Australian In-Home Aged Care: A Client’s Perspective
In our latest Conversations with G & G podcast, we sat down with Sharon, who lives with rheumatoid arthritis and relies on in-home care. Her story offered a powerful reminder that aged care is about more than just services — it’s about dignity, relationships, and respect. Here are the key takeaways from her conversation with Giovanni, Giselle, and Danni.
Relationships Matter Most
For Sharon, the best carers are those who bring warmth, humour, and companionship into her day. Whether it’s a chat while shopping or a laugh over coffee, these moments of connection are what make her feel supported, not just cared for.
Professionalism Builds Trust
Sharon highlighted how small details — a clean car, tidy presentation, and respect for her home — can make a big difference. Professionalism isn’t an “extra,” it’s a sign that her time and dignity are valued.
Feedback Shapes Quality
Speaking up isn’t always easy, but Sharon stressed the importance of raising concerns when care falls short. Giovanni and Giselle explained that the strongest providers welcome feedback, act on it, and use it to improve. That responsiveness is what separates quality care from the rest.
Providers Carry Responsibility
From the provider side, Giovanni and Giselle shared how their organisation focuses on professional standards, training, and support for their carers. They emphasised that care must balance compassion with accountability — because clients deserve both.
Together, these themes show that true quality in aged care comes from more than policies or programs. It’s built every day, through connection, professionalism, listening, and action.
👉 Listen to the full episode below
Full Transcription - 09 Australia In-home Aged Care: A Clients Perspective Feat Client Sharon
Danni
Hello and welcome to another episode of Conversations with G and G. We're so excited to have a very special guest with us today. Joining us is Sharon. She's a valued client of in-home aged care services, who will be sharing her personal journey with in-home aged care with her first hand experience, Sharon offers a unique and insightful perspective on the impact that caregiving has on her daily life, and also her overall well-being.
Danni
So today, she's going to be diving in to the important topic of navigating in-home care, the challenges and the benefits it brings, and also sharing some advice with us on others considering this option for themselves or their loved ones. So welcome Sharon. We're so thrilled to have you with us.
Sharon
Hello.
Danni
Now, Sharon, how is it that you came to be involved with in-home aged care services?
Sharon
Well, my journey basically started because I was diagnosed at an early age with rheumatoid arthritis, and over the years it's progressively got worse and I've needed lots of operations. So therefore I've needed some help around just my daily routine and things that I do each day.
Giselle
And how has that support helped you with your quality of life.
Sharon
Oh it's been amazing because if I didn't have that, I remember when I didn't have it, it was really, really hard because you just everyday things like getting up, cooking a meal, even showering, you know, all those personal things became quite hard. So now that I have it, it's, whether it's after an operation or just day to day living, it's easy because, you know, that it's just going to happen. You can get up and if you're having a really bad day that there's someone there to help.
Giselle
Yeah, that's nice and comforting to know that there's someone
Sharon
and that you're not struggling on your own. Yeah.
Giselle
Yeah. How do you find the companionship aspect of it as well?
Sharon
I love that because I'm a talker and I like being around people. And if you're stuck at home you don't have that. So for someone to come into your home and be able to not just be there to help you with the daily function of tasks, whether that be helping you with your shower or helping you prepare food, or taking you shopping. Just to have that interaction with someone else is really, really important.
Giselle
Yeah. Absolutely. Really does.
Giovanni
So Sharon what aspects of the services that has made the biggest impact on you and even around your family as well?
Sharon
That's a really interesting one because I think that depends on how I'm feeling. On the day and if I've had operations and things like that. But I think overall some of when I've had operation, someone been able to come in and shower you because you just want to feel clean, I suppose.
Fresh, freshen up. And to have someone come in and do that is really it's just makes you feel so good. And then I suppose if I look at it like more recently, the things that make a big difference, someone into someone coming in to take me shopping, that's been really, really good. Because it gets me out.
