Aged Care & ResidentFees
W ithincreasinglifeexpectanciesand im provem entsinm edicaltechnology w ecanallexpect
tohavelongerandm oreproductiveretirem ents.Butthereisstillahighchanceofneeding
helpw ithdaily livingactivitiesandm edicalcare,especially atolderages.
Accessingsupportservicesdoesnotalw aysm eanyou havetom oveoutofyourhom e.H elp
tostay inyourhom elongerisavailablethroughhom ecareservicesbuttheseservicesdo
notw orkforeveryone,especially thoselivingaloneorw ithhighcareneeds.
S oforsom epeople,am oveintoresidentialagedcarem ay beabetteralternative.Careful
planningahead oftim ecanm akeallthedifferenceand rem ovealotofthestressatthetim e
w henadecisionneedstobem ade.
W hatdoes care cost?
T hecosttocareforsom eoneinaresidentialservicecanbeashighas$256 perday (around
$94,
000 peryear)butthankfully thesecostsareheavily subsidised by thegovernm ent.
T heFederalGovernm entspendsover$13 billionayearonagedcare. T hisisinadditionto
costsincurred by careprovidersforbuildingand m aintainingthefacilitiesand feespaid by
residents.
W iththepercentageofAustralia’spopulationoverage85 settotripleoverthenextthirty
yearsthepressureonfinancesisincreasingand therulesforfeeschangedon1 July 2014.
W hatis the im pactofthe new rules?
T herangeoffeesand calculationm ethodsm ay appearcom plex butfeescanbedivided into
fourcategories.T hediagram below providesaquickoverview ofthefeestructurefor
residentialagedcare.
T heim portantthingstoknow aboutthenew rulesare:
 T hereisnolongeradistinctionbetw eenlow careandhighcaresothe
accom m odationpaym entrulesapply toallsubsidisedresidentialcareplaces.
 T heaccom m odationpaym entisquoted asalum psum (called arefundable
accom m odationdeposit– R AD)and anequivalentdaily fee(called thedaily
accom m odationpaym ent– DAP ).You canchecktheratesat
w w w .m yagedcare.gov.au/service-finders.
 O nceyou haveaccepted aplaceyou w illhave28 daystodecidew hichfeeoptionto
pay.
 Ifyou pay thelum psum R AD itisfully refundablew henyou leavecareand
repaym entisguaranteed by theFederalGovernm entprovidedyou havepaid the
R AD toanapproved serviceprovider.
 Dependingonyourincom eand assetsyou m ay beasked topay am eans-testeddaily
carefee.T hisreduceshow m uchthegovernm entpaysforyourcare. T hisfeeis
capped overayearandyourlifetim e(bothindexed).
Ifyou m oved intocarebefore1 July 2014,thesenew rulesdonotapply.T hepreviousrules
continuetoapply unlessyou m ovefrom onefacility toanotherand choosetohavethenew
rulesapply.
Things toconsider
Financialaspectsareonly oneconsiderationw henpreparingforyourcareyears.Itism ore
im portanttofind therightcareserviceattherighttim e.
Youravailableoptionsm ay depend onyourfam ily arrangem entsand yourhealth
requirem ents.Butifyourfinancesarecarefully planned,you w illhavem orechoicesand
greatercontroloverw hereand how you liveand receivecare.
Advicefrom anadviserw hoisexperienced inaged careiskey.Advicecanhelpyou seethe
biggerpictureand takeintoconsiderationyourfam ily needsandestateplanning
considerationsasw ellasstrategiestogeneratesufficientcashflow ,includingaccessto
governm entbenefitsand concessions.
Ifyou thinkyourplansneed tobereview edoryou w ould likefurtherinform ationonaspects
ofagedcare,contactustom akeanappointm enttoday.
BrendaW ILL
YourAged CareS pecialist
P : 08 9381 8779
E: bw @ boutiqueadvisers.com .au
W : boutiqueadvisers.com .au
BrendaW ill& BoutiqueAdvisersP ty L td areAuthorised
R epresentativesof H illrossFinancialS ervicesL im ited ABN 77
003 323 055,AFS L 232705
Disclaim er: T heinform ationinthisarticleisgeneralonly and doesnottakeintoaccountyourpersonal
objectives,financialsituationand needs. You should readarelevantDisclosureDocum entbefore
deciding toinvest. Beforem aking aninvestm entdecisionyou should consultafinancialadviser. T his
inform ationhasbeengiveningood faithandhasbeenderived from sourcesbelieved tobeaccurate.