Award-winning startup Zoee reshapes home and community care

A Melbourne-based home care startup is taking a personalised approach to care, helping older Australians and people with disability remain independent in their own homes.

Zoee, founded by entrepreneur, Holmesglen graduate and Self-Employment Assistance participant Zoe Halligan, is positioning itself as a boutique alternative to traditional home care services. The company focuses on tailoring support to each individual, with an emphasis on social connection as well as day-to-day assistance.

Halligan’s leadership has recently been recognised, with Zoee being awarded National Best New Business 2025. The accolade reflects a growing appetite for more flexible and human-centred care models.

“At Zoee, the goal is simple: add more life to your years, not years to your life,” Halligan said. “We focus on what each person actually wants and needs, not just ticking boxes.”

Zoee Founder and Holmesglen graduate, Zoe Halligan

A key part of the company’s approach is carefully matching clients with professional support workers, ensuring:

• Compatibility and trust
• Meaningful change
• Individual engagement

“You can really see the difference,” she said. “Someone who was withdrawn, not going out or talking, can become happy, chatty and engaged again after a few weeks. That’s what it’s about, making a difference.”

Halligan launched the business after being made redundant, using the opportunity to rethink her career path. Drawing on her Diploma in Leadership and Management from Holmesglen, she sought guidance from the Institute’s Self-Employment Assistance program to establish the company.

Since then, Zoee has grown steadily and now employs 32 staff. Expansion is already on the horizon, with plans to enter the Tasmanian and NSW markets. Halligan also prioritises hiring Holmesglen students from nursing, community and health science TAFE courses, citing their strong practical skills and high quality training.

Halligan credits Holmesglen’s Self-Employment Assistance team with helping:

• Turn her small business idea into a viable and compliant business
• Build professional confidence
• Support financial planning, including building budgets and understanding the broader financial structure of a new enterprise

“My weakness was the finance side, putting together budgets and really understanding that side of the business,” Halligan said. “The rest came more naturally, but I needed to make sure I had the right structure in place.”

Operating in the home care sector also meant navigating complex regulatory requirements. To Halligan, it was important to build the business to meet industry standards from the outset.

“It’s a very compliance-heavy space, especially with the NDIS and aged care,” she said.

The support team at Holmesglen provided practical, ongoing guidance, allowing her to test ideas and refine her approach.

“It was great to be able to pick up the phone and say, ‘I’m thinking this, can we workshop it?’,” she said. “We’d come together, talk things through and really work on the business step by step.”

Halligan encourages others considering self-employment and becoming a small business owner not to be discouraged when their original idea does not unfold as planned. Instead, she says the following is critical:

• Being open to change
• Willing to be flexible with your small business idea

“My first idea wasn’t going to work, so I had to pivot,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to adjust your direction and move with it.”