Aged Care · Means Assessment

Aged Care Fee Calculator Australia

Work out what residential aged care will cost you. Enter your entry date, income, assets and home — the calculator applies the right fee regime and shows whether the government helps with your accommodation.

Basic daily fee $66.80Both fee regimesHome capped at $214,884

01 —INPUTS

Date you entered (or will enter) residential care

This is the branch that matters — not a tax year. From 01/11/2025 the Aged Care Act 2024 fees apply; before that, the older means tested care fee does.

Your situation

A couple with one partner entering care is assessed as illness separated: half the combined income and assets belong to each of you.

Annual assessable income

Includes the Age Pension, deemed income, rent and super income streams.

Assets excluding the home

Super, savings, shares, car and contents.

I own the home I am leaving

02 —RESULTS

Awaiting input

Enter your income, assets or home value to see the fees for both fee regimes

Next best steps

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The branch that matters

Two Fee Regimes Run in Parallel

Aged care fees are not set by a financial year. The Aged Care Act 2024 commenced on 1 November 2025, and a "no worse off" principle keeps everyone already in care on their old arrangements until they leave. So two complete fee systems run side by side, and the date you entered care decides which one applies to you.

Cost	Entered before 1 Nov 2025	Entered on or after 1 Nov 2025
Basic daily feeEveryone pays it. Legislated at 85% of the single basic Age Pension.	$66.80 /day	$66.80 /day
Means tested care contributionBoth are driven by the same means tested amount, above the accommodation supplement.	Means tested care fee, up to $370.39 /day	Hotelling up to $22.15 /day, then non-clinical care up to $107.32 /day
Clinical careThe clearest win in the new regime.	Funded through the means tested care fee	Fully government funded
Annual capThe old annual cap resets on each entry anniversary.	$35,910	None
Lifetime capHome care contributions count towards both.	$86,185	$137,917 on the non-clinical care contribution
Time capWhichever of the dollar cap or the time cap comes first.	None	4 years of paying the non-clinical care contribution
Lump sum room deposit refundFollows the accommodation arrangements, which can differ from the fee arrangements.	Fully refundable	2% a year retained, for up to 5 years

The basic daily fee is the one constant across both regimes because it is pegged, not indexed separately: it is legislated at 85% of the single basic Age Pension, currently $78.59 a day, which is where $66.80 comes from. It moves every 20 March and 20 September with the pension.

A resident on the older arrangements can opt in to the new ones at any time, including when moving to a new home. The decision cannot be reversed, and it changes the caps as well as the fee names — get financial advice before signing the form.

The formula

How the Means Tested Amount Is Built

Everything flows from one number. Services Australia works out an income tested amount and an asset tested amount, adds them, and divides by 364 to express the total as a daily figure. That single means tested amount then decides your accommodation position and every means tested contribution you pay.

Income test — 1 November 2025 entrants, single

Up to $35,313 (free area) Nil

$35,313 to $87,948 50%

$87,948 to $101,105 Nil

$101,105 to $117,230 50%

$117,230 to $141,253 Nil

Above $141,253 50%

Assets test — 1 November 2025 entrants

Up to $64,500 (free area) Nil

$64,500 to $214,884 17.5%

$214,884 to $258,000 Nil

$258,000 to $361,367 7.8%

$361,367 to $536,384 Nil

Above $536,384 7.8%

Residents who entered before 1 November 2025 use a simpler asset ladder — 17.5% from $64,500 to $214,884, then 1% to $515,652, then 2% above that — and a single income band of 50% above $35,313.

Then the waterfall

The means tested amount is spent in a fixed order. The first $72.30 a day covers accommodation. For 1 November 2025 entrants the next $22.15 a day is the hotelling contribution, and only once that is paid in full does anything left become the non-clinical care contribution, up to $107.32 a day. For earlier entrants, everything above $72.30 is the means tested care fee, up to $370.39 a day.

The home

Your Home Is Capped, Not Ignored

The aged care means test treats the family home differently from the Age Pension assets test, and this trips up almost everyone. The home is fully exempt while a protected person still lives in it. Otherwise it counts — but only up to the home exemption cap of $214,884. Everything above that is excluded, so a $2,000,000 house and a $300,000 house are assessed identically.

A protected person is a partner or dependent child, or a close relative or carer who has lived in the home for the required period and is eligible for an income support payment. The cap applies separately to each member of a couple, so a couple where both enter care can each have their own half share capped.

Note what this means in practice: for anyone whose home is worth more than the cap, selling it converts an asset that was capped at $214,884 into cash counted in full. That single decision can move you from partially supported to paying a full room price.

