Comparing ways to check in on an older person
Families and providers in Australia can choose from four broad approaches. Each one solves a different problem. This page compares them by category, plainly, including where our own approach falls short.
The four approaches at a glance
Costs and features vary within each category, so treat this as a guide to the trade-offs and not a price list.
| Approach | Strengths | Limits | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal alarms | Fast route to help after a fall or emergency. Simple, well understood, often monitored around the clock. | Only works if the person wears it and presses it. Says nothing about slow decline, mood or loneliness. | People at risk of falls or sudden medical events. |
| Sensor monitoring | Passive, so nothing for the person to remember. Can flag when normal activity stops. | Needs installation and usually a home network. Shows activity, not wellbeing. Can feel intrusive. | Families who want to know a home is active, and people unlikely to use an alarm. |
| Human call services | Real human warmth and judgment. Good for building a relationship. | Limited by staffing, hours and cost. Quality and consistency depend on the individual caller. | People who value a regular human voice, and where a service is available locally. |
| AI call services | Consistent daily rhythm, any phone, no device. Can administer validated instruments and record results. | Not a human relationship. Not an emergency response. Quality varies widely between providers. | Daily contact at modest cost, and providers who need structured, comparable records. |
Many people combine categories. An alarm for emergencies plus a regular call for wellbeing is a common and sensible pairing.
Named services Australians ask about
People often ask how we compare with ILY, made by Idiom in Melbourne. Descriptions of ILY differ by source: an alumni news item describes a daily check-in service, while the company's own site describes a pendant alarm and a voice companion called the Dock. This table uses only what each party publishes. Where something is not published, we say so.
| Topic | ILY by Idiom, as published | careplans AI and nonni |
|---|---|---|
| What is offered | ILY Pendant: a personal alarm with a press-and-hold emergency button, automatic fall detection, its own 4G SIM and GPS. ILY Dock: a voice companion that holds conversations, gives reminders and offers daily check-ins, described as being built with early users in a beta program. | careplans AI: scheduled wellbeing calls for aged care providers, with tracked care actions and human review. nonni: a daily companion call for a parent at home. |
| Published price | Pendant: A$349, including the first 12 months of SIM service, then A$95 a year. Dock: not published. A one-month trial of the check-in system is listed at A$15 on its clinician trial page. | nonni: A$39.95 per month, with a 14 day free trial and no card needed to start. careplans AI: not published on this page, see our pricing page. |
| Device at the older person's end | The Pendant is a worn device. The Dock is a charging unit in the home, and ILY states a smartphone is needed once for its initial setup. | Calls reach an ordinary phone. No device or app is needed at the older person's end. |
| Alerts and family updates | ILY states the Pendant sends the wearer's location to up to five emergency contacts. It states family members and authorised carers can receive updates and manage reminders through a dashboard. | careplans AI: concerns become tracked care actions with an owner and a status, reviewed by a person. nonni: when a call goes unanswered after retries, the nominated family contact is notified. |
| If there is no answer | For Dock reminders, ILY states that if there is no confirmation after three attempts, a designated contact is notified. For the daily check-in: not published. | Not described on this page. Ask us, it is on the list of questions below. |
| Validated instruments (WHO-5, UCLA-3, GDS-15) | Not published. | Yes. careplans AI administers WHO-5, UCLA-3 and GDS-15 conversationally and scores them by fixed rules. These are screening tools, not diagnosis. |
| Emergency response | ILY states the Pendant can make an emergency call and that it alerts the people you choose rather than a staffed monitoring centre. | We are not an emergency service and not a replacement for a personal alarm. |
| Recognition and backing | ILY's founders were reported as 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards finalists (Luminary Tech Visionary category) and as backed by the City of Melbourne, according to a Melbourne High School Old Boys Association news item. | We completed a paid pilot with a national Australian aged care provider. It is early evidence. We have not published an award. |
| Availability | Australia only. ILY states the Pendant is expected to begin shipping in December 2026. | Not compared here. |
ILY facts as published at https://idiom.technology (company site) and https://mhsoba.asn.au/old-boys-in-the-news-7news-young-achiever-awards-finalist/ (recognition and backing only), accessed October 2026. Pricing and features can change. Confirm with each provider before you decide. This table has not been reviewed by Idiom.
Where careplans AI and nonni sit
We are in the AI call services category. careplans AI serves aged care providers, with structured calls using validated instruments, tracked care actions and human review. nonni serves families, with a daily companion call for a parent at home for A$39.95 per month, a 14 day free trial and no card needed to start.
We are not an emergency service and we are not a replacement for a personal alarm. Our calls supplement human contact and do not replace it. We completed a paid pilot with a national Australian aged care provider. That is early evidence and we describe it as such.
What to ask any vendor
These questions work for every category, including ours.
- Consent: Who consents, how is it recorded, and how does the older person opt out?
- Recording: Are calls or activity recorded, who can see the data, where is it stored and for how long?
- No answer: What exactly happens if the person does not answer or the sensor goes quiet, and how fast?
- Emergencies: What can the service do in an emergency, and what can it not do?
- Evidence: What evidence supports the claims, and is it described honestly?
- Cancellation: Is there a contract, a lock-in or a fee, and how do you cancel?
- Humans: When does a person get involved, and who is that person?
How to choose
Start with the risk you are most worried about. If it is falls, choose an alarm. If it is a quiet home, consider sensors. If it is loneliness and slow change, a regular conversation fits best, human or AI depending on budget and preference.
Then check the answers to the questions above. A vendor who answers them clearly, and is honest about limits, is usually a better bet than one with the loudest claims.
Related reading
- Welfare check calls for aged care providers
- Aged care standards evidence from wellbeing conversations
- Pricing
- For families: daily check-in calls for a parent living alone (nonni.ai)https://nonni.ai/daily-check-in-calls
This is a general comparison of categories, not advice about any product. Mary is a wellbeing check-in service. She is not an emergency service and does not replace a personal alarm or calling 000.