If I'm having a bad day, I can just use my walker. And it's getting me out of the house. Especially if I've been recovering and I haven't been able to drive for 6 or 8 weeks or something. And, you know, during that, rehab time. So to have someone come in and be able to just get you out where you don't feel isolated, I find is really, really important.
And also sometimes when I've had people coming in to do meals and things like that, when I've had my, operation on my wrists and things like that, where I haven't been able to use my hands or my hands just because of the arthritis have been really, really sore. So even like people coming in to do meal preparations and things, they've been probably the ones that have really been benefiting and getting back to the shopping.
That's really important for me because I can't lift anything heavier than a certain amount of weight and I can't straighten my arm. So to get things off shelves in the shops and bring them down, especially if there's a bit of weight with them, and even carrying your shopping bags and things like that, they're the things that you struggle with each day that you don't. People don't think about. And they're the things that I find that are really important for me.
Giovanni
That's a very good point. Yeah.
Danni
Just on that, Sharon Dee defined even on an emotional level, that having those in-home services help too? So, for example, you know, you have a son that lives on the other side of Melbourne, your daughter's a nurse and she's very busy to, Do you find that it takes the pressure off you having to worry about asking your family for things?
Sharon
Absolutely. And, like, I always think my children have got their lives. If there is help out there for me to be able to use that. And it frees them up to. My grandchildren, their children to be able to do things like that with them without worrying about their mum.
But also, I don't want them to feel like at my age that they have to come and look after me when there's other like there's services out there that can help as well. And I actually was thinking about that and I thought, gee, that to me is really important that they don't feel because there will come a time, I think, when they will need to step up a little bit more, but it's not now.
Giselle
Yeah. Some families like it. I think this is a really good discussion because not some families find it is a hard discussion to have. And sometimes loved ones don't want to get the help or they're not in denial, but they think that they can keep going. What advice do you have maybe to the family in terms of having those hard conversations with their loved ones about seeking other, other services, other types of support? Did you, when you first started, did you know and say, yep, I'm definitely going to get in, care, I'm going to get some support? Or were you hesitant about making that step?
Sharon
I was actually really hesitant.
Giselle
Yeah. Which is common.
Sharon
It is. And I think it's because while for me it was I'm not that bad, other people need it more than what I do.
Giselle
Yeah.
Sharon
And I think a lot of us are like that. And then one day I just. Somebody said something to me, and I just knew that I just couldn't do what I thought I could do. And so it was sad. It was an embarrassment of admission, I guess, for me, that I had got to that stage because I've always been a very independent person. So, it just takes a while and you just got to work through it. And I think.
When you get to that stage and you're working through that, it's I think if people had have just pushed me, or I would have backed right off, but I think it was really important that people would talk to me about it and let me work it through within myself, without feeling like I was getting pushed into something that I didn't want to do.
Because when the time came where I really needed it, I felt okay about asking for that help. Yeah, I didn't feel like it was forced on me.
Giselle
Yep.
Giovanni
So it was for you it was an educational process?
Sharon
I wouldn't say it was an educational, it was more about physically I just couldn't do things.
Giovanni
You know in terms of getting to know what services are out there and then for you to know if your ready to receive them.
Sharon
And that was a hard thing, knowing what services there were, how to access them, and not giving up, trying to work out how to get there because it's not an easy system to navigate your way through. And so I found I had to learn to be persistent. I had to, just keep trying and ask lots of questions that was the thing till I really understood what I needed and what I wanted and what was going to benefit me and my journey.
You know, through this field.
Danni
And was the cost of services something that worried you before you knew about packages and things like that?
Sharon
No, I don't think so, because I had help. I had the NDIS to help me. But I can understand that it would for some people. Yeah. But I don't think if you, if you can get the help like from the government and that it's not too bad the cost really, I think it helps to take that pressure off because you've got that funding there to help you and to access that is a really, really good thing.
Because not everybody has money to be able to do things privately.
Giovanni
Yeah. So true.
Giselle
So have you had any challenges while you've been receiving home care and how have you come about facing those?
Sharon
Oh, yes. There's been a few challenges. And I think some of that's really been I've had to put my big girl pants on and deal with them.
