There are two daily fees you may be required to pay if you move into high or low residential aged care facilities. These are the basic daily fee and the income-tested fee.
These fees are your contribution to your daily living costs (meals, laundry and cleaning, personal and nursing care). The amount you pay will depend on your income. If you have a spouse/partner, half of your combined income is counted.
Those with an income above the maximum possible income of a full pensioner will pay the basic daily fee and also an income-tested fee. Accommodation payments may also be payable if you have assets over $40, 500.
Basic daily fee
There are 4 different rates of basic daily fees. Each residents’ rate is determined according to their income and date of entry, as follows:
The standard rate of $41.71 per day will apply to most aged care residents including full pensioners and some part-pensioners with lower amounts of private income.
The protected rate of $38.07 per day will apply to people in care on 19 September 2009 who did not get the benefit of a pension increase, including part-pensioners with private income amounts above a set threshold and self-funded retirees who were in permanent care on 19 September 2009.
The phased rate of $40.72 per day will apply to people who enter care on or after 20 September 2009 who did not get the benefit of a pension increase, including part-pensioners with private income amounts above a set threshold and self-funded retirees who enter care on or after 20 September 2009.
The non-standard rate of $47.41 per day will apply to certain people who entered care prior to 20 March 2008, including those self-funded retirees who entered care before 20 March 2008, pensioners who have agreed to pay a big bond, or residents who have chosen not to disclose their financial information to Centrelink.
Income-tested fee
Only residents with total assessable income above the maximum income of a full pensioner are required to pay an income-tested fee. From 1 January 2010 income-tested fees apply from date of entry to care.
A resident's income-tested fee will be based on their individual total assessable income and is reviewed quarterly. Under the new daily fee structure, different threshold amounts apply for each daily fee rate in residential care.
Currently the income-tested fee is capped at $67.04. It is reviewed four times every year.
Residents’ income-tested fees can also not be greater than the cost of their care (that is, the amount of the Australian Government basic subsidy and primary supplements that are paid in respect of the resident).
Pensioners and part-pensioners are not entitled to Rent Assistance with their pension. Instead, the Department of Health and Ageing pays an equivalent amount, called the Accommodation Supplement, directly to the facility.
How will my income be assessed?
When you move into an aged care facility either Centrelink or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) will assess your income. The Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) determines the maximum income-tested fee payable based on this assessment and notifies residents and/or their representatives, and the facility. DoHA will not provide any information to the facility about your income. For pensioners, Centrelink or DVA already have income details. They will not require a new income assessment to be done.
For non-pensioners, Centrelink sends the form SA316 (Helping you with the assessment of your residential aged care fee) to residents or their representatives after they have entered care. You will need to lodge the completed form at a local Centrelink office. For more information and assistance with this form call Centrelink on 1800 227 475.
Residents do not have to supply income information, or allow Centrelink or DVA to pass that information on to DoHA. However, if the income information is withheld, the maximum fee or the cost of care (whichever is lower) is payable.
Contact Centrelink's Financial Information Service (FIS), tel. 13 2300 (local call cost), for free financial information.
Does the government subsidise my care?
After you enter an aged care facility the staff of the facility will assess your care needs to find out how much assistance you need with daily living tasks like showering, dressing and mobility.
From this they determine ‘a category of care’. A category system known as the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) sets the cost of care for each category. Your daily fees contribute to this cost. The Department of Health and Ageing subsidises the rest. If you are paying an income-tested fee and the cost of your care is lower than the total daily fees calculated, you would pay the lower amount.
What do I pay in respite care?
No income-tested fee can be charged for respite care. You will only pay the basic daily fee standard rate of $41.71. An Accommodation Supplement is paid directly to the facility.
If you already receive Rent Assistance from Centrelink, it will continue for 52 days (continuous stay) or less while you are in respite. If this causes financial hardship, contact Centrelink, tel. 13 2300 (local call cost).
Extra services facilities
Extra services facilities provide a higher standard of accommodation and services. They do not provide a higher level of care. You may be charged an additional extra services amount in addition to the daily fees.
State-funded bed fees in country hospitals
Residents in state-funded facilities (also known as Long Stay or Nursing Home Type Patients) in country areas pay the non-standard resident contribution. No income-tested fees or accommodation payments apply in these facilities, except where the bed is located in a Multipurpose Service site. Check with the facility in question for the fees payable.
Hardship provisions
If payment of the basic daily fee or an income-tested fee will cause undue hardship, you can request a reduction by applying to the Department of Health and Ageing, tel. 1800 052 222 (free call) and requesting the form Aged Care Application for Financial Assistance.
