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Help with aged care homes

Financially disadvantaged people in aged care homes

Older people who are financially or socially vulnerable are protected from disadvantage in using aged care services. There are hardship provisions for people receiving care in aged care homes and the community. People in insecure housing arrangements can also receive support.

Financial hardship assistance

Under the Aged Care Act 1997 there are provisions for people in aged care homes who have difficulty paying care fees and accommodation payments.

People applying for financial hardship assistance may need help with their daily care fees (more information), the income-tested fee (more information), the accommodation charge (more information), or the accommodation bond (more information). Where assistance is granted, the Australian Government pays an additional supplement so that the aged care home is not disadvantaged.

The application form for financial hardship can be found on the Department of Health and Ageing website.

Concessional or assisted residents

There are also special arrangements to ensure that all older people, including the financially disadvantaged, receive fair access to care. People who are eligible for these arrangements are called concessional or assisted residents (more information). Concessional residents don’t pay accommodation bonds or charges. Assisted residents only pay a small accommodation bond or accommodation charge.

Aged care homes receive additional subsidies from the Australian Government for concessional and assisted residents.

To be eligible to be a concessional resident you must:

• be receiving an Australian Government means-tested pension, and
• not have owned or part-owned a home for the last two or more years, unless:
  • your partner or dependent child is living there, or
  • a carer, who is eligible for an Australian Government pension, has lived there for the past two years, or
  • a close relation (such as mother, father, brother, sister, child, grandchild) who is eligible for an Australian Government means-tested pension has been living there for the past five years.
• have assets totalling less than 2.5 times the annual single basic age pension.

Aged care homes also receive an additional supplement for assisted residents, but at a lower rate than for concessional residents. Assisted residents may be asked to pay a small accommodation bond or accommodation charge. The criteria for assisted residents are the same as for concessional residents, except that an assisted resident has assets of between 2.5 and 4.0 times the annual single basic age pension amount.

Assistance with care and housing for the aged

There is also a program known as Assistance with Care and Housing for the Aged (ACHA). This program supports frail, low-income, older people who are renting, in insecure housing arrangements, or who are homeless.

The program helps them to remain in the community by helping them into housing that is linked to community care. Because their housing arrangements are insecure, some frail older people whose care needs could be met by a Community Aged Care Package (CACP) (more information) are at risk of premature admission to residential care. Through the ACHA program, the Australian Government contributes to organisations that provide support through paid workers and volunteers, linking people to housing and care services.

More information

For more information about financial hardship, contact the Aged Care Information Line on 1800 500 853.

This page was last updated on: 04 April 2008

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