Care fees are the resident’s contribution towards their daily living costs such as costs of nursing and personal care, meals and refreshment and cleaning, lighting, heating/cooling and recreation.
Residents with sufficient income and assets can be asked to pay a means tested care fee. The means tested care fee will combine the current income and asset tests to ensure a consistent fees policy
There are two main types of care fees that residents may be asked to pay:
· basic fee [3]; and
· means tested care fee [3].
Residents may also be asked to pay an extra service fee. This is an extra payment if a higher standard of accommodation is chosen or additional services, such as hairdressing or pay TV in rooms, is elected
A contribution towards day-to-day living costs such as meals, cleaning, laundry, heating and cooling. Everyone entering an aged care home or taking up a Home Care Package can be asked by their service provider to pay the basic fee.
An extra contribution towards the cost of care that residents may need to pay depending on their income and assets and their care needs.
All residents pay the basic fee, also known as resident contribution (the basic fee is also payable by continuing care residents see topic 3.4.2 [5]).
Basic fees are indexed in March and September each year. Aged care providers and residents are advised by the DHS of the actual rates that apply to each resident.
DVA pays the basic fee for Australian former prisoners of war.
The standard resident contribution will be 85 per cent of the basic age pension amount for all residents.
Residents with sufficient income and assets who entered into care after 1 July 2014 may be charged a means tested care fee.
Australian former prisoners of war are exempt from paying the means tested care fee.
A resident’s assessable income and assets are applied to determine an income tested amount (ITA) and an asset tested amount (ATA). These amounts are added together to produce a means tested amount (MTA). The resident’s MTA is then compared to the maximum Government Supplement available to the aged care home to determine how much the person needs to pay in means tested care fees.
DVA delegates provide the ITA and ATA to the DHS who then calculate the MTA in accordance with the Aged Care legislation.
An annual cap of $25,000 will apply to a resident's means tested care fees, together with a lifetime cap of $60,000. These amounts will be indexed. If someone transfers to residential care from Home Care, the income-tested care fees they have paid in Home Care will count towards their annual and lifetime residential care caps, and vice versa.
Changes in both income and assets will result in changes to the means tested care fee. DVA will use the information collected for income support payment purposes to update a resident’s income and assets for aged care purposes. A self-funded retiree should advise Centrelink (or DVA if applicable) of any changes in their circumstances.
Links
[1] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=comment/reply/23359%23comment-form
[2] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=comment/reply/23400%23comment-form
[3] https://clik.dva.gov.au/%23
[4] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=comment/reply/23370%23comment-form
[5] https://clik.dva.gov.au/compensation-and-support-reference-library/aged-care-means-testing/3-residential-aged-care-fees-and-payments/34-continuing-care-residents-pre-1-july-2014-rules/342-basic-fee
[6] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=comment/reply/23369%23comment-form