Costs and Fees Involved with Residential Aged Care
The amount a resident must pay for their accommodation is determined by their means assessment by the Department of Human Services (DHS). The result of this assessment will indicate whether the resident will pay:
a) No accommodation costs – for some Australians, the Government will pay all accommodation costs
b) An ‘accommodation contribution’ – if the resident must pay for part of their accommodation, the Government will pay the rest
c) An ‘accommodation payment’ – if the resident must pay for the full cost of their accommodation, they will need to negotiate a room price with their chosen aged care home.
The DHS will advise which accommodation payment option applies to you. If you are required to pay either a contribution or payment (a or c), you can either pay for your accommodation by:
1) a lump sum, called a ‘Refundable Accommodation Deposit’ (RAD) or a ‘Refundable Accommodation Contribution’ (RAC)
2) rental-style payments, called a ‘Daily Accommodation Payment’ (DAP) or a ‘Daily Accommodation Contribution’ (DAC)
3) a combination of both lump sum and rental-style payments, RAD + DAP or RAC + DAC.
Residential respite residents do not pay any accommodation costs or means tested care fees but will be expected to pay the basic daily fee.
The Basic Daily Fee is set at 85% of the Age Pension. This fee is paid by all residents, including those on respite care.
For further information about our fees and charges, please click here.
