Aged care fees: the old and new rules side by side
On 1 November 2025 the Aged Care Act 2024 brought in new fees for people moving into an aged care home. Everyone already living in a home kept the old rules. Which set applies depends on when your parent first moves in.
By the AgedCareClear editorial team. Published 8 November 2026; last checked against the law on 8 November 2026 (what it relies on). Rates from the government schedule of 20 September 2026.
Which rules apply to your parent
- Moving in for the first time from 1 November 2025: the new rules.
- Moving in from 1 November 2025, but on 12 September 2024 they already had a Home Care Package, had been approved for one, or were on the national priority list: "no worse off". Their care fee is worked out under the older rules, but the 2% lump sum retention and the twice-yearly daily payment adjustment still apply.
- Already in a home before 1 November 2025: they keep the arrangement they have.
Side by side
| Part of the bill | Before 1 November 2025 | From 1 November 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Basic daily fee | $68.93 a day | The same: $68.93 a day |
| Means-tested care | Means tested care fee, up to $380.46 a day, capped at $37,055.98 a year and $88,934.57 in a lifetime | Two contributions instead: hotelling up to $22.15 a day, and non-clinical care up to $109.45 a day, which stops after 4 years or $140,652.80. Clinical care stays free. |
| Assets test | 17.5% of assets between $66,500 and $219,858, then 1%, then 2% above $526,575 | 17.5% between $66,500 and $219,858, then nothing up to $266,000, 7.8% up to $369,367, nothing up to $552,858, and 7.8% above |
| Income test | 50% of income above $36,455 (single) | 50% of income in three bands above $36,455 (single), with two bands at 0% between them |
| Home | Counted up to $219,858 under both, and not at all while a partner or another protected person lives there | |
| Room: lump sum (RAD) | Fully refunded | 2% a year kept back for up to 5 years; the rest refunded. How much that is |
| Room: daily payment (DAP) | Fixed for the stay | Adjusted on 20 March and 20 September each year by a published index |
| Extras | Extra service or additional service fees | Higher everyday living fee, only agreed after moving in. The rules |
Amounts from the government schedule of 20 September 2026. Most change on 20 March and 20 September; the interest rate for room prices changes every quarter (1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October); the caps on the old means tested care fee change on 1 July and 1 October.
What it means in practice
At the top of the means test, the two new contributions add up to $131.60 a day, about $4,003 a month, where the old care fee stopped at $37,056 a year. The new lifetime limit is higher too, but the non-clinical part ends after four years, and the hotelling contribution does not.
For someone on a full pension with few assets, little changes: the government still pays for their room, and the means-tested contributions are nil or small.
The quickest way to see the difference for your parent is to run both in the calculator: choose "Moving in from 1 November 2025", then the "no worse off" option, with the same income and assets.