And I'm not a person who loves to challenge. Yeah, it goes back, I think, to what I was saying before, knowing what's out there, looking at what will work for you and being persistent, asking a lot of questions and when things do go wrong, just as I said, putting on the big girl pants and trying to deal with a navigate my way through it.
Giovanni
Yeah. Where did you go to find information? Did you go on Google or did you go to a friend or a social? I asked a lot of friends. And I rang around different companies to try and see what they were offering, and how different things worked for within their association. And I think just in my mind, it just got so confusing.
So yeah, that would have been a, that was one of the big challenges and trying to have that understanding. How it can work for you and what will benefit you.
Giselle
Can I ask a question about the confusing information? If you could offer advice to those who are running or organising all of this, what would you say in terms of the client perspective. Like how can we improve it and make it easier for clients, consumers and their families?
Sharon
Be patient when people are asking questions. Ask them a few more questions so that you get an understanding of, what the client is actually asking for or looking at. And I guess encourage them to ask questions as well.
Yeah. Because I think the communication is a really big part of it.
Giselle
Yep.
Sharon
And not one glove fits everybody. You know we're all different. All our needs are different. The variation of our needs is different. Yeah that's what I'd be asking.
Giselle
Yep.
Giovanni
So Sharon we had a bit of a chat before and you mentioned that, in the past you had to organise in-home care services for your mum for, you know, aged care service. Can you talk us through a little bit about your experience and, and some advice that you can give us to the audience around that?
Sharon
Well, it just sort of happened fairly quickly with mum and, she developed dementia as well. And trying to organise some of that for her as well as explaining things. Keep it simple. And also for me trying to know what services would benefit her and then her not wanting those services, even though you know that she needed them.
Giovanni
Yeah thats a big one isn’t it.
Sharon
It was a big challenge.
Giovanni
Yeah.
Sharon
And I think a lot of people go through that because, especially those with dementia, because they have one day they're fine and the next “no I don't want it” and they have no reason to say that. They don't understand that they don't even remember yesterday. So that is really hard on families who are helping to get those services for their loved ones.
Giovanni
So how did you get across that?
Sharon
I just had to make decisions and yes, she didn't like them.
Right. So you had to just be firm and organise things for her then hopefully she will accept that?
Sharon
Yes organise things for her but also as a family member, be there for her as much as possible so that she didn't feel like, it was almost like being put in a nursing home or something where she was being forgotten about, because I felt she still needed to be shown that she was loved.
And that, you know, it wasn't like getting all these things set up for her and then having nothing to do with her. Because I think that was one of her big fears.
Giovanni
Absolutely. So it's like an extension of the family having someone come in at home and looking after your, your mum and embracing that, concept.
Sharon
Yes and also for mum, we were lucky enough that she clicked with people. You know that was really important for her. And when we had to change one of her providers over because, her needs got, what would you call them? She had needed more care in that, and therefore she had lost one of her favorite workers. Just trying to work through her with that was really, really difficult because she had no understanding of why that was actually going to be the case.
Why can't I have her? And trying to explain to her that that need, you know, her needs were more now, that was really really hard.
Giovanni
Yeah. That's a good point because you build those relationships and when that, you know, doesn't occur anymore, it can be a very big setback.
Sharon
Well, she didn't like me very much for a while. So it does put strain on the family, you know, when they're doing my doing all this organizing that is actually going to benefit them, but they can't see that. And, yeah, it's really upsetting because you don't want to see a parent, whether it's your mum or your dad or even a sibling or whoever it is, you know, going through that because it hurts, you know, that you're doing something for them.
But when they can't see it and in the end it's going to benefit them. But you have to just make those decisions sometimes. And to take the consequences from that. But it's really difficult.
Giovanni
Yeah. Yeah. Do you find it helpful to set those expectations at the start? Say, hey, mum, we're going to have a new person. But again,
Sharon
I did that.
Giovanni
This new person might leave. So, you know, just set those rules that she's not going to be, you know, your forever carer. Things can still change.
