Aged Care Costs

What will you need to pay for permanent residential aged care? The government changed aged care cost arrangements on 1 November 2025. Below is an overview of the cost components going forward and a Cost Estimator for you to do some estimates.
Basic daily fee

All residents pay this fee, which is set at 85% of the single basic age pension. It is used for basic day-to-day living costs. The fee increases in March and September each year in line with the age pension.

Hotelling contribution

People who can afford to will contribute towards their daily living costs through a hotelling contribution. The amount is based on your means assessment but is limited by a maximum daily cap. This cap changes with indexation in March and September. There is no lifetime cap.

Non-clinical care contribution

People who pay the maximum hotelling contribution may also need to pay a non-clinical care contribution. This goes towards costs such as bathing and mobility assistance. The amount is based on your means assessment but is limited by a maximum daily cap. This cap changes with indexation in March and September.

A lifetime cap also applies. You will pay the non-clinical care contribution until you reach the lifetime cap amount (including any previous Support at Home contributions) or until you have paid it for a total of 4 years.

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 for accommodation will depend on your means assessment. This assessment will determine if you will need to pay all your accommodation cost or if the government will pay some or all of it.

There are a number of payment options from which you can choose to pay for your accommodation. See here for information about these options and their cost effects.

Fees for higher everyday living

The higher everyday living fee is an optional fee for residents wishing to receive a higher level of services in residential aged care. It applies to services (other than accommodation services) that are not already listed on the residential aged care service list. Examples are yoga classes, wi-fi access, hair cuts.

To receive such services, you must enter into an agreement with your provider and, if the services are planned and agreed in advance, the agreement must be in writing.

Pre-entry fee

Your provider can charge a fee to reserve a room for you for up to 7 days before you enter permanent care. This enables you to secure your place in the aged care home and to prepare for your move. The daily pre-entry fee is no more than the basic daily fee.

Transition arrangements

If you were approved for or accessing a Home Care Package on or before 12 September 2024, you can pay fees under the previous more favourable fee rules, called 1 July 2014 arrangements. See this Health department webpage for more details.

Cost estimator

For an indication of your potential residential aged care fees, complete the following form. The form uses 1 November 2025 arrangement rules. The information you submit will only be used to provide the estimate and will then be discarded.

Click Yes if you have a spouse or de facto, whether living with you or living elsewhere.
Click Yes if you are living in your home and either you own it or you are paying it off.
Click Yes if, when you enter Residential Aged Care, a protected person will remain living at your home. This could be your partner, or a dependent child, or an eligible carer who has been living with you in that home for the previous 2 years, or an eligible close relative who has been living with you in that home for the previous 5 years.
Enter the market value of your home less the value of any mortgages held over the home. For a retirement village unit, enter the net amount you will receive when you vacate the unit.
Include all your cash, bank/building society/credit union accounts, term deposits, bonds, managed investments, shares and securities in public companies, loans and debentures, bullion, and any gifted amounts above $10,000 in the last year or above $30,000 in the last five years.
Include all your other assets. For example, superannuation balances, investment properties, trusts, private companies, foreign assets, special collections such as art works or antiques, household contents and personal effects (typically valued at $10,000), and refundable deposits paid for accommodation in an aged care home.
Include any loan, encumbrance, charge, or debt where it is held over a financial or other asset you have listed above. Exclude any credit card debt, personal loan debt, and any mortgage over your home. Also exclude debt for loans taken out for the benefit of others, apart from your partner.
Include all your income, such as any type of pension, superannuation payments, net income from properties/businesses/farms, trust distributions, private company dividends. But exclude income from the Financial Assets you have listed above, as they will have a deemed rate of return applied.