Aged care fee estimator
What a room costs as a daily payment, and what a person moving into an aged care home now would pay each day. Fees as at 20 September 2026; interest rate as at 1 October 2026.
How much will an aged care home cost us?
Everyone pays the basic daily fee, $68.93 a day (as at 20 September 2026). People with more income and assets also pay a hotelling contribution (up to $22.15 a day) and a non-clinical care contribution (up to $109.45 a day), and pay for their room as a refundable lump sum, a daily payment worked out at 8.51%, or a mix. People with low means get government help with the room. The tools below give an estimate; the official figure comes from Services Australia.
What this estimator leaves out. The real figures come from Services Australia's means assessment (form SA457, or SA485 for pensioners who own their home; which form to use). Our tool does not work out deemed income on savings, shares and other financial assets (add it to income if you know it), does not calculate for couples, and leaves out optional extras such as a higher everyday living fee. Fees and thresholds change on 20 March and 20 September each year, and the interest rate every quarter.
- 1. Room price
- 2. Daily fees, moving in now
- 3. Moved in before 1 November 2025
- How it is worked out
- Questions
Room price: lump sum or daily payment
Turn a room price into the daily payment, or see what a part lump sum does to it. The interest rate is the government's maximum permissible interest rate (MPIR): 8.51% for room prices agreed from 1 October 2026.
This is a rough estimate using 1 October 2026 rates and the simplified details you entered. It is not a Services Australia assessment and it isn't advice about how to pay. The real figures could be higher or lower.
$128.23 a day for the room as a daily payment (no lump sum).
- Full daily payment, no lump sum
- $128.23
- Lump sum paid
- $0
- Part still paid daily
- $550,000
- Daily payment on that part
- $128.23
- Over a year 365 days
- $46,805
About $0 would be kept from the lump sum in the first year: the home keeps 2% of the balance a year, for up to 5 years, for people who moved in from 1 November 2025. The rest is refundable.
This is above $789,686, the most a home can charge without approval from the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (limit from 1 July 2026). Ask the home whether it has that approval.
A daily payment is not refunded. A lump sum is refunded when the person leaves, less the amounts kept or agreed to be deducted. For people who moved in from 1 November 2025, daily payments also rise with indexation each 20 March and 20 September.
How it works: daily payment = room price x MPIR / 365 (and with a lump sum, the unpaid part x MPIR / 365). People with low means do not pay the room price; they pay a means-tested contribution instead (see part 2). Rates as at 1 October 2026; source: schedule of fees and charges, My Aged Care accommodation costs.
What they would pay each day, if they move in from 1 November 2025
For one person, using the government's means test as at 20 September 2026. Enter yearly figures; the results update as you type.
Showing the Department's self-funded retiree example (Sakura), with today's thresholds. Replace any figure with your own.
We don't calculate this for couples yet. For a couple, Services Australia counts half of the couple's combined income and assets for each person, even when one partner stays at home (an "illness-separated" couple). The income thresholds for couples are slightly different from the single ones at more than one point (for example, the income free area is $35,726.60 rather than $36,454.60, as at 20 September 2026), and our tool only holds the single thresholds.
Rather than show a figure we can't stand behind, we leave couples out. My Aged Care's own aged care home fee estimator handles couples, and our guide for couples explains how the home and a partner at home are treated.
This is a rough estimate using 20 September 2026 rates and the simplified details you entered. It is not a Services Australia assessment and it isn't advice about how to pay. The real figures could be higher or lower.
$113.93 a day, not counting the room. About $41,584 a year.
Not low means: they pay the room price agreed with the home, as a lump sum, a daily payment or a mix.
- Basic daily fee everyone pays this
- $68.93
- Hotelling contribution up to $22.15
- $22.15
- Non-clinical care contribution up to $109.45
- $22.85
- Total a day, not counting the room
- $113.93
- Towards the room the most they can be asked for
- $0.00
- Including the room from part 1 as a daily payment
How we got there
- Home counted
- $219,858
- Assets assessed
- $559,858
- Income tested amount
- $21.35
- Asset tested amount
- $97.38
- Means tested amount, a day
- $118.73
Low means is a means tested amount under $73.73 a day. Above that, the next $22.15 is the hotelling contribution and anything more is the non-clinical care contribution, up to $109.45.
