Every fee in an aged care home, line by line

The first bill from an aged care home can be a surprise. There are several lines on it, with names that don't explain much. This guide goes through each one: what it pays for, who pays it, and how the amount is set.

It covers people entering an aged care home from 1 November 2025. People who moved in before then are mostly on older arrangements, which are covered at the end.

The short version

Line on the bill	Who pays	How it's set
Basic daily fee	Everyone	A fixed share of the single basic Age Pension
Accommodation (the room)	Everyone, but less for people on low means	The agreed room price, or a contribution from the means assessment
Hotelling contribution	Only people above a means level	The means assessment, up to a daily maximum
Non-clinical care contribution	Only people paying the full hotelling contribution	The means assessment, up to a daily cap, with lifetime limits
Higher everyday living fee	Only if your parent chooses extras	A written agreement, after moving in
Clinical care, such as nursing	Nobody: the government pays	n/a

1. The basic daily fee

This is the one fee every resident can be asked to pay, whatever their income or assets.

It goes towards everyday living in the home: meals, cleaning, laundry, heating and cooling, and similar services. The maximum is set at 85% of the single basic Age Pension. That's currently $68.93 a day. It goes up each March and September, in step with the pension.

For someone living on the full Age Pension, this fee uses up most of it, but not all.

2. Accommodation: paying for the room

Every room has a published price. Your parent and the home agree the actual price in writing before moving in. A home can't charge more than its published price, and it needs special approval to charge more than $789,686.

How much your parent pays depends on the means assessment:

• Not on low means: your parent pays the agreed price. That can be a lump sum, a daily payment, or a mix. The daily payment is worked out using a government interest rate, currently 8.51% a year. See our guide to whether the daily payment is just interest.
• On low means: your parent pays an accommodation contribution worked out from their means assessment, and the government pays the rest. Some people pay nothing for the room.

3. The hotelling contribution

This is an extra amount towards everyday living costs, on top of the basic daily fee. It's means-tested, so not everyone pays it.

It comes from a single figure in the means assessment, called the means-tested amount. If that figure is above $73.73 a day, the part above it goes first to the hotelling contribution, up to $22.15 a day.

There's no yearly or lifetime limit on the hotelling contribution. It carries on while your parent's means stay above the level.

4. The non-clinical care contribution

This goes towards care that isn't clinical, such as help with showering, dressing and getting around. Only people who already pay the full hotelling contribution can be asked to pay it.

Any means-tested amount left over after the hotelling contribution goes here, up to $109.45 a day.

Unlike the other lines, it stops. It ends once your parent has paid $140,652.80 in total, or has been charged it for four years, whichever comes first. Our guide to the care contribution caps explains how those limits work.

5. The higher everyday living fee (optional)

Some homes offer higher-standard services for an extra daily fee, such as a wider menu or extra in-room services. This is the higher everyday living fee.

• It's optional.
• It can only be agreed after your parent moves in, and it can't be a condition of getting a room.
• For ongoing extras, it's set out in a written agreement, with a cooling-off period and a yearly review. A one-off extra doesn't need the same paperwork.

If your parent no longer uses ongoing extras, the agreement can be changed or ended.

6. Clinical care

Nursing and other clinical care is paid for by the government. There's no separate charge for it on the bill.

How the means-tested lines fit together

The means assessment looks at your parent's income and assets and turns them into a daily figure. Then:

1. If the figure is below $73.73 a day, your parent is on low means. They get help with the room and don't pay the hotelling or non-clinical care contributions.
2. If it's above, the amount over that level goes to the hotelling contribution first, then to the non-clinical care contribution.

Services Australia (or DVA) sends a fee advice letter with the amounts. Changes to income or assets need reporting within 28 days, and the amounts can change when they do. Our guide to the means test explains how the figure is worked out.

If your parent moved in before November 2025

People already in an aged care home before 1 November 2025 generally stay on their earlier fee arrangements, with a means-tested care fee instead of the hotelling and non-clinical care contributions. For people who moved in before 1 July 2014, it's an income-tested fee instead. Some people who were approved for a home care package on 12 September 2024 are also on those earlier arrangements. Their fee advice letter shows which rules apply.

If the fees are too much

People who genuinely can't afford their fees can apply to Services Australia for financial hardship assistance. One of the tests is an assets limit, currently $48,270.30. Help can cover some or all of certain fees. It's worth applying early, as the decision takes time.

See an estimate

The Aged Care Costs calculator gives an estimate of the fees, with the home counted as it is today, and compares the ways of paying for the room. Services Australia's assessment sets the actual amounts.

If you're unsure how the fees will be paid over time, consider talking it through with a licensed financial adviser who specialises in aged care.

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