Aged Care – fees and charges 065-19103017

Staff can give this information to customers. Refer customers to the Aged Care line or Financial Information Service. Aged Care Specialist Officer’s (ACSO) can be booked for appointments either face to face or by Video Chat (VC) if more information is required. All Service centres offer general aged care fee information via the My Aged Care General Service Offer (MACGSO).

The Australian Government may subsidise a care recipient’s cost of care. If they can afford to, the care recipient also contributes depending on their income and assets. Services Australia or Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) complete a means assessment to determine the amount.

Cost of care is the amount of subsidies and primary supplements the government pays to the aged care provider for providing care to the care recipient. The subsidy is reduced by the amount of the income or means tested fee the care recipient pays directly to the provider.

See the Process page for fees and charges information in the Aged Care Staff Portal (ACSP) and the Aged Care Provider Portal (ACPP).

See Resources for Fees and Subsidies by Scheme and Resident Status.

Care recipients dissatisfied with their means assessment can have the assessment reviewed by Services Australia or DVA, see First contact about a decision and the internal review process.

Residential care

Entered care pre 1 July 2014:

• Basic daily fees are paid at different rates depending on resident status
• Income tested fees are paid when the total assessable income is more than the relevant aged care total assessable income free area, plus
• An accommodation component, either:
• A daily accommodation charge determined by the value of the care recipient's assets on the date of entry into permanent residential aged care, or
• An accommodation bond negotiated directly with the aged care service provider
• Extra service fees are paid by care recipients in an extra service facility

Entered care on or after 1 July 2014:

• Basic daily fees are paid at different rates depending on resident status
• Means tested care fees are an additional contribution. The amount is determined by the means assessment
• An Accommodation payment, is paid as either a:
• Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD), or
• Daily Accommodation Contribution (DAC)
• The amount is based on the care recipient’s income and assets
• Extra service fees are paid by care recipients in an extra service facility

Entered care post 1 November 2025:

• Basic daily fee is equal to 85% of the single basic Age Pension
• Hotelling contribution, capped at the maximum hotelling supplement amount
• Non-clinical care contribution, for amounts over the hotelling supplement cap
• An accommodation component, either:
• A daily accommodation charge determined by the value of the care recipient's assets on the date of entry into permanent residential aged care, or
• An accommodation bond negotiated directly with the aged care service provider

Note:

• There are no changes to the determination of the resident status (low means / not low means)
• Means Test assessments will apply any fee changes in near real time with the new 28 day notification rules
• No new extra service (ESS) agreements can commence from 1 November 2025 and all existing ESS will cease 30 June 2026

Home care

Entered care pre 1 July 2014:

• Basic daily fees are paid at different rates depending on the home care package level
• Income tested fees are paid where the service provider has asked a care recipient to pay an income tested fee. Note: under pre 1 July 2014 schemes the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing is responsible for home care means assessments

Entered care on or after 1 July 2014:

• Basic daily fees are paid at different rates depending on the home care package level
• Income tested fees may be paid in addition to the basic daily fee. The amount is based on the care recipient’s income

Support at Home

Support at Home commenced on 1 November 2025 and replaced the Home Care Packages program.

• Individual contributions are paid by the care recipient and will be a percentage rate of the cost of services that have been provided to the care recipient. Contribution rates are calculated using a means assessment

Support at Home customer contributions will be set at a rate per hour (or unit of service) at a set percentage for each service type. This means:

• a care recipient will pay the dollar amount set by the percentage 
• the government will pay the remainder of the price, as a subsidy to the provider. 

The Support at Home program will have several care types that will be subject to contribution rates. These are:

• Home support (Support at Home plus all previous home care packages)
• End-of-life pathway
• Home Modifications
• Restorative Care pathway
• Assistive Technology
• Assistive Technology – Specified needs

From 1 November 2025, all care recipients approved for any type of home care will pay individual contributions to contribute to the cost of their home care:

• Care recipients will be allocated a budget amount based on care classification level
• Providers will use this budget to provide services to a care recipient
• All services provided under Support at Home are listed under a category of care
• Contribution rates will be a percentage rate of the cost of services that have been provided to them
• Contribution rates are calculated using a means assessment
• The means assessment will also calculate a means testing class for a care recipient based on their income and/or assets: full pensioner, part pensioner, self-funded retiree in receipt of a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CHSC), and a self-funded retiree not in receipt of any payment or card.