The non-clinical care contribution stops after 4 years of payments. At this rate that is about $33,361 in total, well under the $140,652.80 lifetime cap.
If they pay a lump sum for the room, the home keeps 2% of the balance each year for up to 5 years. A lump sum also counts as an asset in this means test, which can raise the contributions above.
Fees and thresholds as at 20 September 2026. Estimates use the published method and may differ by a few cents from Services Australia's rounding. Source: schedule of fees and charges, the Department's worked examples.
Part 3: if they moved in before 1 November 2025
People already in an aged care home before the new rules stay on the older fee arrangements (the "1 July 2014 arrangements") while they remain in care, unless they choose to opt in to the new ones. Under the government's "no worse off" principle, the same older arrangements apply to people who, on or before 12 September 2024, were receiving a Home Care Package (the program Support at Home replaced) or were approved and waiting for one, even if they move into a home later.
Instead of the hotelling and non-clinical care contributions, these residents may pay a means tested care fee, worked out by Services Australia. Its limits, as at 20 September 2026:
| Most it can be in a day | $380.46 | from 1 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Yearly cap | $37,055.98 | once reached, no more that year |
| Lifetime cap | $88,934.57 | once reached, it stops for good |
Many residents pay less, and some pay nothing. The basic daily fee ($68.93) applies to everyone, and the room is paid under the agreement made when they moved in. We do not calculate the means tested care fee here: the fee advice letter from Services Australia shows the amount.
Opting in to the new arrangements
A resident on the older arrangements can choose to move to the 1 November 2025 arrangements at any time, including when moving to another home, by completing form AC022 with the provider. It cannot be reversed, and some residents pay more under the new rules, so get financial advice first. If they move homes without opting in, the older arrangements continue, unless they leave care for more than 28 days (not counting approved leave). More on changing homes.
Older "additional service" and "extra service" fee agreements lapse after 31 October 2026. From then, any optional higher-standard services are charged under a higher everyday living fee agreement instead.
How the estimate is worked out
This is the method in the Department of Health's published worked examples, with the thresholds from the schedule of fees and charges as at 20 September 2026.
- Assets. Add the person's assets. The home counts up to $219,858.40, or not at all if a protected person lives there.
- Income tested amount. Apply the income rates below to yearly income, then divide by 364.
- Asset tested amount. Apply the asset rates below to assets, then divide by 364.
- Means tested amount is the two added together. Under $73.73 a day, the person has low means: they contribute up to that amount towards the room and the government pays the rest. No hotelling or non-clinical care contribution applies.
- Above $73.73, they pay the agreed room price. The next $22.15 of the means tested amount is the hotelling contribution, and anything above that is the non-clinical care contribution, up to $109.45 a day.
- Everyone also pays the basic daily fee, $68.93 a day. Clinical care, such as nursing, is fully funded by the government for people on the new arrangements.
| Yearly income | Counted at |
|---|---|
| Up to $36,454.60 | 0% |
| $36,454.60 to $90,130.04 | 50% |
| $90,130.04 to $105,048.00 | 0% |
| $105,048.00 to $121,173.20 | 50% |
| $121,173.20 to $145,818.40 | 0% |
| Above $145,818.40 | 50% |
| Assets | Counted at |
|---|---|
| Up to $66,500.00 | 0% |
| $66,500.00 to $219,858.40 | 17.5% |
| $219,858.40 to $266,000.00 | 0% |
| $266,000.00 to $369,366.66 | 7.8% |
| $369,366.66 to $552,858.40 | 0% |
| Above $552,858.40 | 7.8% |
Worked examples
The Department of Health publishes worked examples for people moving in under the new rules. They were published with the 20 March 2026 thresholds; given those thresholds, our method reproduces the Department's results to the cent (an automated test checks this whenever the fees are updated). Here are the same people at today's thresholds, which rose on 20 September 2026:
| Person | Income | Other assets | Home | Means tested amount | A day, not counting the room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario, full pensioner, rents | $32,000 | $15,000 | No home | $0.00 | $68.93 |
| Sakura, self-funded retiree, owns her home | $52,000 | $340,000 | $960,000, nobody living there | $118.73 | $113.93 |
Mario's income and assets are under the free areas, so he pays only the basic daily fee and the government pays his room. Sakura's home counts at the $219,858.40 cap, giving assets of $559,858; her means tested amount of $118.73 a day puts her above the low-means line, so she pays her room price plus a hotelling contribution of $22.15 and a non-clinical care contribution of $22.85. The Department's couple examples (Julie and Raj) are explained in our couples guide. Read the Department's examples.
