Working in Someone's Home as a Support Worker

A worker who has done a few years in group homes or clinical settings can walk into someone's private home and, without meaning to, start acting like the space belongs to the service rather than the person. Shoes left where they land. A cupboard reorganised because it made more sense that way. A television turned off mid-show without asking. None of it is malicious. It's just a habit formed somewhere the worker had more authority over the space than they actually have here.

A person's home is one of the few places left where they hold complete authority, over how it looks, how it's arranged, and who is welcome in which room. Support workers are guests in that home, however many hours a week they spend there, and the practice that flows from that idea is different from practice built around institutional space.

What does respecting someone's home actually look like day to day?

Asking before moving anything, even things that look like clutter to an outsider. Following the person's own systems for washing up, laundry, or where things live, rather than a system the worker finds more efficient. Knocking before entering a room, even a room the worker enters every shift. These sound like small courtesies. For someone whose home is also their only private space, they add up to whether the home still feels like theirs.

How should a worker handle disagreement about how the home is kept?

Genuine safety or hygiene risks are worth raising, calmly and with a team leader if it isn't resolving. A worker's personal preference for tidiness is not the same thing, and shouldn't be treated as one. The test is whether the issue is actually a hazard, mould, blocked exits, spoiled food, or whether it's simply not how the worker would keep their own home.

What about using the person's things during a shift?

Ask, every time, even for things that seem minor, the kettle, the good towels, a car space in the driveway. Assuming permission because it was given once before, or because the worker has been coming for months, is a common way boundaries around a person's home quietly erode. Treat the home like a guest would on a first visit, indefinitely.

How does this shift in shared or supported living settings?

The individual's right to their own room and possessions still applies, but shared living adds other people's routines and rights into the same physical space. Providers usually set house rules for common areas, and workers need to hold both, the individual's home within the home, and the shared agreements that let several people live together with less friction.

What should a new or casual worker watch for in an unfamiliar home?

Notice what's already working before changing anything. A kitchen that looks disorganised to a new eye might be exactly how the person navigates it independently, and rearranging it "to help" can genuinely disable someone who has built a system around knowing where things are. Ask questions before assuming a better way exists.

How CORA's course fits into this

CORA's course Working in a Person's Home: Rights, Presence & Practice, part of the Soft Skills stream in the course library, works through the everyday practice of respecting someone's space, possessions, routines and rhythms, and noticing when a worker is getting it wrong before it becomes a pattern. It builds understanding and judgement. It doesn't replace supervision, and CORA doesn't certify a worker's competence, that call sits with the provider.

If you're mapping this alongside the rest of the Soft Skills stream for your team, the Pathway Builder is a free tool that maps it out, no sign-up required. Or request a demo if you'd rather talk it through.

Sources and further reading

• NDIS Practice Standards, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
• Privacy and confidentiality, what workers need to get right, CORA Workforce

This page is general information for support workers and providers, not legal advice. Always follow the person's individual support plan and your organisation's policies.