To calculate the cost of care for a care recipient, the contribution rates (%) will need to be applied to the list of services that are being provided which includes their cost. These will be included in a care recipient’s care support plan that has been negotiated with their provider.

Example:

• A care recipient receives 2 hours of personal care, they will pay a contribution per hour received.
• 2 hours of personal care costs $150
• Care recipient’s contribution rate is 5% on Independence services
• Care recipient will pay $7.50 towards the cost of this service

Post 2025 scheme

Care recipients who were approved for a Home Care Package after 12 September 2024 will be assessed as Post 2025 scheme care recipients. They will complete a means assessment of their income and assets, and their contribution rate will be set based on an income reduction rate and an assets reduction rate.

The current contribution rates under Support at Home for Post 2025 scheme care recipients based on care categories are:

• Clinical care – will be 0% for all care recipients
• Independence – will range from minimum 5% to maximum 50%
• Everyday living – will range from minimum 17.5% to maximum 80%

Post 2014 scheme

Care recipients who were approved for a Home Care Package on or prior to 12 September 2024 will be assessed as Post 2014 scheme care recipients. They will not be worse off under Support at Home and their contribution rates will be calculated based on their income only. The income assessment will be used to calculate whether they would have been liable to pay an Income Tested Care Fee (ITCF) as a home care recipient.

Care recipients not liable to pay an ITCF will have all contribution rates set to 0% for life.

Care recipients who would be liable to pay an ITCF will have special rates for contributions:

• Clinical care – will be 0% for all care recipients
• Independence – will range from minimum 0% to maximum 25%
• Everyday living – will range from minimum 0% to maximum 25%

There will also be a cap in place to ensure a care recipient does not pay more than their ITCF rate. This capped amount will be calculated per fortnight. Example: Care recipient’s income assessment calculated an ITCF of $5 per day. They will have a fortnightly cap applied to ensure they do not pay more than $70 per fortnight ($5 x 14 days).

Home care prior to 1 November 2025

Entered care pre 1 July 2014, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing is responsible for home care means assessments. Providers negotiate fees directly with care recipients.

Entered care on or after 1 July 2014 and up until 31 October 2025:

• Basic daily fees were paid at different rates depending on the home care package level
• Income tested fees may have been paid in addition to the basic daily fee. The amount is based on the care recipient's income only

See the Resources page for more information on basic daily fees & income tested fees and the Schedule of Fees & Charges.

Entered care pre 1 July 2014:

Basic daily fee (BDF)

• paid by the care recipient
• paid daily from the date they enter permanent residential care
• is indexed on 20 March and 20 September each year, in line with increases to the Age Pension
• the rate is standard, non-standard, or protected
• the standard rate is set at 85% of the single basic Age Pension and is the same for both single and members of a couple
• the non-standard and protected rates apply to some residents who were in care before 20 September 2009

Income tested fees (ITF)

Some care recipients pay an ITF. This is an additional amount determined by a means assessment.

• pay an ITF if income above set thresholds
• the amount is set at the lower of the:
• calculated income tested fee amount
• cost of care, or
• maximum income tested fee amount
• the maximum ITF is 135% of the single basic Age Pension and is subject to indexation
• a daily cap applies to ITF for pre-1 July 2014 care recipients limiting the amount of contribution to their care costs
  Note: care recipients who were provided with care at any time after 30 September 1997 and before
  1 March 1998, for any entry assessed under a pre-1 July 2014 assessment scheme, have Care Subsidy to Zero applied for an ITF liability where their income is over the threshold

The Resources page has a link to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s Schedules of Fees and Charges.

Entered care on or after 1 July 2014:

Basic daily fee (BDF)

• equal to 85% of the single basic Age Pension
• paid by the care recipient
• paid daily from the date they enter permanent residential care
• is indexed on 20 March and 20 September each year, in line with increases to the Age Pension

Means tested care fees (MTCF)

Some care recipients pay a MTCF. This is an additional amount determined by a means assessment.

