is the only service you can buy in Australia without knowing the cost. / (min cost $ 0 ) or signup to continue reading Part of the problem is that many aged care homes only advertise the price of their accommodation, which is only one element. The other part of the problem is that what you pay is subject to a means test which is often submitted after you have moved into care and can change monthly.
The cost of aged care has three components: your accommodation, your care and your personal expenses. You can choose to pay for your accommodation by a lump sum, daily payment or a combination (including deducting your daily payment from your lump sum). The daily charge is calculated on any unpaid lump sum at a government set interest rate, at April 1 it is 8.
34 per cent per annum. So if the lump sum amount is $550,000 you could pay that or pay a daily accommodation payment of $126 per day. Or you may decide to pay $200,000 by lump sum and $350,000 by daily payment of $80 per day, or anything in between, it is basically a sliding scale.
Extending the example, you could choose to deduct the daily payment of $80 per day from your lump sum of $200,000. It's worth noting that if you deduct the daily payment from the lump sum it will be recalculated each month, as your lump sum reduces your daily payment goes up. When it comes to your cost of care there are two fees to be aware of.
The basic daily fee is paid by all residents, it covers daily expenses such as meals, laundry and utilitie.
