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Home care

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing is responsible for aged care means assessments for home care recipients assessed under pre 1 July 2014 assessment rules.

Residential care

Before 1 July 2014, an aged care means assessment was known as a Residential Care Assessment (RCA). The RCA covered 2 different types of assessments:

• Residential Care Income Assessments (RCIA); and
• Residential Care Assets Assessment (RCAA)

The income and assets assessment components of an aged care means assessment are processed by Services Australia, or where applicable, the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA).

Residential care income assessment

• Can only be processed after entry to care
• Applies only to care recipients who first entered residential care before 1 July 2014 and have not:
• had a break in care greater than 28 days since 1 July 2014
• opted in to post 1 July 2014 assessment rules
• Can be completed via data matching (for means tested income support recipients) or via an Aged Care Calculation of your cost of care form
• Is used to determine the income-tested fee (ITF)

Residential care assets assessment

• Can only be processed by Services Australia or DVA for entries on or after 1 July 2005
• Can be processed either before or after entry to care
• Applies only to care recipients who first entered residential care before 1 July 2014; and have not had a break in care greater than 28 days since 1 July 2014; and have not opted in to post 1 July 2014 assessment rules
• Initiated only by the care recipient lodging an Aged Care Calculation of your cost of care form
• Is used to determine resident status for accommodation costs

Note: prior to 1 July 2005, the aged care service was responsible for completion of the assets assessment and determining the resident status.

The Resources page contains FAQs from customers.

From 1 July 2014, to determine eligibility for government assistance with aged care costs:

• For home care - an income assessment is required
• For permanent residential care (residential care) - a combined assets and income assessment is required

Combined assets and income assessments are processed by Services Australia, or the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) where applicable.

A combined means assessment application can be processed either before or after entry into care in circumstances where a:

• care recipient has entered residential care, or is considering entering residential care after 1 July 2014
• care recipient entered residential care before 1 July 2014 and wishes to estimate their fees under the post 1 July 2014 assessment rules if they move aged care services (opting-in)
• residential care recipient was previously receiving residential care and has had a break in care of more than 28 days
• previous combined means assessment was undertaken however the assessment is no longer valid

The Resources page contains FAQs from customers.

From 1 November 2025, to determine eligibility for government assistance with aged care costs:

• For Support at Home – either an income or an income and asset assessment is required, depending on scheme
• For permanent residential care (residential care) - a combined assets and income assessment is required

Combined assets and income assessments are processed by Services Australia, or the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) where applicable.

A combined means assessment application can be processed either before or after entry into care in circumstances where a:

• care recipient has entered residential care, or is considering entering residential care after 1 November 2025
• care recipient is grandparented under pre or post 1 July 2014 assessment rules and wishes to estimate their fees under the post 1 November 2025 assessment rules if they are considering opting-in – with either a move or ‘anytime’ in their current residential care service
• residential care recipient was previously receiving residential care and has had a break in care of more than 28 days
• previous combined means assessment was undertaken however the assessment is no longer valid

The Resources page contains FAQs from customers.

DVA is responsible for completing assessments for the following care recipients:

• Veterans, War Widow(er)s and partners receiving an Income Support Payment from DVA. This includes:
• Service Pension
• Veteran Payment
• Income Support Supplement (ISS)
• Age Service Pension
• Self-funded retirees (and partners) in receipt of DVA Disability Pension with Qualifying Service
• War Widow(er)s in receipt of DVA War Widows Pension with Qualifying Service
• Veteran Ex-Prisoners of War (POWs)

The Resources page contains:

• FAQs from customers
• a link to the DVA Aged Care website, and
• Aged care means assessment - preliminary checks:
• Aged care DVA referral process
• Responsible departments for aged care assessments

Support at Home – from 1 November 2025

Support at home will have different means assessments depending on the scheme a care recipient is assessed under. This is determined by their initial home care approval date:

Post 2014 - Care recipients who were approved for home care on or prior to 12 September 2024 will be assessed as Post 2014 scheme care recipients and will continue to have contributions assessed based on income only.

Post 2025 - Care recipients who were approved for home care after 12 September 2024 will be assessed under Post 2025 scheme and their means assessments will include income, assets and circumstances aligning with the Age Pension income and asset test.

Government income support payments are not included in means assessments under Support at Home.

Based on this means assessment, care recipients contribute a percentage of the total cost of services they’re provided, reducing subsidy paid to the provider.

