Respite at Home vs Residential Respite: Which to Choose

Respite at home keeps the person in their own surroundings for a few hours or a night. Residential respite moves them into an aged care home for days or weeks. For a full week off, residential respite costs far less. For a few hours at a time, respite at home is the practical choice.

This guide compares the two on cost, notice and effect on the person, across the funding systems Australians use: Support at Home, the Commonwealth Home Support Program, the NDIS and Carer Gateway.

Carevo is a connection platform. It connects carers with respite providers and does not deliver respite care.

Key points

• Residential respite in a government-funded aged care home costs the basic daily fee, $68.93 a day, with no means tested contribution or accommodation cost. Up to 63 subsidised days are available each financial year.
• In-home respite under Support at Home is paid from the person’s classification budget, so it competes with other services for the same dollars.
• NDIS participants can get short term respite, usually up to 28 days a year, and in-home respite as support worker hours from the core budget.
• Carer Gateway arranges emergency respite on 1800 422 737 and does not require an aged care approval.
• For a full week off, residential respite is far cheaper. For a few hours at a time, respite at home wins.

The short version

What respite at home looks like

A support worker comes to the house and takes over for a set period. That might be three hours on a Tuesday so a carer can get to their own appointments, a full day each week, or an overnight stay so the carer can sleep. The person being cared for stays in familiar surroundings, keeps their routine and their bed, and does not have to be moved.

For people with dementia this matters. A change of environment can trigger confusion and agitation that outlasts the stay. In-home respite avoids that, at the cost of the carer still being close by unless they leave the house.

Cost under Support at Home. Respite is paid from the person’s annual classification budget, which runs from $11,031.56 at Level 1 to $80,294 at Level 8 in 2026-27. My Aged Care lists respite as an independence service, so a full pensioner contributes 5% of the provider’s price and a self-funded retiree 50%, with part pensioners in between. As an illustration, at a provider price of $80 an hour a full pensioner would pay $4 an hour and a self-funded retiree $40.

The catch is that every respite hour comes out of the same budget as cleaning, transport and nursing. A Level 3 budget of $22,580.93 buys roughly five hours of support a week at $80 an hour, so regular respite competes with the rest of the plan. Support at Home prices are set by each provider, so the same budget buys different hours with different providers.

Cost under the Commonwealth Home Support Program. The CHSP funds respite at home, day respite and cottage respite for people with entry-level needs. Each CHSP provider sets a client contribution under its own policy and must tell you what you will pay.

Cost under the NDIS. In-home respite is not a separate line item. It is funded as ordinary support worker hours from the participant’s core budget. The 2026-27 price limit for a standard weekday daytime hour is $73.58, with higher limits for evenings, weekends and public holidays. Use the NDIS pay rate calculator to see the limit for a specific day and time.

Cost privately. Families without funding, or who have used their budget, pay the provider’s full price. Private prices vary by provider, so ask for a written quote that covers evenings, weekends and overnight shifts.

What residential respite looks like

The person moves into an aged care home for a short stay, from a few days to a few weeks, and the carer has no responsibilities for that time. The home provides meals, nursing, personal care and activities exactly as it does for permanent residents.

Cost under aged care. A respite stay in a government-funded aged care home costs the basic daily fee of $68.93 a day, at rates from 20 September 2026. The fee is 85% of the single basic age pension and changes on 20 March and 20 September. My Aged Care states that a provider cannot ask you to pay any means tested contributions or any accommodation costs for respite. You do not need a means assessment.

Two other charges can apply. A provider may ask for a booking fee of up to one week’s respite fees or 25% of the fee for the whole stay, whichever is lower. It is deducted from your daily fees once you enter care, and it must be refunded if you cancel more than 7 days before entry. Some homes also offer optional extras for a higher everyday living fee, which cannot be agreed before you enter care or made a condition of entry.

The government pays the home a respite subsidy and an accommodation supplement for each day of the stay.

How much you can use. Up to 63 days of subsidised residential respite in a financial year, covering planned and emergency stays. An aged care assessor can extend this by 21 days at a time. You need an aged care assessment to be approved for residential respite, so ask the assessor to consider it even if you do not expect to use it soon.

