Frequently asked questions.

For most clients, care begins within 1-2 weeks of the in-home assessment. We use that time to design your care plan, agree it with you, and introduce the small team who'll be coming.

If your situation is urgent, for example, a hospital discharge, a sudden decline, or a family carer who can no longer continue, we can usually start within a few days. Call us directly and we'll do everything we can.

A Registered Nurse visits your loved one's home in person. We sit down together (and you're welcome to be there, in person or by video) and have a relaxed conversation about:

• Their health, medications, and any conditions we should know about
• Their daily routines, preferences, and what a 'good day' looks like
• The home itself, accessibility, safety, where care can happen comfortably
• What support you've already tried, and what's working or not
• Any worries you or your family have

The assessment usually takes 60-90 minutes. There's no clipboard, no rush, and no obligation. It's free.

Yes, and we strongly encourage it. Care that's done to someone rarely works for long. Care that's designed with them does.

During the assessment we ask your loved one directly about their preferences, what feels comfortable, and what they don't want. Their voice shapes the plan.

No. Once we know your loved one and they know us, visits happen independently. Most family members aren't home during care visits, that's normal.

You'll get clear updates about each visit, and you can call us any time you have a question. Our priority is that your loved one is comfortable, safe, and seen.

You're never locked in. We don't use long-term contracts. If care isn't right for any reason, you can pause or stop with reasonable notice (usually two weeks for ongoing services). We'd much rather you tell us when something isn't working so we can fix it, but the choice is always yours.

It depends on which funding pathway applies to your situation, and how much support is needed. We share full pricing with you during the consultation, including hourly rates, minimum visit lengths, and any additional fees, so there are never surprises.

As a guide: if you're using a Home Care Package, most or all of your care costs are covered by the package's daily budget. If you're paying privately, expect rates broadly in line with premium nurse-led providers in Queensland, with the added value of clinical oversight included.

Yes. We can either:

• Be your primary Home Care Package provider, managing your package end-to-end
• Or work alongside an existing provider as a brokered service, which lets you keep your current case manager and add Everhome's nurse-led care to your plan

Both arrangements are common and we'll help you decide what suits your situation best during the consultation.

Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP), Entry-level government-subsidised support for older Australians not yet on a Home Care Package. We can support eligible clients through CHSP arrangements.

Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA), Eligible veterans and war widows can access in-home care through the Veterans' Home Care (VHC) program. We're happy to discuss this with you.

Private (self-funded), Many clients prefer to pay privately, either while waiting for an HCP to be assigned or because they want full flexibility. Hourly rates and minimum visit lengths are shared transparently.

The NDIS is for people under 65 with permanent disabilities. For older Australians (typically 65+, or 50+ for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people), aged care funding pathways like HCP and CHSP apply instead.

If your loved one is on the NDIS and approaching 65, or if you have a family member who needs disability support rather than aged care, we can help you understand the right pathway and refer you to appropriate providers.

Yes. Our standard minimum visit is 1 hour for everyday support and 1.5 hours for more complex visits (those involving personal care, nursing, or coordinated activities). This is standard across most quality providers, shorter visits don't allow time for genuine, unrushed care.

No. The first conversation, the in-home assessment, and the care plan we share with you are all completely free, with no obligation to proceed.

Yes. Every carer who works with Everhome Care is required to hold:

• A current National Police Check (renewed every three years per Australian aged care regulations)
• A Working with Vulnerable People / NDIS Worker Screening clearance where applicable
• Up-to-date First Aid and CPR certification
• Reference checks from previous aged care or nursing roles

All carers hold a Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing) at minimum, with many holding a Certificate IV or being qualified Enrolled or Registered Nurses. All clinical work is overseen by an experienced Registered Nurse.

We also invest in ongoing training in areas like dementia care, falls prevention, palliative care fundamentals, and respectful communication. Quality of care isn't a one-time qualification, it's an ongoing practice.