FAQ

How much are aged care fees in Australia?

Everyone in residential aged care pays the basic daily fee of $66.80 a day, which is legislated at 85% of the single basic Age Pension. On top of that you may pay means tested contributions and an accommodation cost. If you entered care on or after 1 November 2025 the means tested contributions are a hotelling contribution of up to $22.15 a day plus a non-clinical care contribution of up to $107.32 a day. If you entered earlier you instead pay a means tested care fee of up to $370.39 a day.

What changed on 1 November 2025?

The Aged Care Act 2024 replaced the means tested care fee with two separate contributions: a hotelling contribution towards everyday living services, and a non-clinical care contribution towards things like bathing, mobility assistance and lifestyle activities. Clinical care became fully government funded. A "no worse off" principle protects people already in care, so which set of fees applies to you is decided by the date you entered care — not by a tax year. Someone on the older arrangements can opt in to the new ones, but the choice cannot be undone.

How is the aged care means tested amount calculated?

Services Australia adds an income tested amount and an asset tested amount, then expresses the total as a daily figure by dividing by 364. Income above the $35,313 free area is counted at 50%. Assets above the $64,500 free area are counted at 17.5% up to $214,884, and for 1 November 2025 entrants at 7.8% in two further bands above $258,000 and $536,384. The result decides both your accommodation position and your means tested contributions.

Is the family home counted in the aged care means test?

Only sometimes, and only up to a cap. The home is fully exempt while a protected person still lives in it — a partner, or a dependent child, close relative or carer who meets the residency conditions. Otherwise it is counted, but never above the home exemption cap of $214,884. Everything above that is ignored no matter how valuable the house is, and the cap applies separately to each member of a couple. This is the single biggest difference from the Age Pension assets test, where the home is either fully exempt or fully counted.

What does fully supported or partially supported mean?

It is about who pays for your room. If your means tested amount is nil you are fully supported and the government pays the whole $72.30 a day accommodation supplement. If your means tested amount is above zero but not more than $72.30 you are partially supported: you pay an accommodation contribution equal to your means tested amount and the government pays the rest. If it is more than $72.30 you get no government help with accommodation and negotiate a room price with the home, payable as a lump sum, a daily payment, or a mix.

Is there a cap on aged care fees?

Yes, and the caps differ by regime. For 1 November 2025 entrants, the non-clinical care contribution stops at a $137,917 lifetime cap or after 4 years of paying it, whichever comes first; contributions made under Support at Home before entering count towards the dollar cap but not the 4-year cap. The hotelling contribution has no annual or lifetime cap. For earlier entrants, the means tested care fee has a $35,910 annual cap that resets on each entry anniversary and a $86,185 lifetime cap. No cap ever removes the basic daily fee or your accommodation costs.

Is my partner assessed too?

When one member of a couple moves into residential care you are treated as an illness separated couple. Half of your combined income and half of your combined assets are assessed as yours, the illness separated income thresholds apply, and the home exemption cap applies separately to each of you. That is why this calculator asks for combined figures and halves them rather than asking for your share.

Does the Age Pension count as income for aged care fees?

Yes. The aged care means assessment counts the Age Pension itself as assessable income, along with deemed income on your financial assets, rent, and super income streams. That is why a full pensioner with modest assets can still have a small means tested amount, and why paying a lump sum room deposit — which is exempt for the Age Pension but counted in the aged care assessment — can change both results at once.

If you have to pay a room price, convert it between a RAD and a DAP, and check your Age Pension — it is counted as income here.

Aged care toolkit

Work through the rest of the cost picture

RAD to DAP Converter Convert a room price into a daily payment at the current MPIR, including part-RAD splits. Aged Care Fees by Asset Level See what both regimes charge from $100k to $1.5 million in assets. Age Pension Calculator The pension is counted as income in the aged care means assessment. Gifting & Deprivation Gifts above the free areas stay in your assessable assets for 5 years. Deeming Calculator Deemed income on financial assets flows straight into the means assessment.

Tax Accuracy & Sources

Reviewed: 15 August 2026 · Tax year: 2026-27

This calculator implements the residential aged care means assessment published by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, under both the pre and post 2025-11-01 fee regimes, at the 20 March 2026 rates. It is an estimate for planning: only Services Australia can issue an assessment. It does not model special disability trusts, granny flat interests, financial hardship assistance, respite care, the pre-1 July 2014 income tested fee, higher everyday living fees, or how paying a lump sum room deposit changes your next reassessment. Enter your assessed income; the calculator does not derive it from your investments.