Cathy's Care Blog

2026-09-21

Do You Need a Cert III to Start a Care Business? Two Different Doors

The Certificate III in Individual Support and starting your own care business are two different things — and nobody explains the difference. Here's the honest version, including where the qualification genuinely wins.

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2026-09-18

No more double shifts or night duty: how AINs and ENs build calm, one-to-one work of their own

Same skills. No night duty, no double shifts.

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2026-09-18

Split shifts, 11pm closes and stressed kitchens — or cooking for one person who's glad you're there

No split shifts, no 11pm close

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2026-09-18

SIL goes mandatory for providers in July 2026: what it means if you work in a group home

Register, or work for a registered provider

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2026-09-18

Your overseas care experience counts here — even without recognition

You've done the care work — it just isn't on paper here

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2026-09-18

Made redundant? Retraining takes years. This takes weeks

Weeks, not years

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2026-09-17

Rebuilding income after separation — on your own terms

A fast path to income

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2026-09-17

5 reasons agency support workers are leaving $35/hr shifts to bill $60–$74/hr independently

You've seen what the client gets billed

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2026-09-17

The NDIS pays $60.10/hr for domestic support: why cleaners are switching

The official rate for household tasks is $60.10 an hour — against $27.08 on the cleaning award

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2026-09-17

Already visiting local seniors for free? 5 reasons to make those hours a paid business

Your heart was the qualification

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2026-09-17

Kids moved out? Turn your free time and life skills into a part-time care business

Redefine the next twenty years

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2026-09-17

Spent years caring for family for free? 5 reasons to turn those skills into a paid business

You already have the experience

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2026-09-17

Off-farm income on your own terms

Your own income stream

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2026-09-17

Yard maintenance is funded at $59.01/hr: turn your mower into your own business

$59.01 an hour for house or yard maintenance

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2026-09-17

5 reasons seasonal hospitality workers are building a business that doesn't end when the season does

The season ends

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2026-09-17

Turned down at 55+? Your life experience is worth $60–$74 an hour as your own boss

Age is the asset here

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2026-09-17

Have a Cert III in aged care? Why 40-bed rushed rounds are optional

Burnout-free caring

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2026-09-17

Out of the workforce for 5+ years? How to earn a real income close to home

Your 'gap' is the qualification

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2026-09-17

There's no work here": how rural women are making their own work

Make the job instead of looking for one

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2026-09-17

The 9am to 3pm solution: a care business that fits school hours

No boss asking for overtime

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2026-09-17

Retired but not finished? Ten hours a week in local support work

Purposeful part-time work

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2026-09-17

5 reasons independent care work is a steady path forward for single parents

Scale at your own pace

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2026-09-17

Teacher's aides: turning behaviour support skills into year-round work

Unpaid school holidays are over

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2026-09-03

How Much Can You Earn as an NDIS Support Worker (if You Go It Alone)?

Let me show you my own real numbers — what I charge as an independent support worker in a small Australian town, and what you honestly keep. Gross vs take-home, and why the same hour pays so differently when you run it yourself.

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2026-09-03

What You Actually Need to Start Caring for People (No Nursing Degree)

The honest list of what you need to start everyday support work — the checks, the training, the business basics. And the one thing no one can teach you, which is the one that matters most.

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2026-09-03

Why the Big Care Providers Can't Win in Your Town (and What That Means for You)

The big providers are everywhere. So why do so many families still struggle to find good, consistent support? The answer is the opportunity — and it's why a local, independent carer can win where a big company can't.

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