Home help options to remain independent and living at home

Helping to keep you in your home for longer

A lot of people ponder the idea of getting some help at home, but soon give up on it because they don’t know what’s available, who can provide it or how much it will cost. It’s actually easier than you think to make it happen, and you might be surprised to know what kind of help you can access.

It’s perfectly natural to need a little more help around the home as you get older.   Tasks may have become more tiring or physically demanding, you can’t lift the heavy laundry basket like you used to and you don’t want to be out in the sun mowing the lawn. Home help services play a vital role in helping keep people remain independent and living in their own home for as long as possible. With in-home help, you can have someone else do the housework and yard work for you.

If you’re interested in getting a little in-home help to make life easier and more enjoyable, we’ve created this article for you.

What kinds of services are offered?

In-home help can include many different services. Here are some examples of the services you can post jobs for on Mable:

Homemaking skills, for example:

• • Assist with shopping, meal preparation and cooking
  • Assist with all general cleaning of the home
  • Encourage and assist with bed making, doing the laundry and hanging clothes on the line
  • Assist with the gardening and yard maintenance.

Community participation, for example:

• • Accompany them to a soccer game and facilitate participation
  • Arrange a monthly night out to the theatre
  • Accompany them to see live bands
  • Assist them to learn to catch the bus to TAFE
  • Arrange a weekend away every three months.

Personal care, for example:

• • Assist with all aspects of personal care ie. showering, toileting, teeth care, hair and nail care, skin care
  • Assist them with meals and drinks, ensuring adequate nutrition and hydration.

Medical, for example:

• Give prescribed medications as directed
• Provide seizure support as required
• Follow the behaviour support plan at all time.

What does my funding cover?

It depends on the level of funding your package allows, based on your individual situation. NDIS and Home Care Packages can be used towards a wide array of support services such as personal care, nursing services, mobility, transport, social engagement, help around work, study and travel goals, housework and assistance with independent living.

What help is available for the older Australians at home?

The federal government aims to encourage older Australians to remain independent in their own homes for as long as possible. That’s why there is an abundance of in-home help services to choose from. Basic housework, laundry and ironing, meal preparation and taking the person to appointments are all featured in Home Care Packages. Qualified nurses can administer medicines, change dressings, manage continence issues and take standard observations. Companionship can involve taking the older person out for lunch or to visit friends. Mowing the lawn, feeding pets and home handyman tasks are also services that can be covered in Home Care Packages.

What is included under domestic assistance services?

Domestic assistance can cover many aspects of maintaining your home environment. Your support worker can assist with food shopping, meal preparation and keep your pantry, fridge and freezer rid of expired items. You might need your bed’s sheets changed or help with your laundry. Your support worker could clean your kitchen, bathroom and floors and even have your windows washed.

Domestic assistance covers all these kinds of services.

What is covered by insurance

Every booking invoiced through Mable is covered by insurance. Please visit our insurance page for more information.

Questions to ask your home help support worker before hiring

Before you invite someone into your home as a support worker, you want to feel comfortable about them as a person and as a provider of in-home help. If you are considering them as someone who can help with housework such as cleaning and tidying, you may not be concerned with qualifications, but more about the kind of individual they are and whether they have experience. On the Mable platform, there are personalities of all types. Some may suit you, some may not and it’s important that you find the right person to fit.

• • What kinds of tasks can you help me with?
  • Are you the type to be obsessively clean or more relaxed and simply do a good job?
  • Do you like a chat, or do you prefer just to get the job done and be on your way?
  • Why have you chosen to be a support worker ?
  • Have you worked with older Australians or people with disability before?
  • Are you ok with pets in the house?
  • Is there anything you’re not comfortable with? (Examples could be having family members present, unpleasant odours, lots of stairs, etc.)
  • Do you have a first aid or CPR certificate?
  • Do you speak my native language?
  • What’s your personality like? For instance, are you quiet and reserved or bubbly and fun?

Can my support worker cook meals for me?

There are lots of support workers on the Mable platform who love to cook! When you book someone to do meal prep for you, they will ask you what kinds of foods you enjoy eating and plan meals around your preferences. Maybe you’re of Italian heritage and you like pasta dishes. Or maybe you’re a vegetarian who eats the odd piece of fish. You just have to let them know and they’ll cater around your choices.

Your support worker can make up a few dishes for you to eat over several days or cut up meats, fruits and vegetables, ready for you to do the final cooking later on. They can also do your grocery shopping and portion ingredients to freeze in single serve packs. It all comes under home help services.

The care you deserve is yours for asking

As an older Australian or a disabled Australian, you deserve to have access to home help to make life easier. If you are not currently on an NDIS plan or Home Care Package, you can pay for the services yourself while you get your application underway.

It’s important that you understand that you are worthy of these conveniences. They’re not at all luxuries or extravagances. You need them to manage your day-to-day life but in some instances you may not be able do it all yourself anymore.

Lots of Mable clients try out in-home help services out of curiosity. They wonder if a couple of hours here or there could take the pressure off. Even just having someone in to do the washing is of huge benefit to someone with painful arthritis. Paying a support worker to come in and wash the bath and toilet prevents hazards like slips and falls.

Eventually, clients who try home help services realise that they’re so much better off and that by doing so, they are actually looking after themselves. Acknowledging that you need help is something to be proud of. No one wants you to fall or to hurt yourself in any other way. You have a right to a clean, pleasant environment that is of minimal risk to you.

Mable is committed to the safety of our community

Anyone who wants to become an Independent Support Worker on the Mable platform has to go through an approval process before they can start applying for jobs.

Before they can start offering in-home help, we take a close look at their profile, we have them undergo a Police Check and if they’re going to be around children, we require them to hold a valid Working With Children Check. We also verify any relevant qualifications such as Certificates or Degrees and conduct reference checks prior to approval.

Only once they meet these requirements can their profile be made visible in a search. You can even read support workers’ reviews on their profiles so you can see what other people who have engaged them through Mable have to say about them.

Temporary, one-off, and ongoing home help services

Perhaps you only need help with the housework for a little while because a family member who usually helps you is going away on holidays. You can book an Independent Support Worker through the Mable platform for just that period if you like. Maybe you usually get nursing visits through a dedicated nursing service provider but you’re finding you can’t keep up with the cleaning right now. That’s ok too. We’re here for you whenever you have a need, to help you find in-home help that will make life easier and more comfortable.

What could Home Care look like ?

Here are some examples of how clients are being supported with in-home help through the Mable platform right now:

• Companionship
• Meal delivery, preparation and shopping
• Housework, for example, laundry, changing the sheets, etc.
• Gardening
• Personal admin
• Home maintenance.