Costs (1 July 2014 Onwards)

When entering a residential aged care facility, there are several fees that you may be asked to pay:

• A basic daily care fee of up to 85% of the single person rate of the Age Pension. This fee applies to each individual entering a residential aged care facility, regardless of whether you are a member of a couple or not. From 20 March 2023, the basic daily care fee is $61.96 per day (residents in designated remote areas may be asked to pay an additional $1.06 per day).

• A means-tested care fee. This is an additional fee payable dependent upon an assessment of your existing income and assets. There are annual and lifetime limits, indexed each year, on the amount of means-tested care fee you may be asked to pay; upon reaching these caps you cannot be asked to pay any additional amount. The limits are as follows:
  
  • The annual cap on the means-tested care fee is $33,309.29 (as at 20 March 2024).
  • The lifetime cap on the means-tested care fee is $79,942.44 (as at 20 March 2024).