Home care – 1 July 2014 to 31 October 2025

A home care means assessment was an income assessment and may have been required where a care recipient first entered into:

• residential care before 1 July 2014 and moved to a home care service after 1 July 2014
• home care before 1 July 2014 and moves to a new home care service with a break in care less than 28 days, and has 'opted in' to the post 1 July 2014 arrangements

Support at Home Means assessment

An income and asset assessment for Support at Home can be initiated via:

• Completion of an Aged Care Calculation of your cost of care form
• Completion of an Aged Care Calculation of your cost of care online
• Verbally, for means tested income support care recipients only
• Care recipients who receive a means tested income support payment may be eligible for an automatic assessment
• Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) used by staff to enter claim data from a scanned paper form or paper claim as well as data collected from over the phone or in a face to face interview

See Aged care means assessment to help determine when a calculation of your cost of care form is required.

The Aged Care - Calculation of your cost of care forms are available from the Services Australia website. The Resources page contains a link to the forms.

A residential care means assessment is a combined assets and income assessment and may be required in the following circumstances where a care recipient entered:

• permanent residential care after 1 July 2014, or
• residential care before 1 July 2014 and are seeking an estimate of fees as they are considering opting in to the post 1 November 2025 assessment scheme
• residential care before 1 November 2025 (including before 1 July 2014) and is opting in to the post 1 November 2025 assessment scheme for:
• a move to a different residential care service
• an ‘anytime’ opt in and remaining in the same residential care service

Care recipients who were approved for, or receiving, home care on or prior to 12 September 2024 will be assessed under the Post 1 July 2014 assessment scheme if entering residential care from 1 November 2025.

A residential aged care combined assets and income assessment can be initiated via:

• Completion of an Aged Care Calculation of your cost of care online
• Completion of an Aged Care Calculation of your cost of care form
• Verbally, for both non-homeowners and homeowners who receive a means tested income support payment
• Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) used by staff to enter claim data from a scanned paper form or paper claim as well as data collected from over the phone or in a face to face interview

An automatic assessment for non-homeowners who receive a means tested income support payment See Aged Care means assessment to help with determining when a calculation of cost of care is required.

Aged Care Calculation of your cost of care forms are available from the Services Australia website. The Resources page contains links to the forms.

As part of the 2021-22 Budget, the Australian Government implemented an aged care reform package. The reform package builds an aged care system that provides high quality and safe care for older Australians.

As a result of this reform a new aged care general service offer is available in all Services Australia service centres and aged care contact centres (Health Service Delivery Division – Care recipient and Provider Payments teams). See My Aged Care General Service Offer (MACGSO) for more details.

From 5 December 2020, Centrelink correspondence nominees are able to enquire, update and act on a care recipient's behalf for both Centrelink payments and services and aged care costs.

Completing an 'Authorising a person or organisation to enquire or act on your behalf form (SS313)' allows the appointment of:

• one payment nominee (for Centrelink payments only)
• one correspondence nominee
• the same nominee for both payment and correspondence nominee arrangements
• one person permitted to enquire (PPE)
• one person permitted to update (PPU)

PPE and PPU appointments are only viewable on the care recipient's Centrelink record. If a care recipient wants more than 1 PPE or PPU, a SS313 form needs to be lodged for each appointment. Each PPE/PPU’s identity must be established before the ‘Authorising a person or organisation to enquire or act on your behalf (SS313)’ form is processed. See Person Permitted to Enquire (PPE) or Update (PPU) authority.

When a Centrelink customer becomes a care recipient, the correspondence nominee arrangement is automatically applied to the aged care record.

DVA care recipients can have a different DVA nominee to their aged care nominee.

Note: DVA care recipients use the Aged Care Request for a nominee for Department of Veterans' Affairs customers form (AC019). The Resources page has links to forms. See Aged care request for a nominee or executor.

Note: My Aged Care use the term ‘representatives’. If someone is a ‘nominee’ for a customer at Services Australia, it does not mean they are also representatives for the same person at My Aged Care. See My Aged Care General Service Offer (GSO).

Aged care skill tagged staff handling enquiries require access to the following systems:

• Customer First
• See Customer First for information on requesting access
• Process Direct (PD)
• See Process Direct for information on requesting access
• See Process Direct navigation, common screens and functions for information on using the common screens and generic functions in Process Direct
• Aged Care Management and Payment System (ACMPS)
• See the 'Requesting access to ACMPS' user guide in the Aged Care Management Payment System (ACMPS) for details about requesting access
• See the 'ACMPS User Guide' in Aged Care Management Payment System (ACMPS) for details about using ACMPS
• Aged Care Staff Portal (ACSP), see Aged Care Staff Portal (ACSP) – access and using various menus in the home page for details about requesting access and using ACSP