Aged Care

Residential aged care is about to get dearer

There are some very big changes to both home care and residential care fees coming from 1st November 2025. For residential care, these will only impact new entrants from this date. For home care, however, they will affect anyone who didn’t already have a package or had been assessed as eligible for a package on 12th September 2024.

The changes were originally planned to be implemented 1st July 2025 but they have been delayed by the Government and are now planned to start 1st November 2025.

Most clients will pay more under the new system than the current system. So, if you know of anyone considering a move into residential aged care particularly in the next few weeks, it could be worth their while to understand the fee comparison for them personally before it is too late.

Here is an example of how the fees could change for a new aged care entrant, depending on whether their date of permanent entry was before (Old rules) or after 01/11/2025 (New rules):

EXAMPLE FEE COMPARISON:

• Mary is a widow, has sold her home and moved into aged care. She has paid her $550,000 RAD in full and has $350,000 of other personal/investment assets.
• Her ongoing fees would be over $20,000 pa higher under the new rules. Also,$11,000 pa of her RAD would be retained under the new rules for the first five years vs nil under the old rules. So, much more expensive for Mary!

Moving into aged care can be a very daunting experience, whether you are organising this for yourself or for a loved one. Financial advice at this time can be invaluable as moving into aged care involves complex financial decisions and considerations. It often comes with significant costs and can impact a person’s financial situation and assets.

It’s essential to seek advice from a qualified and experienced financial advisor who specialises in aged care to ensure that you make well-informed decisions tailored to your specific needs and goals. 

We can help.