Fees & Charges
Residential Aged Care
Before you enter permanent residential care, you should have your means assessed to see if you’re eligible for Australian Government assistance with fees and accommodation costs. The fees you pay will depend on the outcome of your means assessment and what you agree on with your aged care provider. You may need to pay some or all of these fees:
- Basic Daily Fee
- Hotelling Contribution
- Non-Clinical Care Contribution
- Accommodation Payment
Basic Daily Fee
All residents pay this fee for daily living services, including meals, cleaning, laundry and utilities.
The maximum fee is set at 85% of the single basic age pension. This fee increases in March and September each year in line with the age pension.
Hotelling Contribution
People who can afford to will contribute more towards their daily living costs through a hotelling contribution.
Services Australia will tell you if you need to pay a hotelling contribution and if so, how much you need to pay. This is based on your means assessment. The maximum amount changes with indexation in March and September.
Non-Clinical Care Contribution
People who need to pay the maximum hotelling contribution may also need to pay a non-clinical care contribution. This fee contributes to personal care costs such as bathing and mobility assistance.
Services Australia will tell you if you need to pay a non-clinical care contribution and if so, how much you need to pay. This is based on your means assessment. The maximum amount changes with indexation in March and September. Daily and lifetime caps apply.
Accommodation Costs
You must agree on a room price with your provider and enter into an accommodation agreement before moving into an aged care home. How much you pay will also depend on your means assessment.
If you are eligible for assistance, the government will pay some or all of your accommodation costs to your provider. If not, you will need to pay the price that you agreed with your provider.
Confirm your Fees with a Means Assessment
To confirm your aged care fees you will need a means assessment. This is where Services Australia or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) assesses your income and assets. If you are a member of a couple, they will assess half of your combined income and assets, regardless of who earns the income or owns the assets.
If you choose not to have your means assessed, you will not be eligible for assistance with your accommodation and your provider can ask you to pay:
• the full hotelling contribution and non-clinical care contribution, and
• the accommodation price you agreed on before you entered care.
Check if you should complete an Aged care calculation of your cost of care form at ServicesAustralia.gov.au
A useful tool to help estimate the fees a prospective resident may be asked to pay is contained on the MyAgedCare website.
This fee estimator is to be used as a guide only but does give some idea, based on the income and assets entered into the estimator, of the fees that may be applicable to permanent entry into a home.
This tool is provided as a guide for your general information only. It can help you estimate the fees and payments you may be asked to pay while living in an aged care home. It does not cover facilities such as retirement villages.
The actual amount of the fees and payments payable will depend on your personal situation, the time you enter care, the information you provide to the relevant Australian Government Departments and your personal and financial information at the time of the assessment. If you do not complete the assessment, you may be asked to pay the maximum fees and charges.
This Fee Estimator is not a substitute for financial advice. You should consider seeking independent legal, financial, taxation or other advice to check how the estimate relates to your particular circumstances.
We respect your privacy and the information you provide will not be used for any other purpose except to provide an estimate. The Australian Government will not store the information you enter into the fee estimator. This information will be deleted once you close your internet browser.