Cover Story: Home Caring - Be Part of the Booming Aged and Disability Care Industry

An ageing population and relatively low start-up costs are fuelling the growth of the home-care sector in Australia.

As many businesses around the world face challenging times ahead with the COVID-19 crisis, more and more families will be looking to find in-home support options for their loved ones.

Home Caring is an Australian home care business dedicated to providing high quality, compassionate and trustworthy care and support services to their clients. Launched in 2015 with a vision of delivering exceptional at-home care, Home Caring believes everyone should have access to a caregiver of their choice, control over their daily schedule, and specialised care services to support their individual needs.

With a growing majority of Australians wanting to live independently in their own homes and the pressure on the health care system during the COVID-19 crisis, it’s no surprise the demand for in-home care is skyrocketing.

Why Home Caring?

Andrew Oxley, Director of Home Caring Sunshine Coast, believes what makes the Home Caring model so effective is its person-centred home care services, applying the organisation’s values of empathy, respect and passion for excellent care and their revolutionary business model.

The Home Caring operation has opened the door for experienced health professionals to go into business for themselves, implementing a 50/50 partnership which reduces the initial investment by 50 per cent and provides an ongoing 50 per cent share of profits. By joining as a franchisee, you can become an approved provider of government-funded services and start enjoying a fulfilling career, on your terms.

Andrew says, “I launched my franchise back in June 2019, and over the last fourteen months it has really taken off. We now have two case managers, a group home manager, support coordinator, roster officer, finance officer and almost 100 support workers.”

“I have always loved the idea of doing something for myself, and Home Caring has been the perfect fit,” explains Andrew.

A rewarding career

Home Caring provides an opportunity for experienced professionals to give back to their local community, including cultural communities where English is a second language. Since launching in 2015, the brand has evolved to include a range of programs including the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), Home Care Packages. Home Caring also provides specialist dementia care support under their brand, Dementia Caring Australia.

On the most rewarding part of his job, Andrew says, “It sounds cliché, but it is when you see you are making a difference to someone’s life. I think if your primary motive for working in this sector is anything other, then you are probably not in it for the right reasons. I love the constant challenges we are faced with daily, and the variety of care needs we have to work with. It definitely can be challenging at times, but if you have a great team around you, then that makes all the difference.”

“With aged care and disability being the fastest growing service industry in Australia, it’s an amazing time to be part of it! To see how quickly you can grow your business and all the different avenues you can venture into, is all very exciting”, explains Andrew.

Empowering individuals

Changes to home care packages that were introduced in Australia in 2017 mean consumers are free to choose their care provider; previously, this wasn’t an option for individuals and their families.

“There have been major reforms to the funding streams for both aged and disability care over the last five years, which now means it’s easier than before for people and families to access funds when they need to,” says Andrew.

“Funding is now given to the individual rather than directly to the companies, and as a result, has empowered the individuals receiving the funding, giving them choice and control to choose their provider.”

Andrew says, “We help our clients in a variety of ways. We are always working towards hitting personal goals which are set by the clients themselves, and, this can be incredibly rewarding and varied. The goals can vary from learning new ways to communicate, wanting to living independently or accessing the community. It’s hitting goals like these, where at the end of each day you feel proud of what your business is achieving and the tremendous benefits it can have on an individual’s life.”

For potential franchisees

Andrew says, “Be authentic! When meeting with other professionals or potential clients, just be yourself and don’t hesitate to show your passion for the industry and what drives you. It will set you aside from other providers, especially the larger national organisations.”

“People will gravitate to your business because it is locally owned.”

“Always go above and beyond for your clients, word travels fast, and most of my referrals have come from word of mouth and support coordinators pushing our service. We are yet to do any local marketing or advertising and have successfully built a business relying on word of mouth marketing.”

Homecare during the COVID-19 crisis

Home Caring has doubled the number of hours of service from March 1 to the end of July, and are recruiting franchisees to be able to cope with the extra demand.

“We were frightened witnessing what was happening overseas and how it was affecting people, especially the elderly. We knew it wasn’t a case of if it was going to hit Australia, but when,” says Andrew.

“My business has ended up growing by 20 per cent as we have begun supporting people who are being discharged early from hospitals to free up hospital beds and continue their care at home.”

“We’re supporting our staff by reducing all non-essential shifts and supplied our most vulnerable clients with as much personal protective equipment (PPE) available. We also implemented working from home and ceased home visits from our case managers before being instructed to by the government,” explains Andrew.

Want to take the next step?

Potential franchisees will align with Home Caring’s highly regarded brand names, Home Caring and Dementia Caring and have assistance to acquire appropriate licences, as well as, access to a comprehensive training program, ongoing operation support and management tools. Home Caring also provide a salary package so you don’t have to worry about paying bills and can focus on growing your business.

Find out more by contacting Bill Lockett, Home Caring Franchise Manager, at 1300 658 311 info@homecaringfranchise.com.au visit www.homecaringfranchise.com.au

“With a growing majority of Australians wanting to live independently in their own homes and the pressure on the health care system during the COVID-19 crisis, it’s no surprise the demand for in-home care is skyrocketing.”