Aged Care Fees & Costs

Basic Daily Care Fee

The basic daily care fee (BDCF) is one of the aged care fees paid by all our aged care residents and covers your daily living costs such as meals, power, laundry, cleaning and personal care.

This fee is determined by the Government and is set at 85% of the single Age Pension.

Non-Clinical Care Contribution

This is a new fee that replaces the Means-Tested Care Fee and helps pay for extra support and wellbeing activities that aren’t medical, like social events and hobbies. This fee is on top of the basic daily fee and is calculated via a means-test (income + assets) to determine what you can afford. . The amount is based on a person's income and assets, and there’s a daily cap on how much you're charged. You also stop paying after 4 years or $130,000 (currently around $130,000, indexed), whichever comes first.

Unlike the basic daily fee, this isn’t a fixed cost and the amount may change if your financial situation (income/assets) changes.

Accommodation fees

Depending on your income and assets you may be asked to pay an accommodation fee as part of your aged care fees. This is determined by Services Australia, and this fee helps cover your accommodation costs beyond care costs for personal and clinical care.

This fee is only payable if your income and assets exceed a certain amount. Your fees may be fully or partly covered by the Government depending on your financial circumstances.

Note: This fee will differ across each aged care centre and the room type you choose.

If you need to pay an accommodation fee to help cover your aged care accommodation costs, there are three ways you can do so:

Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD) 

A lump sum payment where the amount differs by aged care centre and is based on room pricing. It’s party refunded once you leave with the aged care provider keeping 2% of that money each year for up to 5 years. There's also a capped retention amount of up to 10%. 

Daily Accommodation Payment (DAP) 

A daily ongoing payment paid periodically (i.e. fortnightly or monthly) that’s based on a daily interest rate called the maximum permissible interest rate (MPIR). The DAP differs by aged care centre and is based on room pricing. This payment isn’t refundable when you leave. 

Combination payment

This is where you may choose to pay for your accommodation by using a combination of RAD and DAP payments, so you would pay a nominated lump sum and the rest of the balance as a daily payment. Only the RAD payment is refundable when you leave. 

Hotelling Supplement Contribution

This is a new fee that covers daily living costs like meals, cleaning, gardening and laundry. Currently the government pays the Hotelling Supplement for all residents, but now it will only pay for those who are unable to afford to contribute.

Like other fees, it's means-tested, so those with higher financial means contribute more to the cost of their accommodation. There’s also a daily maximum of $12.55 to keep it fair.

Higher Everyday Living Fee (HELF)

This is an optional fee you can pay for enhanced services beyond the standard care funded by the government. It replaces older fee structures (previously called the mandatory Additional Services fee) and covers higher-quality daily living options like premium food, lifestyle activities, wellness programs, and entertainment, allowing for more personalised care choices.