Every year, Right at Home honours its caregivers with a Caregiver of the Year award. The prestigious award celebrates the accomplishments of a select group of caregivers who selflessly deliver extraordinary care to older Australians and adults with disabilities. 

Compassion, honesty, reliability, sensitivity. The top caregivers at Right at Home, one of the world's leading in-home care companies, emulate these qualities and more.

Top Qualities to Seek in a Professional Caregiver

When you're considering at-home care for a loved one, you want professional caregivers who are thoroughly trained and experienced, but there are a number of valued characteristics that go beyond job descriptions. What is the caregiver's personality and temperament? How does the caregiver connect with care clients? The following are exemplary qualities to look for in a caregiver.

Outstanding Character

A person's character is often a blend of their disposition, tone and style. For caregivers, character is modelled through compassion, understanding, sensitivity and caring. Edris Plummer emulates these traits and more in her work with Right at Home. One of Edris' clients is a 98-year-old woman who has no family. This past year, Edris stayed alongside her frail client during several hospitalizations. When the woman's heat went out at home for quite some time, Edris provided extra blankets to keep the senior warm. It's no wonder Edris has been described as "honest, reliable, trustworthy, very thoughtful, competent and professional."

Connects Well With People

Creating a winsome connection between caregiver and client is essential. A caregiver's devotion can create a ripple effect of influence, like Vickie Moore's work with Right at Home. Dawn, a client's daughter, applauds Vickie's impact on her somewhat disagreeable father. "Vickie has been wonderful to my dad," Dawn said. "He is a very difficult person to work with, and she is just so loving. My dad can't stop talking about how great a job she does and how she takes extra time to make sure he is well cared for."

Community Influencer

Caregivers who are passionate about their work naturally share their enthusiasm with others in the community. They volunteer to serve meals to the homeless or rebuild homes after disasters. Or they just sit a spell with a troubled neighbour. And many caregivers insist on finding time for the little extra things like making fresh-baked items for community events to raise funds on behalf of people diagnosed with Parkinson's, cancer and other diseases.

Strong Team Spirit

Everyone needs someone to cheer them on, especially when dutifully caring for a person's well-being. Top-rated caregivers are hearty morale boosters among their peers and often make it a mission to put others before themselves. No matter the hour or time of day, or how busy their schedule, the most exceptional caregivers look out for the interests and concerns of their co-workers.

Pursues Professional Development

A thirst for increasing one's skills is nothing new to the best caregivers like Vickie, who gains insights into delivering care through certification courses, continuing education classes and online training modules. Vickie also invests her time researching clients' particular illnesses and medical needs. Recently, Vickie took on a new client who has Friedreich's ataxia (FA), a rare form of cerebral palsy.

Vickie's passion for improving her professional knowledge with this new client earned her respect and applause from her Right at Home director. Vickie downloaded papers about FA off the internet to share with other caregivers on the case. A quest for developing professionally is contagious.

As top-rated Right at Home caregivers demonstrate, a comforting demeanour, likeable rapport and a love for learning are how you become one of the most remarkable caregivers in the world.

What qualities in a caregiver do you appreciate the most?

Right at Home Australia is a leading provider of quality in-home care. Our mission is to improve the quality of life for those we serve ensuring the Right Care, Right at Home™.  We support people living with complex and post-operative care needs, dementia and cognitive decline, older adults, and adults living with a disability including NDIS participants. Our tailored services help clients to remain safe and independent in their homes. We have 53 territories across Australia and growing. If you are interested in a franchise opportunity with Right at Home, call us on 1300 363 802 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..