• the MTCF is based on the care recipient’s means and their cost of care as per there:
• Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) assessment before 1 October 2022, or
• AN-ACC assessment from 1 October 2022 onwards
• the amount is set at the lower of:
• their means tested amount or
• their cost of care
• annual and lifetime caps limit how much MTCF a care recipient pays
• indexation of annual and lifetime caps occurs on 20 March and 20 September each year, in line with the Age Pension
• Services Australia advises care recipients, aged care nominees and providers when the cap is reached

MTCF – AN-ACC and cost of care

From 1 October 2022, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing replaced the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) with a new funding model - Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC).

There is no change to the means assessment process for care recipients. However, it does affect the care recipient's cost of care and may affect their Means Tested Care Fees (MTCF) rates. This change results in changes to the cost of care for most care recipients. It also increases the income and assets rates that cause care recipients to pay maximum fees.

This affects MTCF for care recipients who are either:

• Means Not Disclosed (MND) and liable to pay the full cost of their care, or
• Assessed as having high income and/or assets which make them liable to pay most or all of the cost of their care

New care recipients: Care recipients who enter permanent residential care from 1 October 2022 have a default AN-ACC rating applied - Class 99 - pending completion of an AN-ACC assessment to determine the cost of their care. This occurs unless they are entering for the purpose of palliative care, which has default Class 98.

Existing care recipients:

From 1 October 2022:

• The following have their care assessed under the AN-ACC funding model:
• Care recipients who have had AN-ACC assessments completed over the last 12 months, and
• All care recipients in permanent residential care as of 1 October 2022
• Aged care services started to get their funding based on their AN-ACC

A reassessment of a care recipients' MTCF occurred as part of a Quarterly Review. Many care recipients had new MTCF rates applied from date of effect, 28 October 2022. Services Australia sent fee change letters (RC63) to care recipients/nominees to tell them about the new fees from 28 October 2022, which may have been due to changes to the amount of means tested care fee because of the start of AN-ACC on 1 October 2022. (There are no changes to Annual and lifetime cap thresholds.)

See the Comparison between ACFI and AN-ACC table for some real examples of changes to the cost of care because of the funding model changing from ACFI to AN-ACC.

Accommodation payments

An accommodation payment is a contribution towards, or full payment for the care recipient’s room that they may have to pay depending on their assessed income and assets.

Each provider sets its own pricing, depending on factors such as facility location and room size. The amount a care recipient pays for their accommodation depends on their eligibility for government help.

The type of accommodation payments payable is dependent on the date the care recipient entered permanent residential care and their available means to pay the accommodation cost.

Entered care pre 1 July 2014:

• Accommodation charge
• Accommodation bond

See Aged Care means assessment - Residential Care pre 1 July 2014 - assets assessment for further detail.

Entered care on or after 1 July 2014:

• resident is eligible for government assistance with their accommodation costs and pays either:
• a Refundable Accommodation Contribution (RAC)
• a Daily Accommodation Contribution (DAC) or
• a combination of these two
• resident is not eligible for government assistance with their accommodation costs and pays either:
• a Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD)
• a Daily Accommodation Payment (DAP) or
• a combination of these two

See Aged care fees and charges - accommodation payments for further detail.

Note: if a care recipient chooses to pay a lump sum, any unused money is refundable when they depart aged care.

Entered care on or after 1 November 2025

From 1 October 2022, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing replaced the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) with a new funding model - Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC).

There is no change to the means assessment process for care recipients under the Aged Care Act 2024, however, it may affect the care recipient's means tested fees. This change results in a new calculation method to determine the contributions that care recipients, who are not under a grandparenting arrangement, may be asked to pay. Furthermore, new income and asset thresholds and taper rates were implemented to determine a care recipient’s contributions.

