Residential Aged Care Fees & Costs Explained

All residents must pay a standard Basic Daily Fee to cover meals, cleaning, laundry, heating, and cooling. This fee is equivalent to 85 percent of the basic aged pension ($63.57 a day at present). Like the aged pension, it is indexed with increases every March and September.

Good to know: The Basic Daily Fee can be charged up to seven days before you move into residential aged care and must still be paid if you are on social leave or hospital leave from your aged care home.

Depending on your income and assets, you may also be required to pay for your accommodation in an aged care home. There are three options for payment: lump sum, non-refundable daily payments, or as a mix of both (hybrid). Remember, we list the accommodation price for all BlueCare beds throughout Queensland.

There are a few thresholds that apply to government assistance here.

• If on a single pension, your income is less than $33,849.40 and your assets are below $61,500 you do not have to pay the Accommodation Fee at all.
• If your income is more than $84,656.52 a year and your assets more than $206,663.20, you will need to pay the full amount.
• If your assets or income sit between those two thresholds, you may be entitled to some government subsidies. Visit My Aged Care to find out more.

Lump sum

If you choose to pay a lump sum amount, there will be a deduction of 2% of the value each year for up to 5 years. When you leave Residential Aged Care, the remainder of the balance (less any other deductions you agree with the aged care home) is refunded. The Australian Government guarantees this refund.

Good to know: If family members wish to contribute to any lump sum accommodation payments, it is recommended they seek legal advice. If the resident passes away, the refund of the remaining lump sum amount is paid to the estate of the former resident.

Daily payment

You can also choose to pay for your accommodation as a daily fee. These fees are non-refundable and are similar to paying rent for a house. The Australian Government sets a reference interest rate which is used to determine the value of the daily payment. Similar to the basic daily fee, these fees are indexed twice per year (March and September).

For example, if a room cost $400,000, your daily fee would be charged at 8.17% of the $400,000 or $89.53 a day.

Good to know: The rate charged changes twice per year.

Hybrid fee

There is also an option to pay part lump sum and part daily payment. You can choose the value of the lump sum payment, and then the daily payment would be calculated using the Australian Government reference interest rate.

Good to know: The rate charged changes twice per year year.

Depending on your financial situation, you may also be required to contribute towards your everyday living and healthcare costs. The amount you are required to pay increases in accordance with your wealth. But there is a safety net in place, with a daily cap on both everyday living and healthcare contributions.

Further, there is a lifetime cap for your healthcare contributions. You will no longer need to pay a contribution for healthcare costs when this cap is reached, or four years, whichever occurs first.

The lifetime cap is $130,000

Good to know: If you have been paying fees for home care services prior to entering residential care, the money you have paid may count towards your lifetime cap.