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

You haven't been out of work. You've been doing the most demanding job there is.

If that's you, here it is straight: what the work actually involves, what it pays, what it costs to set up, and how to start — from someone running the same business, part-time, in regional Tasmania.

1. Your 'gap' is the qualification

Running a household, managing a schedule and caring for family are the actual skills this job needs.

2. Nobody asks for a résumé

Local clients care about reliability, warmth and safety.

3. Start with five to ten hours a week

Scale when it suits you, not when a manager tells you to.

4. Low cost to start

An ABN, public liability insurance, a police check, a current first aid certificate and an NDIS Worker Screening Check — that's the whole setup.

5. Real proof from a real business

How family care experience became a $47,060 six-month business, part-time.

Where to go next

Being straight with you. The hourly figures on this page are the billing rates from the official NDIS Pricing Schedule — the most that can be charged for that support. They're gross revenue, not take-home. Insurance, tax, super, travel and your own time all come out of it. And the income examples are Cathy's real numbers, not a promise about yours.

The free training is below — the honest version of how this works, in plain language. It's free, and it stays free.