Sharon
Yes, we did that, but it just didn't go down well. Because she was a bit of a stubborn lady but that's what got her to the age she was at two I think.
But she just knew that she liked this person. And to her there was nobody better. You know that could see her needs and fill them in. And this person did spoil mum a little bit. She loved mum too. There was a great relationship with them and she understood and she was wonderful. She explained everything to mum. And mum said she was fine but she wasn't. But she knew that she had nowhere else to go with that.
Giovanni
Yeah I see. And did you, you manage to find a good replacement?
Sharon
Well not long after that she had a fall and passed away. But she was getting used to it and she liked them.
And it was just a different change of pace and routine for mum as well. That was something else that she had to get used to because I found with her dementia and things needed to be a routine for her. That was really, really important for her to have that. And you broke that routine because like if I had an appointment and I couldn't take her to what was her routine, she just couldn't understand and, work her way around that she, you know, that that was, you couldn't help things like that sometimes. Yeah. So routines are really important, I felt.
Giovanni
That's spot on.
Danni
So, Sharon, what is it that you look for? Like the characteristics of a caregiver and how is your current caregiver meeting those needs and expectations?
Sharon
Well, I've got a bit of a wicked sense of humor. So they've got to have a bit of a sense of humor. They've gotta like talking. They've got a lot to sit down and have a coffee with me and maybe some lunch.
Danni
And they get paid to do this?
Sharon
Oh, absolutely.
Danni
They get paid to have a sense of humor and like to talk. Sounds like a pretty good job.
Sharon
She's amazing. Yeah, she's really, really good. Very happy with her. And actually, when I don't have her back for different reasons. Yeah, I miss her because we do have a lot of fun together. Yeah. And there's just been a connection that's developed. Yeah. So that's with my, the one that takes me shopping and then the one that does the cleaning. She's, Yeah, she's pretty good, too. We have a bit of a chat when she comes, so for me, it's important that, there's definitely connection that gets built.
Danni
Yeah.
Sharon
Yeah, a bit of fun. And as I say, likes to eat and have coffee. All those are important to me.
Danni
That's good. And it is important, isn't it? Because you're letting someone into your personal space and, you know, that's, I guess the beautiful thing, too, about, you know, most people that are carers, they go into that line of work because they do have a genuine caring compassion for people.And so it can be, something that's really important, not just on that, you know, level of a carer needs a job and you need a, you know, a carer needs care. It's that those genuine authentic relationships form there that it's so life giving.
Sharon
Absolutely. Because they're coming in too. And in a way they're replacing a family to a certain point because they're doing things that your family can't do for whatever reasons.
But they might live interstate, they might be working. They have young families, whatever it is that they just can't do. So to have a carer come in and I suppose you've got that expectation for them to live up to and be able to do that. It's amazing when it does happen.
Danni
Yeah.
Giovanni
Yeah. The power of relationships is so powerful.
Danni
It’s key isn’t it.
Sharon
Yeah. Yeah.
Danni
And it's a basic human need isn’t Gio.
Giovanni
Yeah you form that bond and, yeah it's beautiful to see.
Sharon
I've only ever had a couple of workers that I hadn't really clicked with in all the years that I've been.
Giovanni
And that can happen, you know.
Sharon
It can. And even with that, it was, as I've said before, I had to get my big girl pants on and say something, you know, and I don't like to do that because I don't like people being upset.
But in the end, it was about my needs, not about hurting them. And I would never want to hurt them, but, or upset them, but I guess they’re used to it, but I'm not used to doing that to people. But it was about trying to find, yeah, just someone that I clicked with, I guess. And I feel like I've done that now.
Giovanni
And Sharon you see, there's a big focus from the government on making sure that consumers and participants feel heard and they are able to provide their feedback.
Sharon
Yeah.
Giovanni
Very, very big focus on that. So yeah, it's all about providing feedback so that they can improve on their service delivery. And, you know, participants feel heard and and they feel like they're receiving, you know, the care that they need. So it's all about you.