Note: from 12 September 2024 home care recipients who were either approved for, or receiving home care will be grandparented under the post 1 July 2014 rules when a residential care means assessment is completed

Basic daily fee (BDF)

• Equal to 85% of the single basic Age Pension
• Paid by all care recipients
• Paid daily from the date they enter permanent residential care
• Is indexed on 20 March and 20 September each year, in line with increases to the Age Pension

Hotelling contribution (HC)

• Replaces the Means Tested Care Fee
• The Hotelling contribution is a means tested payment made by the care recipient as a contribution towards living costs
• The care recipient’s Hotelling contribution reduces the Hotelling Supplement the registered provider receives for the care recipient
• Care recipient pays the lower amount of the MTA that is over the maximum accommodation supplement, or the daily capped amount (which is equal to the maximum hotelling supplement amount)

Non-clinical care contribution (NCCC)

This affects means tested fees for care recipients who are either:

• Means Not Disclosed (MND) and liable to pay the full cost of their care, or
• Assessed as having high income and/or assets which make them liable to pay most or all of the cost of their care

Accommodation costs

Note: all entrants into care on or after 1 November 2025 who pay a lump sum accommodation payment (Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD) or Refundable Accommodation Contribution (RAC) may have a 2% per annum retained by the service provider. RAD/RAC retention will be dependent on the accommodation class and grandparenting status. Care recipients should discuss these arrangements with their registered provider.

The resident status determines whether a care recipient can be asked to pay either a daily accommodation contribution or a lump sum accommodation payment and there are no changes to this determination and the accommodation costs. Refer to the post 1 July 2014 information.

From 1 November 2025 a care recipient’s initial means test assessment, or any subsequent means test assessments (re-assessments) will apply any fee changes in near real time. Previously changes were applied through a monthly review of care recipients’ means tests, or through an ad-hoc review.

Where a near real time fee reassessment results in a fee change for a past period, the amount will be adjusted in the next claim period.

From 1 November 2025, care recipients have 28 days to advise of changes in their circumstances, and to submit their updated income and asset details.

Where Services Australia receives a notification of a change to a care recipient’s circumstances the system will apply a new fee based on when the care recipient notified (the 28 day rule) and whether the change results in an increase or decrease to the current Daily Means Tested Amount (DMTA) compared to the newly calculated DMTA. The DMTA is the calculation of the income tested amount plus the asset tested amount.

Application of ‘Real Time’ determinations

Where Services Australia receives notification of a change to a care recipient’s circumstances within 28 days of the date the change occurred and the change results in an increase to a care recipient’s DMTA (current DMTA vs newly calculated DMTA), then the date the new set fee will be applied from is the date of processing. The processing date is the date an income and asset determination is made.

Where Services Australia receives notification of a change to a care recipient’s circumstances more than 28 days after the date the change occurred and the change results in an increase to a care recipient’s DMTA (current DMTA vs newly calculated DMTA), then the date the new set fee will be applied from is the date of processing minus 28 days.

Regardless of the date of notification, where a change to a care recipient’s circumstances results in a decrease to a care recipient’s DMTA (current DMTA vs newly calculated DMTA), then the date the new set fee will be applied from is the date the change in circumstance occurred.

Note: if a change occurred prior to 1 November 2025, and the care recipient advises of the change in circumstances after 1 November 2025, the above rules will be applied.  

See the Resources page for examples showing the application of the 28 day rule.

Extra service agreements ceased 1 November 2025 in line with the New Aged Care Act 2024. All existing extra service fees will be valid until 30 June 2026.

No new extra service fee events or wards/places can be created with effective date from 1 November 2025 or existing extra service fees cannot be extended beyond 30 June 2026. Authorised system users will be able to manage ESS events until 1 July 2026.

Care recipients residing in extra service facilities pay extra service fees. Extra service facilities provide a higher standard of accommodation not extra care.

A care recipient negotiates the extra service fee amount with their service provider. Services Australia is not involved in determining extra service fees. Extra service fees are not based on either an asset or income assessment. There is no maximum limit for extra service fees.

Extra service fees are regulated for care recipients who entered care on or after 1 July 2014. Aged care providers with dedicated extra service places must publish their extra service fees on the My Aged Care website, their own website and in other relevant materials provided to prospective care recipients.

On the day a resident permanently leaves a residential care service, they can be charged:

• a basic daily fee
• an accommodation payment (If applicable)

They cannot be charged:

• a means-tested fee
• an accommodation contribution
• on the day a care recipient leaves a Support at Home service