Getting the official figure
- Get the means assessment done. Pensioners: Services Australia already holds their income details, but if they own a home they complete form SA485 about it. Everyone else completes form SA457. It can be done before moving in.
- Read the fee advice letter. It shows the basic daily fee, any hotelling and non-clinical care contribution (or means tested care fee), and whether they pay the room price or a contribution. A pre-entry letter is valid for 120 days.
- Keep it up to date. Changes to income or assets, including selling a home or paying a lump sum, must be reported within 28 days.
Services Australia's aged care line is 1800 227 475. Skipping the assessment is allowed, but then the person can be asked to pay the maximum. My Aged Care also has its own official fee estimator, which covers couples.
If the fees can't be paid
If someone cannot afford their aged care fees for reasons beyond their control, they can apply to Services Australia for financial hardship assistance. If eligible, the government pays some or all of the basic daily fee, the means tested care fee or accommodation costs. It does not cover optional higher everyday living fees.
Questions about the estimator
How accurate is this aged care fee estimate?
It uses the government's published method and the thresholds as at 20 September 2026. Our automated test reproduces the Department of Health's own worked examples to the cent. But it is only as good as the figures you enter, it does not work out deemed income on financial assets, and it does not cover couples. The official figure comes from Services Australia's means assessment.
What is the most anyone pays a day, apart from the room?
For someone moving in now, $200.53 a day as at 20 September 2026: the basic daily fee ($68.93), the hotelling contribution (up to $22.15) and the non-clinical care contribution (up to $109.45). The non-clinical care contribution stops after 4 years of payments or once $140,652.80 has been paid, whichever comes first. Optional extras the person agrees to are on top.
Is the family home counted in the aged care means test?
Only up to $219,858.40 (as at 20 September 2026), and not at all while a protected person lives there, such as a partner or a dependent child. If the home is sold, the money from the sale counts in full as an asset. Whether to sell, rent or keep a home is a financial decision to take to a licensed adviser or the free Financial Information Service.
Does paying a lump sum for the room change the other fees?
It can. A refundable lump sum counts as an asset in the aged care means test, even if family paid it, so it can raise the hotelling and non-clinical care contributions. It is exempt from the age pension means test. How these interact for one family is exactly what a licensed financial adviser or the Financial Information Service can work through.
When do we have to decide how to pay for the room?
Not before moving in: a home cannot ask you to choose your payment option before entry. Until a lump sum is paid, the room is paid by daily payments. A lump sum, in full or in part, can be paid any time after entry once the means assessment is finalised.
We are a couple. Can we use the estimator?
Not yet. For a couple, Services Australia counts half of the combined income and assets for each partner, and uses slightly different income thresholds that our tool does not hold. My Aged Care's aged care home fee estimator covers couples, and our couples guide explains the rules.
Does this work for respite care?
No need: residential respite costs only the basic daily fee ($68.93 a day as at 20 September 2026). There is no means test and no room payment. See respite care.
Sources
- Schedule of fees and charges for residential care, from 20 September 2026 (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing)
- Fee scenarios, 1 November 2025 arrangements (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing)
- Aged care home costs and fees (My Aged Care)
- Understanding aged care home accommodation costs (My Aged Care)
- Means assessments for residential aged care (My Aged Care)
- Aged care costs if you entered care between 2014 and 2025 (My Aged Care)
- Aged care calculation of your cost of care (Services Australia)
Last reviewed October 2026. Fee figures are as at 20 September 2026 unless another date is shown next to them. General information only, not financial, legal or medical advice. We are not a government service. How we check our facts.