The care contribution caps: when the non-clinical care contribution stops

"Do the care fees ever stop?" Families ask this a lot, especially when a parent may be in care for years. For one fee, the answer is yes. The non-clinical care contribution has limits, and once one is reached, it stops for good.

This guide explains those limits, what counts towards them, and which other costs carry on.

A quick reminder: what the contribution is

The non-clinical care contribution goes towards everyday care that isn't nursing, such as help with showering, dressing and moving around. It's means-tested. Only people who already pay the full hotelling contribution can be asked to pay it, and it's capped at $109.45 a day.

Our guide to every fee, line by line shows where it sits on the bill.

The two limits

The contribution stops at whichever of these comes first:

1. A lifetime dollar limit. Once your parent has paid $140,652.80 in total, it stops.
2. A four-year limit. Once your parent has been charged it for four years' worth of days, it stops. The days don't have to be in a row.

Both limits apply for life. They don't reset if your parent moves to another home.

The dollar limit is indexed each March and September. The limit that applies is the one in force when your parent reaches it.

A lower dollar limit can apply to some people who were approved for a home care package by 12 September 2024. Their fee advice letter shows it.

Which limit is reached first?

That depends on how much your parent pays each day:

• If they pay close to the daily cap, the dollar limit is usually reached first.
• If they pay a smaller amount each day, the four-year limit may come first.

What counts towards the limits

Payment	Counts towards the dollar limit?	Counts towards the four years?
Non-clinical care contribution paid in an aged care home	Yes	Yes
Contributions paid for Support at Home services	Yes	No
Income-tested fees for an older home care package, before November 2025	Yes	No

So money a parent has already paid towards care at home can bring the dollar limit closer. It doesn't use up any of the four years.

People who opt in to the new rules from older arrangements can also have their earlier means-tested care fees count towards the dollar limit.

What keeps going after the limit

Reaching a limit stops only the non-clinical care contribution. These carry on:

• the basic daily fee;
• the hotelling contribution, which has no yearly or lifetime limit;
• the room, whether paid daily or as a lump sum;
• any higher everyday living fee your parent has agreed to.

So the total bill drops, but it doesn't disappear.

Who keeps track

Services Australia keeps count of what's been paid and tells your parent and the home when a limit is reached. If you think a limit has been passed and the contribution is still being charged, ask the home and Services Australia to check.

People on the older arrangements

Two older sets of rules still apply to some residents.

• Moved in from 1 July 2014 to 31 October 2025, and some people approved for a home care package on 12 September 2024: they pay a means-tested care fee in place of the newer contribution. It has a yearly cap of $37,055.98 and a lifetime cap of $88,934.57. The yearly cap runs from the anniversary of the day your parent first entered care, not the financial year, so moving homes doesn't restart it. Income-tested fees paid for an older home care package count towards both caps.
• Moved in before 1 July 2014: they pay an income-tested fee. It has a daily cap, but no yearly or lifetime cap.

The fee advice letter shows which rules apply.

How the calculator handles this

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 over a stay of one to ten years. Its yearly totals don't yet include the means-tested contributions. A note beside the totals says so and shows today's daily amounts.

If the limits could make a big difference to your family's numbers, consider talking it through with a licensed financial adviser who specialises in aged care.

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