The new Aged Care Act, starting 1 November 2025, includes changes to income and asset thresholds and new means-tested fees for residential aged care.
Your income and assets assessment will determine whether you need to pay:
- All or part of accommodation costs - this is the cost of the room
- Contributions towards the cost of the new hotelling supplement and non-clinical care fee.
What has changed:
- Additional thresholds as income and asset value, exist when assessing the value of your income and assets. This means higher thresholds pay more than those on the lower thresholds.
- Two new means-tested fees, the hotelling supplement and the non-clinical care contribution.
- Changes for those who pay accommodation costs (room price).
Accommodation costs
The maximum providers can charge for a room has increased to $750,00 indexed annually.
Providers will retain 2% of the refundable accommodation deposit (RAD) or refundable accommodation contributions (RAC). It will be deducted monthly and will cease after 5 years.
The daily accommodation payment (DAP will be indexed twice a year.
Hotelling supplement
If you have more than $238,00 in assets, more than $95,400 in income or a combination of the two, you will pay part or all of the hotelling supplement.
The most you will pay is $12.55 per day. This amount is indexed.
Non-clinical care contribution
For this fee, you will contribute at the rate of 7.8% of your assets over a value of $502,981 - this includes $206,00 being the value of the family home - or 50% of income over $131,279 or a combination of the two.
The most you can be asked to pay is $101.16 per day. You will not pay:
- More than $130,00 (this amount is indexed twice a year), over your entire stay. This includes contributions made while in the Support at Home program before you entered residential care.
- This fee is after being in care for 4 years.
Mandatory Reporting
Providers will regularly report individual refundable deposit balances to Services Australia.
Residents will also have to report changes to their personal and financial circumstances. This means that as your circumstances change, so may your assessment.
How to work out estimated costs
- Use the fee estimator to find out how much you might need to pay.
- Find a provider tool to see how much rooms cost and find a room. Remember, the means assessment will determine if you pay this amount in full, in part or not at all.
- Use the income and means assessment tool and income and assets checklist to learn what financial information is taken into account.
More information
- Upcoming changes to aged care funding | My Aged Care
- Accommodation funding changes - Webinar
- New Aged Care Act resources for older people, their families and carers
- Higher everyday living, additional and extra service fees: learn more about optional additional services and the new obligation for providers.
