: more than clinical services, which are fully funded, and less than everyday living services like cleaning. Your rate depends on your income and Age Pension status, and full pensioners pay the least.
What is the difference between in-home respite and residential respite?
In-home respite is what we do: a carer comes to the house and the person stays in their own bed, with their own routine. Residential respite is a short stay in an aged care home, arranged through My Aged Care, and we do not provide it. In-home suits most people better, particularly anyone with dementia, because moving to an unfamiliar building is usually the thing that causes the trouble.
Enquire about respite care
Tell us where you're up to and we'll be in touch. Prefer to talk? Call 1800 434 002.