Halve your out-of-pocket: a step-by-step comparison guide
1 Dec 2025
If you feel like your home care budget disappears faster than it should, you are not imagining it. Small differences in hourly rates and fees can add up to hundreds of dollars each quarter. The good news is that you can reduce home care fees without cutting the support you rely on.
This step-by-step guide gives you a simple framework to switch to fairer rates, then redeploy those savings into more care hours at home.
Why reducing home care fees matters
When you try to reduce home care fees, you are really trying to do two things at once. You want:
Less of your money going to provider overheads and mark-ups
More of your funding and contributions turning into real care hours
Two clients with the same level of government funding can end up with very different outcomes. One pays high fees and receives shorter visits. The other keeps fees lean, pays fair hourly rates and receives more time and support. The difference usually comes down to how closely they have compared providers and pricing.
Step 1: Gather your current costs in one place
Before you switch providers or negotiate, you need a clear picture of where your money is going now. Collect:
Your most recent monthly or quarterly statements
Any pricing schedules or service lists from your provider
Notes on how many hours of each service you use in a typical week
Highlight three key figures:
Total government funding for the period
Total provider fees
Total cost of direct care in your home
This gives you a starting point to see how much room you have to reduce home care fees.
Step 2: Work out your real hourly rate
Headline rates can be misleading. To compare providers properly, you need your real hourly rate for the services you use most.
For each common service, such as domestic assistance or personal care, work out:
Total cost for that service in the period
Total hours delivered
Real hourly rate, including any associated fees
You might find that a service advertised at a certain amount per hour actually costs more once minimum visit times and fees are included. This is the number you should use when you compare options and look for ways to reduce home care fees.
Step 3: Compare with fairer pricing models
Now that you know your real hourly rate, you can start comparing. Look at:
Other traditional providers and their published price lists
Self-managed models like Trilogy Care, where you can use local support workers at local rates
Ask each provider or model to show you:
Typical hourly rates for the services you use most
Usual care management and administration fees
Any extra charges for coordinating workers you choose yourself
You are looking for a structure where hourly rates are fair and fees stay lean, so more of your budget can be redeployed into additional care hours.
Step 4: Check what you get for your fees
Reducing home care fees is not only about paying less. It is about understanding what you get in return. For each option, ask:
Do I have a dedicated care partner or contact person
How often will someone review my budget and care plan
How easy is it to change workers, visit times or services
Can my family be involved in planning if I want them to be
Sometimes a slightly higher fee is worth it if it buys strong support and flexibility. Often, though, clients find they are paying high fees for very limited help with planning and choice. That is when a switch can unlock both savings and better service.
Step 5: Plan your switch so savings fund more support
Once you have chosen a better option, treat the move as a simple project.
Pick a quarter or month to switch, so you do not leave funds stranded
Ask for written confirmation of all new rates and fees
Map out how many hours you expect to receive under the new pricing
Decide together how you will use the savings to increase support
For example, if switching helps you reduce home care fees by a set amount per quarter, plan how to turn that into extra help. That might mean longer personal care visits, an extra domestic assistance visit each fortnight or more social support.
How Trilogy Care helps you reduce home care fees
Trilogy Care is built around a simple idea. More hours, same funding. We help you reduce home care fees by combining self-management with strong support in the background.
With Trilogy Care, you can:
Avoid one-size-fits-all provider prices that sit at the top of the market
Keep provider fees lean and transparent, so more of your budget funds real services
See clearly how each dollar of funding and contributions turns into care hours
That means you can switch to fairer rates, then deliberately redeploy the savings into more time, more help and more flexibility at home. Instead of feeling squeezed from every side, you understand your options and stay in control of both your care and your costs.
If your goal is to halve your out-of-pocket costs over time, the first step is simple. Use this framework to compare providers, identify where your money currently goes and choose a model that lets you reduce home care fees and increase support at the same time. Trilogy Care can guide you through each step so the transition feels clear, calm and worthwhile. Call our team on 1300 459 190 to get started.
