Aged care homes Costs for residential care

As a resident in an aged care home you are asked to pay a daily fee as a contribution towards the cost of care and living expenses, such as meals and refreshments, cleaning, laundry, heating and cooling, as well as social activities.

In addition, the daily fee contributes to the costs for personal care, including assistance with daily living such as bathing, dressing and toileting, assistance with mobility aids, therapy, and certain medical and pharmaceutical services.

The maximum Basic Daily Fee for all permanent residents who enter an aged care home is 85 percent of the maximum base rate of the Age Pension for a single person.

This is the same amount you will be charged if you’re staying in a nursing home for a temporary stay as a respite resident. It is generally adjusted each March and September at the same time as the Age Pension.

As of March 2023, the maximum Basic Daily Fee is $58.98 per day for all full pensioners and some part pensioners.

Depending on your income and level of care, you may also be asked to pay an income tested fee as part of the daily fees. However, this does not apply to respite residents in aged care.

If you do receive income other than your pension, you will be assessed by Centrelink, or Veterans’ Affairs if you are a veteran, to determine how much extra you can be asked to pay as an income tested fee.

Accommodation payments

Accommodation payments are different from daily care fees. It’s a payment for the bed or room you will occupy in the aged care home, separately from any care you receive.

These payments can be made as a lump sum or spread out over regular payments and are used by the aged care home as capital funding to improve the quality of the buildings and services they provide.

Not everyone pays an accommodation payment. It depends on the value of your assets and income at the time of entry into care.

If you have more than $57,000 in assets and income, you can be asked to pay an accommodation payment, but you must be left with at least $57,000 in assets after your payment (Rates as at 20 March 2023).

Means tested care fee

The means tested care fee is an extra contribution on top of the other residential aged care payments, and the amount can differ from person to person.

The means tested care fee will incorporate your financial assets and your income, and then determine how much you will be contributing to the cost of your personal and clinical care services.

This contribution amount can fluctuate depending on if your income or assets change.

There are annual and lifetime caps on the means tested care fee. There is an annual cap of $31,706.83 that will apply to your means tested contribution to your care costs, together with a lifetime cap of $76,096.50 (March 2023 rates).

Depending on your personal financial situation, you may not have to pay this contribution towards the cost of your care.