In the heart of Canberra’s close-knit community, there’s a local family dedicated to redefining homecare. Meet Niesa and Josh, the friendly faces behind Right at Home ACT & Queanbeyan.

Right at Home’s legacy stretches back to 1995, originating in Omaha, Nebraska, and has been enriching Aussie lives since 2016.

“It’s a long-established network across Australia, and now we’re bringing it to the Canberra, Queanbeyan and surrounding NSW areas,” said Niesa, who, with the help of their team, opened their much-anticipated Mitchell office last June.

For Niesa, who grew up in West Belconnen, making sure Right at Home ACT & Queanbeyan is rooted in the community was a top priority.

“We know every single one of our clients and every single one of our caregivers,” she smiles.

“Canberrans support Canberrans in a really lovely way. No one supports local better than us.”

As approved providers under the Aged Care Act, Right at Home can provide quality care under government-funded homecare packages for levels 1-4, providing clients with continuity of care as their needs evolve.

Josh and Niesa also help serve private pay clients and provide disability support to plan-managed and self-managed NDIS participants.

“Our staff range from care companions to personal care workers, to enrolled and registered nurses,” says Niesa. “We’re reliable, were consistent and we’re 24/7.”

What inspired you to get into the business?

“My first career was as a carer in the Canberra community,” says Niesa. “It was an amazing first job after I finished college.

“After that, I moved into the community sector, and worked in the domestic and family violence space, specialising in men’s behaviour change and intervention.”

When Josh, whose background is in financial planning, and Niesa decided to start a business together, the couple spent over a year researching the aged care and disability support sector.

“We came across Right at Home, an incredible network all across the country,” says Niesa. “It’s all about improving quality of life, and we just fell in love with that.

“We felt that the way Right at Home approaches homecare was missing in Canberra.”

What do you love about your job?

“My favourite part of the job is the face-to-face contact,” says Niesa. “I think there’s a real privilege to being able to get out and about, meet different people, and hear their life stories.”

Josh and Niesa provide free in-home visits to help their clients navigate how to access funding through homecare packages or NDIS.

“There are so many amazing humans in our community,” says Niesa, who strongly believes that “improving quality of life” is not a one-size-fits-all approach.

“For some people, that means having those homecooked fresh meals, while for another person it’s being able to get out and about.

“Right at Home offers everything from Companion Care, to do some shopping or get out in the garden, to Personal Care, which helps with things like showering and medication prompts,” says Niesa. “We offer domestic assistance with household duties, all the way through to skilled nursing.”

What has been your biggest highlight so far?

“For me, the proudest moment was when I received a photo from one of our families. It was a picture of their dad, in a hospital bed that they could wheel outside. He was in his beautiful garden, surrounded by birds,” Niesa smiles.

“It was a joint effort from the family and our team, helping to bring him home. He was a palliative care client whose dying wish was to go home for the last two weeks of his life.”

With the help of their care coordinator, whose nursing background is in palliative care, Josh and Niesa were able to grant that wish.

“A lot of services had turned them away,” says Niesa. “There is a huge gap in the market for homecare providers that are comfortable providing palliative care.

“I definitely shed a few tears. I was just really proud of the team, but also that beautiful family who were brave enough to help their dad return home, because that’s where he wanted to be in his last moments.”

With an open-door policy, care plans developed by skilled nurses, Zero Package Management Fees, and client-directed service, Josh and Niesa are committed to bridging the gap between quality care and the comfort of home.

“We’re not there to take anyone’s independence away; we’re there to complement their independence,” says Niesa.

Right at Home ACT & Queanbeyan is a 24/7 service. Visit us in person at 1/68 Dacre St, Mitchell Monday to Friday 8.30am–5pm or, if you’d like to make an enquiry outside of these hours, we can be reached on our 24-hour phone line 02 5127 5198. You can also meet Josh and Niesa at the ACT Senior Expo at EPIC on 21 September.