This is one of the things that sets us apart. Each client is supported by a small, consistent team, typically 2-3 carers, chosen for their fit with your loved one. You won't face a rotating roster of strangers.

If your primary carer is unwell or on leave, the back-up will be someone your loved one already knows, not someone they're meeting for the first time. Familiarity builds trust, and trust transforms care.

Tell us. Fit matters more than almost anything in care, and we'd much rather know early. We'll adjust the team, no offence taken, no awkward conversation required. We'll usually try a different carer from our existing team first; if needed, we'll bring in someone new.

Yes, fully. Everhome Care holds Public Liability Insurance, Professional Indemnity Insurance, and Workers' Compensation cover. All carers are properly employed (not contracted), which means they're trained, supervised, and covered.

Directly. You can raise anything, small or significant, with our team directly, by phone or email. Concerns are taken seriously, investigated promptly, and you'll hear back from us with what we found and what we're doing about it.

If you'd like to escalate beyond Everhome, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (1800 951 822) is the independent national regulator.

Yes, for established clients whose needs require it. Overnight care, sleepover support, and live-in arrangements are available, typically for clients with significant nursing needs, end-of-life care, or families needing respite.

For new clients, we usually start with day-time visits and build from there as the relationship and care plan develop.

Yes. Care doesn't take weekends off, and neither do we. Saturday, Sunday, and public holiday visits are part of normal scheduling, though there's typically a modest premium on those rates, which we'll explain upfront.

Yes. Dementia care is one of the areas where nurse-led oversight matters most, small changes in cognition, behaviour, mood, or routine often signal something that needs medical attention, and our training helps us spot it.

We use established dementia-care principles: consistent carers, predictable routines, calm communication, environmental adjustment, and validation rather than correction. We work closely with families and GPs to keep the plan responsive as needs evolve.

Yes, and we strongly encourage it. Most of our clients have at least one family member closely involved, and it's almost always a positive thing. We treat families as partners: we listen, we share, and we keep you informed.

If family members live interstate or overseas, we communicate by phone, email, or video, and provide care updates that don't require you to chase.

Yes, when families wish for this and clinical circumstances allow. End-of-life care at home is one of the most meaningful things we do. We work alongside specialist palliative care services, your GP, and the family to ensure your loved one is comfortable, dignified, and surrounded by what's familiar in their final weeks or days.

Larger providers do important work and they suit some families well. Everhome offers something different:

• Nurse-led. Every care plan is built and overseen by a Registered Nurse. Many large providers reserve nursing for clients with complex clinical needs only.
• Smaller, deliberately. We keep our client list intentionally limited so each family gets meaningful attention. You won't be one of thousands.
• One consistent team. No rotating roster of strangers. The same small team, every visit.
• Direct access. When you call, you reach someone who actually knows your loved one, not a call centre operator. No call centre.
• Premium, not budget. We don't try to be the cheapest. We try to be the kind of care you'd want for your own mum or dad.

Everhome Care services Greater Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and the Sunshine Coast. If you're in or near any of those regions, we can usually help. If you're outside our area, tell us where you are, we may be able to suggest an aligned provider.

Everhome Care is a small, nurse-led team based in Queensland, with experience across acute hospital care, aged care, and community health. We started Everhome Care after seeing too many older Australians decline unnecessarily, or move into residential care prematurely, because consistent, quality support at home wasn't available. Read more about our team.

Three ways. First, we keep you in the loop: brief updates after key visits, prompt callbacks, and a real person at the end of the phone. Second, we're built around consistent carers, so the people coming actually know your loved one and would notice changes. Third, the nurse-led oversight catches things others miss: a subtle shift in mood, a skin issue, a medication side effect. You don't have to chase information out of us. We bring it to you.

Absolutely. The most common starting point is a few visits a week for the first month, with no long-term commitment. After 4-6 weeks, we sit down together and decide whether to continue, adjust, or part ways. Care needs to feel right, for your loved one, and for you.