What to Look for When Buying a Home Care Business

Demand for care at home keeps growing as more older Australians choose to stay in their own homes for longer, and that has made home care businesses an attractive purchase for operators and investors alike. They are also among the most regulated small businesses you can buy, and the rules changed significantly in late 2025. Before you look at price, you need to know exactly what kind of home care business you are looking at and what it is allowed to do.

This guide covers the checks that matter most when buying a home care business in Australia, from registration and the new Support at Home program to clients, staff and price.

First, work out what kind of business it is

"Home care" covers a wide range of businesses. Some deliver government-funded aged care as registered providers. Others only serve clients who pay privately, such as live-in care or companionship services. Some do a mix, and some also deliver NDIS supports. Nursing agencies, allied health practices and home maintenance services sometimes sit in the same category on sales listings.

Each model has a different risk profile. A business funded mainly through government programs depends on its registration and its compliance record. A private-pay business depends more on its reputation, referrers and pricing. Ask for revenue broken down by funding source for at least the past two years, so you know which kind of business you would actually own.

Understand the new rules before you read the numbers

The Aged Care Act 2024 started on 1 November 2025. According to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, the Support at Home program replaced the Home Care Packages program and short-term restorative care on that date, and the Commonwealth Home Support Program moves across later. The Commission regulates registered providers according to the registration categories they hold.

For a buyer, the key points are:

• Registration categories. Check which categories the provider is registered in and that they match the services it actually delivers. Support at Home providers registered in categories 4 and 5 must meet the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards that apply to their category.
• Obligations that apply to everyone. All registered providers must follow the Code of Conduct for Aged Care and report serious incidents to the Commission through the Serious Incident Response Scheme, whatever their category.
• Program rules keep moving. Support at Home is still bedding in, and the department has continued to adjust program settings since launch. Model the business's revenue on the rules that apply now, not on last year's results alone.

How the sale itself is treated

Registration belongs to the provider entity, so how you buy makes a difference. If you buy the shares in the company that holds the registration, the registration stays with that company. The Commission's guidance on changes in organisation or governance arrangements says providers must notify it of significant changes to their legal or business structure, including a sale, acquisition or merger, and that changes to governing body members also require responsible person forms.

If you buy the business's assets through a new entity instead, that entity is a different provider and will need its own registration in the right categories before it can deliver government-funded care. Confirm the path with the Commission and your lawyer early, allow for it in the settlement timeline, and make the contract conditional on the approvals you need.

Clients: the real asset, and the most mobile one

In a home care business, goodwill sits mostly with the clients and the relationships staff have with them. Clients can usually choose to move to another provider, so a client list is only as valuable as the reasons those clients have to stay. Ask for:

• the number of active clients each month for the past two years, with new clients and departures;
• the reasons clients left, including complaints, hospital or residential care, and moves to other providers;
• where new clients come from, and whether referrals depend on one person, such as the owner or a single coordinator;
• copies of the standard client agreement and how pricing is explained to clients.

A business that has grown its client numbers steadily from several referral sources is worth more than one with a bigger client list built on a single relationship that may not survive the sale.

Staff, care management and systems

Care workers are the service. Find out how many are employees and how many are contractors or agency staff, how long they have stayed, and whether the key people, especially care managers and rostering staff, will remain after the sale. Check that worker screening and training records are complete and current, because gaps here are compliance problems you will inherit.

Look closely at the systems that hold the business together: rostering, client records, incident registers, complaints logs and claiming. A well-run provider can show you these quickly. If the owner keeps much of it in their head or in spreadsheets only they understand, budget for the cost of replacing that knowledge.

Compliance history and open issues

Ask for every audit or assessment report, any notices or conditions from the Commission, the serious incident register and the complaints register for at least the past two years. Ask what has changed in response to each issue. Your lawyer should also check for any disputes with clients, families, workers or funding bodies that could follow the business after settlement.

What should be in the price

Home care businesses are usually priced as a multiple of earnings, adjusted up or down for how secure those earnings are. The factors that support a stronger price are a diversified client base, registration that matches the services delivered, a clean compliance history, stable staff and management that does not depend on the owner. A business heavily reliant on one funding stream, one referrer or one key person carries more risk, and the price should reflect it.

Market data for this niche is thin. At the time of writing in October 2026 there were only 9 listings among the home care businesses for sale in BizExchange's aged care and home care category, too few for the site to publish a median asking price or multiple, and the listings ranged from in-home care providers to nursing agencies and allied health businesses. With so few comparable sales visible, an independent valuation from an accountant who knows the aged care sector is worth the cost.

Check also what is physically included: vehicles, equipment, software licences, the business name, phone numbers and website, and any premises lease. And agree a handover period with the seller, because introducing a new owner to clients and staff carefully is one of the best protections for the goodwill you are paying for.

A short checklist before you make an offer

• Revenue split by funding source and by service type, for two or more years
• Registration categories, and evidence they match the services delivered
• Audit reports, notices, serious incident and complaints registers
• Monthly client numbers, departures and referral sources
• Staff list with roles, tenure, employment type and screening status
• Whether you are buying shares or assets, and the approvals each path needs
• A handover plan for clients, families and staff

Buying a home care business can be a rewarding way into a growing sector, but the value lies in trust: from clients, from staff and from the regulator. Confirm all three before you settle.