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Assets assessments
Centrelink (more information) and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) undertake assets testing for people who will be entering permanent residential aged care (an aged care home) or who have recently entered care.
You do not need to have an assets assessment if you are going into respite care (more information).
You must have an assets assessment by Centrelink or DVA if you wish to test your eligibility to enter care as a concessional resident (more information) or assisted resident (more information).
It is not compulsory for you to have an assessment if you do not wish to test whether you are eligible to be a concessional or assisted resident. However, you are able to choose to have an assessment to help you to negotiate an accommodation bond (more information) or accommodation charge (more information) amount with an aged care home.
If you choose not to have an assets assessment, the home may ask you to pay the maximum rate of accommodation charge or any amount of accommodation bond that would leave you with no less than 2.5 times the annual single basic age pension. This amount is currently $34,500.
Centrelink completes assessments for people who receive a means-tested pension from Centrelink. The DVA completes assessments for veterans, war widows and widowers and their partners who receive a means-tested pension from DVA. Assessments for people who do not receive a means-tested pension from Centrelink or the DVA are done by Centrelink.
How to arrange an assets assessment
If you wish to have an assets assessment you need to complete a Request for an Assets Assessment form. You will be given one of these forms, as part of the 5 Steps to Entry into Residential Aged Care pack, by the Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT or ACAS in Victoria) (more information) when you’re being assessed for entry into an aged care home. If you do not receive a form from an ACAT or ACAS, you can download one from the Department of Health and Ageing website or by calling the Aged Care Information Line on 1800 500 853.Once you’ve completed this form you need to post it to Centrelink’s Cheltenham office, or to the DVA office in your capital city. The addresses for Centrelink’s Cheltenham office and the DVA state offices are on the back page of the request form.
If you have not already entered an aged care home, your assets assessment will be based on your assets situation at the time the assessment is being undertaken. If you entered an aged care home before your assets assessment, the assessment will be based on your assets situation on the date you entered the home.
The time it will take for your assessment to be completed will depend on the type of assets you hold. You should make sure that:
- all the parts of the form you need to complete are properly filled in
- the form is signed, and
- all the required supporting documents are enclosed.
When your assets assessment is completed you will be informed in writing whether you are eligible to be a concessional resident, an assisted resident, or neither of these.
This advice will also include an itemised list of your assets and an indication of how long this assessment will be current.
You will also be given a separate document that contains your resident status (for example, whether you’re eligible to be a concessional or assisted resident) and how long the assessment will be current. If you wish to enter a home as a concessional or an assisted resident, you will need to pass this advice on to the aged care home. If you are assessed as ineligible to be a concessional or assisted resident, you are able to choose whether or not to pass this separate advice on to the aged care home.
Changes to the assets test - gifted assets and income streams
The rules under the aged care assets test have changed for people who are entering permanent residential aged care (more information) for the first time, or moving to a new home. The changes affect two areas: gifts of assets and money invested in income stream products (more information). Changes to the rules for gifted assets came into effect on 1 January 2007, and changes to the rules for income streams products came into effect on 20 September 2007.Information about recent changes to the rules about gifts of assets and income streams under the assets assessment for entry into aged care may be obtained through the Department of Health and Ageing website.
Common questions on this topic:
- What are assisted residents?
- How do I apply for an asset assessment?
- What are concessional residents?
See more common questions on this topic | See all common questions
