Aged Care in Australia: A Family Guide to Understanding Your Options (2026)

All Australian aged care services - whether home-based or residential - are accessed through My Aged Care (myagedcare.gov.au or 1800 200 422). This is the federal government's gateway to aged care assessment, service referral, and information. The first step for anyone seeking aged care support is to register with My Aged Care and request an assessment.

Two types of assessments are available: a Regional Assessment Service (RAS) assessment for lower-level home support, and an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) assessment for higher-level home care packages or residential aged care. Assessment is free and comes to the person's home.

Most Australians prefer to stay in their own home as long as possible. Two government-funded programs support this:

• Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP): Entry-level home support for older Australians who need a small amount of help with daily tasks - cleaning, personal care, meals, transport, social activities. Assessed by RAS. Subsidised by the government; you pay a small contribution fee. Waitlists are typically shorter than Home Care Packages.
• Home Care Packages (HCP): Four levels of funding (Level 1 to Level 4) for people needing more coordinated, higher-level support at home. Level 1 is basic care needs; Level 4 is high-level care needs equivalent to residential care. Assessed by ACAT. Packages are assigned from a national pool - wait times can range from weeks to over a year depending on the level.
• Choosing your home care provider: Once assigned a package, you choose your own provider from the My Aged Care service finder. Compare providers on fees, services offered, and whether they charge a case management fee (some charge up to 35% of the package value for coordination - compare carefully).
• Unspent package funds: Unused funds in a Home Care Package stay in the package - they don't expire within the year but must be used for approved care purposes.

When home care is no longer sufficient, residential aged care (nursing homes) provides 24-hour support:

• ACAT assessment required: Residential care requires an ACAT assessment confirming the level of care need. This is free and arranged through My Aged Care.
• Finding a facility: The My Aged Care service finder lists all approved providers. Check Star Ratings (the government's quality rating system) and inspection reports on the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission website before choosing.
• Costs - three components: The basic daily fee (currently $63.57/day for 2025-26 - set at 85% of the single Age Pension); the means-tested care fee (additional contribution based on your income and assets, assessed by Services Australia); and accommodation costs (RAD or DAP - explained below).
• Accommodation: Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD) is a lump-sum payment (essentially a bond, fully refunded when you leave); Daily Accommodation Payment (DAP) is a daily fee alternative. You can pay fully as RAD, fully as DAP, or a combination. The current maximum accommodation price varies by room - check the facility's published room prices on My Aged Care.

Both home care packages and residential aged care involve means testing - your income and assets affect how much you contribute. Services Australia conducts the assessment using information about your income (pensions, super drawings, investments) and assets (savings, investments, property).

The family home is treated differently in the means test: for home care, the home is not counted as an asset. For residential care, the home is an assessable asset after a 2-year exemption period - but its value is capped at the 'residential property cap' ($201,231.20 in 2025-26). If a protected person (spouse, dependent, carer) lives in the home, it remains exempt.

Aged care decisions intersect significantly with financial and legal planning - these should be done before a crisis:

• Enduring Power of Attorney: Authorises a trusted person to make financial decisions if you lose capacity. Must be set up while you have decision-making capacity - cannot be done after. Contact a solicitor or your state's trustee corporation.
• Enduring Guardianship (or Medical Power of Attorney): Authorises a trusted person to make health and lifestyle decisions if you lose capacity. Separate document from financial power of attorney in most states.
• Advance Care Directive: Documents your wishes for medical treatment and care in scenarios where you can't communicate. Not legally binding in all states but guides treating teams and reduces family conflict.
• Aged care financial advice: An accredited aged care financial adviser (search at financialplanners.asn.au) can model the RAD vs DAP decision, the impact of various aged care fees on your estate, and strategies to minimise means-tested fees. This is a highly specialised area - general financial advisers often lack the specific knowledge.

Several free services support families navigating aged care:

• My Aged Care (1800 200 422): The first port of call for any aged care question - arranges assessments, refers to services, answers eligibility questions.
• Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission: Handles complaints about aged care providers (1800 951 822). Free and independent.
• National Aged Care Advocacy Line (1800 700 600): Free, confidential advocacy for people receiving aged care services. If you believe a family member's rights are not being upheld, contact NACAL.
• Carer Gateway (1800 422 737): Support for unpaid carers - including respite, counselling, and practical assistance - funded by the Australian government.
• State-based legal assistance: Most states have community legal centres that provide free advice on powers of attorney, guardianship, and wills - critical documents for aged care planning.

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