What it costs to buy a home care business in Australia

Operating home care businesses in Australia are listed from about $500,000 for a Brisbane in-home aged care franchise turning over $1.28m to $850,000, while new franchise territories are advertised from $10,000 to $120,000. One Perth valuer prices small owner-operated providers at 2 to 3 times EBITDA, so profit and who holds the Support at Home registration drive the price.

A home care business is priced on the profit left after the owner is paid, and since 1 November 2025 that profit depends on the Support at Home program, not on how many clients are on the books. That is why a Brisbane in-home aged care franchise earning $248,000 asks $500,000 while an NDIS-led business with in-home care asks over $2 million. Registration, franchisor consent, wages and rules still being adjusted move the price. This guide sets out what listings across Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia ask, how the business is valued, what transfers on sale, the costs on top, and how the purchase is funded.

What home care businesses sell for

This guide covers home care businesses funded mainly through the federal Support at Home program, which replaced Home Care Packages (HCP) on 1 November 2025. For disability providers, read our guide to buying an NDIS business. The table surveys live listings on BusinessForSale and Bsale on 22 October 2026. Figures are the vendor's, indicative market data and not Ventas offers. CHSP is the Commonwealth Home Support Programme.

Three things stand out. Asking prices run at about 0.39 times turnover for the Brisbane region franchise and 0.48 times for Brisbane north (our arithmetic), but profit is what a buyer lives on, and six of the eight rows show none. Half the rows are franchise resales, so the franchisor's consent and fees sit between you and the keys. The two NDIS-led rows show how far the price rises with disability funding in the mix, and the Gold Coast page labels its own key features as AI generated, so confirm everything with the seller.

What a new franchise territory costs

A new territory is cheaper, but you build the client book and team from nothing.

The advertised price is the start of the cost, not the total. The franchisor must give you its disclosure document at least 14 days before you sign or, for a resale, before it approves the transfer (ACCC). Read the fees, territory and exit terms there. Our franchise costs guide compares how big brands structure their fees.

How home care businesses are valued

Valuers price off normalised EBITDA: profit with one-off costs added back and a replacement manager's wage taken out. The first two rows are one Perth valuation firm's working figures, and the last two rows check them.

Both listings that show profit sit at the bottom of the small-operator band, which fits owner-run offices. That profit is probably owner earnings before a manager's wage, so if you will not work in the business, the real multiple is higher. Brisbane north says it needs 10 to 15 hours of weekly oversight. Miro Capital says buyers test client churn and tenure, workforce permanence and compliance history.

What the profit depends on now

Profit in this sector has fallen since the program changed. StewartBrown's survey covers about 90,000 packages, around a quarter of the sector, so a lean owner-run office can do better or worse than the average. Lenders and buyers will test the vendor's accounts against it.

Wages are the main cost and they keep rising: modern award minimum wages went up 4.75 per cent on 1 July 2026 (Fair Work Ombudsman). StewartBrown put the service-delivery gross margin at 12.2 per cent in FY24, so little of each service dollar is left after paying for delivery. Workers must also meet screening rules and the Aged Care Code of Conduct, so check every screening is current. Ask for the roster: staff turnover, how many hours the top ten workers deliver, and who runs scheduling. If one coordinator holds the client relationships, price in the risk they leave.

Registration and what transfers when you buy

Registration is where home care differs from most business purchases. From 1 November 2025, a provider delivering Support at Home must be registered in Category 4 with the care management service type, and the Commission audits applicants against the strengthened Quality Standards. Each participant has one Category 4 provider. So the question is not only whether the business has clients, but which entity holds the registration and what happens to it on sale.

The rules are still moving. Government price caps were due on 1 July 2026 and have been deferred, with the pricing authority's advice put off for a year, so providers still set their own prices and caps could return. The CHSP moves to Support at Home no earlier than 1 July 2027, which matters for the Melbourne metro listing. Under Support at Home, 10 per cent of each ongoing participant's quarterly budget is set aside for care management, and prices must include package management and travel. Confirm the current rules with the Department and the Commission before you sign.

What you pay on top of the price

The asking price is rarely the cheque. A lender will ask you to show these.

A sale of a going concern can be GST-free if it is for payment, the buyer is registered or required to be, both sides agree in writing and the seller supplies everything needed to keep operating (ATO). Confirm duty and GST with your accountant before you sign.

Financing a home care business purchase

Be realistic about lender appetite. A home care business has few hard assets: most of the price is goodwill, meaning a client book, a workforce and a registration. Lenders can be cautious about goodwill, and one broker guide puts the equity they typically want against it at 30 to 50 per cent. Thin sector margins add to the caution. Expect a large share to come from you, and some lenders to decline. Ventas is a finance broker, not a lender, so we do not quote rates here.

Illustrative only, subject to lender assessment. A realistic purchase at a $600,000 asking price:

And how it is typically funded across lender types:

Debt here is about 46 per cent of the asking price. Equipment finance covers the vehicles only, as software and set-up resell for little. A property-backed loan can fund the equity gap, or most of the purchase, because the lender relies on your property instead of the business. The cost is that your property is at risk if the business struggles.

What makes a home care deal fundable:

• Financials that reconcile. Two to three years of accounts that match lodged BAS and bank statements.
• Registration. Category 4 held by the entity you are buying, or a clear plan to obtain yours.
• Spread of income. No single contract or funder carrying most of the revenue.
• People. A coordinator and workers who stay through the handover.
• Your experience and security. Care sector management experience, plus property or cash you can put in.

To get a number from Ventas, send the listing, the vendor's split between goodwill and assets, two to three years of financials and BAS, the registration and any provider or franchise contract, your experience, and your security. Start at business acquisition finance, read how finance to buy another business works, or test a repayment on the secured business loan calculator. Finance is subject to lender assessment and approval.

This is general information only and not financial, credit, or tax advice. Figures are indicative market data from the sources listed, not Ventas offers, and move with the market. Consider your own circumstances and speak to a professional. All finance is subject to lender assessment and approval.

This article is general information only and not financial, credit, or tax advice. Ventas Asset Lending is a finance broker, not a lender. Approvals are subject to lender assessment. Consider your own circumstances and speak to a qualified professional, including your accountant for any tax questions.