Aged Care Fees Calculator
Estimate what you would pay in an aged care home under the fee rules that started on 1 November 2025: the basic daily fee, the two means-tested contributions, and your accommodation cost as a lump sum or daily payment. Uses the government rates current at 1 July 2026.
Fill in the form and press Estimate my fees. Your figures stay in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.
Estimate only. Services Australia decides your actual fees from a formal means assessment, and higher everyday living fees, interim fees and DAP indexation are not included. Not financial advice.
What the calculator includes
Everyone entering permanent residential aged care on or after 1 November 2025 is on the new fee arrangements, unless they are protected by the no worse off principle (people who had a Home Care Package, or were approved and waiting for one, on 12 September 2024, who stay on the older 2014 fee rules). The new arrangements have four parts:
- Basic daily fee - $66.80 a day, paid by everyone.
- Hotelling contribution - means tested, up to $22.15 a day, towards meals, cleaning and utilities.
- Non-clinical care contribution - means tested, up to $107.32 a day, towards personal care and lifestyle services, with a lifetime cap of $137,917 and a four-year limit.
- Accommodation - either a government-supported contribution for low-means residents, or the room price you agree with the home, paid as a refundable lump sum (RAD), a daily payment (DAP), or both.
Clinical care - nursing and allied health - is fully funded by the government for every resident, which is why it does not appear above. A higher everyday living fee for optional extras (a larger room, premium menu, streaming services) is agreed with the provider and is not included here.
How the means test works
Services Australia works out a daily means tested amount from your income and assets. Income above the free area ($35,521 for a single person) counts at 50% in some bands and 0% in others; assets above $64,500 count at 17.5% up to the first threshold and 7.8% in the higher bands. The result is compared with the maximum accommodation supplement ($72.30 a day):
- Below it, you are a low-means resident: the government helps with accommodation and you pay no hotelling or non-clinical contributions.
- Above it, you pay the agreed room price, and the excess over $72.30 becomes your hotelling contribution (to its cap), then your non-clinical care contribution (to its cap).
Our aged care means test guide walks through the formula with worked examples, and residential aged care fees explained covers each fee in detail.
RAD or DAP?
A RAD is refunded when you leave, less a retention of 2% a year for up to five years (new for residents from 1 November 2025) and any amounts you have asked to be deducted. A DAP is rent: the unpaid room price times the MPIR (8.43% for 1 July to 30 September 2026) divided by 365, indexed twice a year, and never refunded. Paying a RAD also reduces your assessable income (the money is no longer deemed) but the RAD itself counts as an asset. The trade-offs are covered in RAD vs DAP; for large sums, independent financial advice pays for itself.
Frequently asked questions
- How accurate is this aged care fees calculator?
- It uses the formula and rates published by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing in the Schedule of Fees and Charges for Residential Care from 1 July 2026 and the department's fee scenarios. Your actual fees are set by Services Australia after a formal means assessment, which may value assets differently. Treat the result as a close estimate, not a quote.
- What is the basic daily fee for aged care in 2026?
- The basic daily fee is $66.80 per day, which is 85% of the single basic age pension. Everyone in residential aged care pays it, regardless of means. It changes on 20 March and 20 September with pension indexation.
- What is the hotelling contribution?
- A means-tested contribution towards everyday living costs such as meals, cleaning and laundry, capped at $22.15 per day. People with income and assets below the thresholds pay nothing and the government pays the full hotelling supplement.
- What is the non-clinical care contribution and how long do I pay it?
- A means-tested contribution towards non-clinical care such as bathing, mobility help and lifestyle activities, capped at $107.32 per day. It stops once you have paid $137,917 in total (indexed) or after 4 years of paying it, whichever comes first. Contributions paid under Support at Home count towards the dollar cap.
- How is a RAD converted to a daily payment?
- The unpaid part of your room price is multiplied by the maximum permissible interest rate and divided by 365. The MPIR is 8.43% for 1 July to 30 September 2026. A $500,000 room paid entirely as a DAP would cost about $115.48 per day.
- Does my home count in the aged care means test?
- Only up to the home exemption cap of $214,884 (applied to each partner's half for a couple), and not at all if a protected person - your partner, a dependent child, or an eligible carer or close relative - continues to live there.
Rates from the Schedule of Fees and Charges for Residential Care, 1 July 2026, and the department's residential aged care fee scenarios. Thresholds and caps are indexed on 20 March and 20 September and the MPIR changes quarterly. This page is general information, not financial advice.