Coming in 2027: the accommodation supplement and the MPIR

In April 2026, an independent review of how aged care rooms are priced was tabled in Parliament. The government's first response, announced in the May 2026 Budget, includes two changes families may hear about in 2027. One is now in the aged care rules; the other still needs a new law. This guide sets out what's been decided, and what isn't known yet.

Change 1: the government's help with rooms, from 20 March 2027

The accommodation supplement is money the government pays a home towards the room of a resident on low means. Families don't receive it directly, but it matters in two ways: it's what makes a room available to people who can't pay for one, and it's linked to the line that decides who counts as being on low means.

What the aged care rules now say for 20 March 2027: Not yet checked

• the maximum accommodation supplement will be $78.73 a day; and
• the government will pay $53.09 a day to homes that aren't newly built or significantly refurbished.

These amounts haven't started yet and could change before then. Until 19 March 2027, the current amounts apply.

Separately, the government has announced (but not yet made law) an extra top-up payment from 20 March 2028 for homes where most residents, six in ten or more, are on low means. It has said that top-up won't affect residents' means testing.

What it means for your parent. Today, someone is on low means when the daily amount from their means assessment is below the maximum accommodation supplement, currently $73.73 a day. That maximum is the highest amount the rules set, so from 20 March 2027 the low-means line is due to move to $78.73 a day.

Low-means status is set when your parent moves into a home, so a later change wouldn't affect someone already settled in the same home. If your parent is still on the older 1 July 2014 fee arrangements, their means-tested care fee is worked out using the top rate, so it may change slightly from 20 March 2027.

Change 2: a new way to work out the daily room payment, announced for 1 July 2027

Today, the daily room payment is worked out from the agreed room price using the maximum permissible interest rate (MPIR), currently 8.51%. The rate that applies is the one on the day the price was agreed. Our guide to whether the daily payment is just interest explains how this works.

The government has said it will replace the MPIR with a different way of converting a room price into a daily amount by 1 July 2027. This is an announcement, not law yet: it depends on new laws being passed.

What isn't known yet:

• the new method, or what the daily amounts will look like;
• whether it applies only to people who agree a room price after the change; and
• what happens to people who already pay by the day.

The same announcement includes clearer information about room payments for families, including in Services Australia's fee advice letters.

Other pricing changes still being worked out

The government also set aside funding for more flexible rules on how homes set room prices, with consultation from mid-2026. No details of new limits or approval rules for room prices have been confirmed. Our guide to room prices covers today's rules.

The usual March and September changes still happen

Separately from these reforms, many amounts change every 20 March and 20 September in line with the pension, such as the basic daily fee and the limits used in the means assessment. Daily room payments for most people who moved in from 1 November 2025 also rise on those dates.

What to do now

• Waiting for 2027 often isn't an option if your parent needs care now. Today's rules apply when the room price is agreed. Whether the later changes will reach people who have already moved in isn't known yet.
• If you're comparing paying by the day with a lump sum, remember the daily amount is fixed to the rate on the day the price is agreed, apart from indexation.
• Check back. We'll update this guide when the details are final.

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