This paper outlines research into the relationships between the costs and benefits of using private housing as the 'home base' for care for older people. Residential care requires relocation to the institution but provides both housing and care to older persons, whereas home-based care means that care is brought to the older person within their own home. The absence of economic evaluations of care at home for older people in Australia is significant, given that policy and care arrangements vary substantially from country to country.