Sharon Yes, and can I say from a participant's point of view too, I get turned off by things when someone comes to pick me up and cars are dirty. They've got to take things off the seat for you to be able to sit. And if you ask them sometimes they get upset.
Or “can you move that off the floor please because I might trip over that”. You know things like that. And I've had to do that. And as a participant you don't feel valued when you have to do that. You don't feel that you're important enough for them to, you know, take cleanliness, clean the seat, keep the things off the floor so you don't trip things like that.
And that's just one of those bad things that's happened. Not often, but it has happened.
Giovanni
Yeah.
Sharon
And I think that's because that to me says to the client, you're just a job. You're just a number. You're not important. I'm doing this for the money. Not because I want to help you. Yeah.
Danni
And that was like a previous provider though too wasn't. It's not for the one your with now?
Sharon
Yes it was. But you know it's there and it happens probably more than people realised.
Danni
Yeah. Yeah.
Sharon
And I think you know, even the way that they dress and things like that is really, really important to me as a client. I see those things as really special because if I, if a client comes to me and they're dirty, they’ve got dirty nails and things like that.
I, as a client immediately think, oh, this isn't going to go down. Well, it immediately puts a damper on things for me because it shows that I'm not respected enough to be, you know, it's just me. I don't know if everyone else would be like that. Some people may not care, but I do.
Giselle
Yeah. And things like that It's important to bring up with the provider because they need to know. So it is all about making sure that the workforce is professional. And, you're right. Like, at the end of the day, it's about the client and the client's wishes and the impression that the workforce and the caregiver makes is important too. So yes. It is important to bring up.
Giovanni
And how the provider responds to your feedback is what you're going to look for. Yes.
Giselle
Because you want an outcome for an action.
Giovanni
Yes its all well and said, to you know, share some feedback and then and then what? You want to see that the feedback has been taken on board and implemented. And there's a genuine effort to to improve and make it better for you.
Sharon
Yes.
Giovanni
So if you see that that's when you see it's a good quality provider. Right. Because things like that can happen to anyone and any providers. Good or bad.
Sharon
Yes absolutely.
Giovanni
So either they have training or not. They can have caregivers that might not be a great fit for the organization. Or they might need a refresher
Sharon
Or to me it says they don't have that respect for themselves. So therefore where's that respect for that client.
Giselle
Yeah.
Sharon
Yes. And I've had to speak up before and, sometimes it hadn't gone down well. Which is sad. But, Yeah, I think sometimes that's when it's time to move on and change and find someone better. Exactly right. If you feel like you're not, you're not feeling valued and heard from the provider, not so much from the caregiver.
Because, you know, at the end of the day, management is what they need to take action, right. It could be changing of caregiver, implementing a new training or, yeah.
Danni
Can I just put a bit of a flip on that for a minute too? Because I'm sitting here like hearing you all talk and knowing that, you know, Giselle and Giovanni, you lead, you know, a carer organization. Sharon your participant. For those that are tuning in right now, that are maybe in that position where they're, you know, they've got something they're not happy with or, you know, what is the perspective from an organizational point of view when you have a worker that's maybe not presenting themselves well, not representing the organization well, maybe not, training a client with the respect that's needed.
How does that sit with you guys and how do you handle that? Because I think that's important for people to know, you know, both ends of that not only had to deal with it themselves, but what the organization actually expects.
Giovanni
That's a very good point Danni. Yeah. Giselle you're probably in a good position to share.
Giselle
Well if we talk specifically about presentation, we do have a dress code. Right. So there are rules that our workforce needs to follow in terms of that. But you know we welcome feedback and it will come in. And the first thing we do is we chat to the employee and make sure that what is their point of view, we need to give them a fair process and make sure that they're heard as well.
Or, you know, people go through all sorts of things in their own personal lives. So we take everything into consideration and we use it depends on the seriousness, of course. But we give them an opportunity to talk to us about what's going on and why they did something. And then we'll take it from there. It could be something like retraining or going through the dress code policy with them again, or, it could be something a bit more serious, maybe more disciplinary.
