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Who pays for aged care?
Paying for community care
For many community care (more information) services that help you stay at home, fees are subsidised by the Australian Government. People are expected to make a financial contribution to the cost of their care if they can. However, the Australian Government regulates the maximum charges that a service provider may request to ensure that aged care is affordable for all, and no one is denied a service they need if they cannot afford to pay. The Australian Government is committed to ensuring that aged care services are of high quality, accessible, and affordable.If you are receiving packaged community care – a Community Aged Care Package (CACP) (more information), Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) (more information) package or an Extended Aged Care at Home Dementia (EACHD) (more information) package – and are on a basic pension, you cannot be asked to pay more than 17.5% of your pension. If you are on a higher income you may be asked to pay more – but not more than 50% of any income you earn above the maximum pension rate.
For Home and Community Care (HACC) Program (more information) services, the state and territory governments determine their own fee policies and scales of fees for HACC services. These fees should be consistent and fair to everyone.
Read more: About costs for different types of care
Paying for care in an aged care home
While the Australian Government is responsible for providing the majority of the funding for residential aged care (more information), residents who can afford it are asked to make a contribution to the cost of their care. The main types of fees paid are basic daily and income tested fees and accommodation payments.The Australian Government sets the maximum level of care fees that residents may be asked to pay. Basic daily fees are a contribution to the resident’s daily living costs, such as meals, linen and laundry, air conditioning and accommodation. Some residents also pay an income tested fee, depending on their income and level of care. No one is asked to pay more than they can afford or more than their cost of care.
Residents who have assets above a minimum amount (roughly 2.25 times the basic single age pension amount) may also be asked to make a contribution towards the cost of their accommodation. In low level care (more information), this payment is generally in the form of an accommodation bond, which can be paid as a lump sum, a periodic payment, or a combination of both. In high level care (more information), the payment is generally in the form of a daily accommodation charge, based on the level of assets held by the resident. Again, there is protection for residents who cannot afford these payments.
Read more: About costs for care in an aged care home