Cost under the NDIS. The NDIS equivalent is short term respite, which the NDIS called short term accommodation until October 2025. It is usually a stay in a group house, not an aged care home. The NDIS says it usually funds up to 28 days a year, for up to 14 days at a time. Our NDIS respite calculator estimates the cost of a stay.

The downside. Approval does not guarantee a place. Not every aged care home offers respite, and those that do may have no room for temporary residents on your dates. A change of surroundings can also unsettle the person, particularly someone living with dementia.

Emergency respite

Call Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 at any time if you become sick or injured and cannot keep caring. You will speak to your local Carer Gateway service provider, who will talk through the options and book emergency respite where a suitable service is available. It can be at home or in an aged care home.

Emergency respite does not depend on an existing aged care approval. If the person has not had an aged care assessment and needs residential respite urgently, the aged care home can arrange an urgent assessment.

Which one, and when

Choose respite at home when:

• the carer needs a few hours back each week rather than a block of days;
• the person has dementia or anxiety and moves badly;
• there is a Support at Home budget with room in it, or NDIS core funding;
• the carer wants to stay nearby.

Choose residential respite when:

• the carer is unwell, exhausted or travelling and needs a complete break;
• the person needs nursing overnight that an in-home worker cannot safely provide;
• money is tight, since the basic daily fee costs far less than paying for 24-hour cover at home;
• you want to trial a particular aged care home before a permanent move.

The two can be combined: a regular weekly block at home for the carer’s own appointments, and a residential stay once or twice a year. For where respite sits among the other options, see types of aged care in Australia.

Cost comparison for one week

Assume a full pensioner on a Level 5 Support at Home budget of $40,809.27 a year whose daughter wants one week off. The $80 hourly price is an illustration, not a quote.

Residential respite costs least for a full week. In-home respite makes sense when the need is a few hours at a time.

Frequently asked questions

How much does residential respite cost in Australia?

In a government-funded aged care home, residential respite costs the basic daily fee, $68.93 a day at rates from 20 September 2026. A provider cannot ask for a means tested contribution or accommodation costs for a respite stay. A provider may ask for a booking fee, which is deducted from your daily fees once you enter care, and may offer optional extras for a higher everyday living fee.

How many days of residential respite can I use?

Up to 63 days of subsidised residential respite in a financial year, covering planned and emergency stays. An aged care assessor can extend this by 21 days at a time. The days do not need to be taken in one block.

Is in-home respite covered by Support at Home?

Yes. Respite is a Support at Home independence service and is paid from the person’s classification budget. A full pensioner contributes 5% of the price and a self-funded retiree 50%, with part pensioners in between. In-home respite draws on the same budget as other services, so heavy respite use leaves less for everything else.

What respite does the NDIS fund?

The NDIS funds short term respite, which it called short term accommodation or STA until October 2025. It is usually funded for up to 28 days a year, for up to 14 days at a time. In-home respite is funded as ordinary support worker hours from the participant’s core budget, not as a separate line.

Can I get respite at short notice?

Call Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 at any time. Your local Carer Gateway service provider will talk through the options and book emergency respite where a suitable service is available. Planned residential respite needs an aged care assessment approval and a booking with the home. In-home respite depends on a provider having a worker available.

Key resources

• Respite care, My Aged Care
• Short-term care costs and fees, My Aged Care
• Support at Home service list, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
• Short term respite, NDIS
• Planned and emergency respite, Carer Gateway

Getting it organised

1. Ask about residential respite at the aged care assessment. The assessment is free, and an approval does not oblige you to use it.
2. Call Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737 before you need emergency respite, and make an emergency care plan.
3. Book residential respite early and confirm the home has a place for your dates.
4. Keep a tally of respite days used in the financial year, and ask for a 21-day extension before the 63 days run out.
5. Compare in-home providers on price and availability. Support at Home prices are set by each provider.

Carevo connects carers with respite care providers in their suburb, for respite at home or a residential stay. If you are unsure whether you need a break yet, the caregiver burnout quiz takes two minutes. For the basics, see what respite care means.

Families never pay Carevo. Providers can list for free, but need a monthly or annual subscription to connect with a family and receive their contact details. Carevo charges no commission, per-connection fee or success fee, and nothing a provider pays buys a higher position. Carevo does not vet, screen, inspect or endorse providers or workers. Registration labels are copied from public government registers and can be out of date, so confirm them on the register before you decide.