Giovanni
And then we launch an investigation into you and trigger a series of interviews. Where we could involve clients,
Giselle
Witnesses, all sorts of things. So it really depends on the seriousness of the matter.
Giovanni
But we certainly do take it seriously.
Giselle
Yeah.
Giovanni
Whatever feedback that it is. And try our very best to. Yeah. Address that the best we can. Yeah. In fairness and circle back with the participant or the client as much as we can. Obviously we can't overshare. Right.
Danni
Yeah.
Giovanni
There's still a level of of the privacy
Giselle
And confidentiality of the employer. Yes. Exactly.
Giovanni
And, not only that, we take a step further, for the employee himself, we offer a, what we call a wellness and a mental health support system for all our employees, where regardless of the situation, we always advocate for them to to tap into that resource that is there for them.
We invested as an organization into providing the best possible support for our employees, and whether that be mental health or any, any other type of support, you know, time off work. So we always advocate for them to look after themselves, no matter whether it be whether they're at fault or not.
Giselle
Yeah, but generally speaking, when you do hear that feedback, you do feel a little bit of disappointment because you think about, you know, what you would expect with your own parents or grandparents, right?
You'd want them if they if they've got a service and they're paying for it, you want them to be in a clean car, that you want them to be transported in a clean car with someone that's professional looking and that, you know, especially if you're out and about the, consumer and client is proud to be standing next to that person who's helping them and with the focus on them. So.
Giovanni
And there are times where we go back to the interview notes as well for that particular employee to maybe understand what went wrong. And, you know, if there was any added red flag that was raised during the interview. So we can learn not make the same. If you want assumptions or mistakes, that will be a mistake during interview process, because that's where it all starts in the in the interview, in the screening process of bringing on the best possible employee possible that better reflects your values and your purpose.
Giselle
And the key, I think another key thing is, to have a really wide range of workforce, because obviously you've got a wide range of clients and everyone wants different things. So you also need to be looking at that when you do hire workforce.
Giovanni
And you match that with the participants and the client.
Giselle
We have gone on to a bit of a workforce tangent haven't we.
Danni
But I think it's important because for the client they're in the middle of that.
Giselle
Yeah.
Danni
With their carer, right?
Giselle
Absolutely.
Danni
I think it's
Giovanni
And they might not necessarily know what's happening. You know.
Danni
Yeah.
Giovanni
Behind the scenes. Right.
Danni
Exactly. But I think the bottom line that I'm getting, and look, I'm at a bit of an advantage here because I know you all personally as well as professionally. And so I know, Giselle, when you're sharing this stuff about caring for your employees and caring for your clients, and then you've got like, you've got Gio’s mum living with you, you're doing it yourselves on a practical level.
You guys are so well rounded at that. And you do have genuine care, like you're not just in this whole thing for money and business. You're in care because you care, and you're in care because you're doing it yourselves. And it's such a genuine thing. I think that's a beautiful and an important thing for those tuning in to hear that the priority really is them as a participant.
You know, it is important for them to be able to speak up. It is important for them to feel valued and cared for. And it's important for the service provider to know that their staff are cared for, but also held accountable and doing the right thing.
Giselle
Yeah. So yeah.
Giovanni
Thank you Danni. Appreciate that.
Danni
Yeah. Well, Sharon, thank you so much for being with us today. We really have appreciated all of your insight on both being a carer and being a participant. And we wish you all the best in the rest of your care journey.
Sharon
Thanks, Danni. Thanks, guys.
Giselle
Thank you.
Giovanni
Thank you Sharon.
Outro:
Giovanni:
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Conversations with G and G. We hope today’s chat offered some fresh insight and support for your caregiving journey.
Giselle:
If you’re looking for more tools, strategies, or just a bit of encouragement, head over to our website, you’ll find resources to guide you every step of the way.
Danni:
Whether you're just starting out as a caregiver or have been caring for a loved one for years, there’s something there for you.
Giselle:
Don’t forget to subscribe, share this episode with someone who needs it, and join us next month for another real, honest conversation.