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Entering care after 1 November 2025
A non-clinical care contribution may apply to people who enter residential care on or after 1 November 2025. Care recipients will no longer make a non-clinical care contribution when they reach the lifetime or time limited cap thresholds in total contributions.
The lifetime cap applies when the non-clinical care total contributions paid has reached the applicable threshold.
The time-limited cap applies when making a non-clinical care contribution for 4 years (1460 days), regardless of the amount paid. The non-clinical care contributions do not need to be continuous, are accumulative and included in the calculations of the 4 year time-limited cap.
Any contributions made by a care recipient towards their Support at Home services before they enter residential aged care will count towards the lifetime cap.
Read more about the thresholds on the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website.
Entering care after 1 July 2014
Residential care means-tested fees accrue against a person’s annual and lifetime cap. This is from their first date of entry into home or residential care. This applies for anyone who entered care on or after 1 July 2014.
If a care recipient moves to a Home Care Package, any means-tested care fees paid in residential aged care that year counts towards the annual cap.
If a care recipient moves to residential care, any income-tested care fees paid in Home Care Package Program that year count towards the annual cap.
These fees also count towards the lifetime cap in both the Home Care Package Program and residential aged care.
Entering care before 1 July 2014
How the caps are calculated depends on the type of care received.
Home Care
Income-tested care fees paid from the time the care recipient starts receiving a Home Care Package only count towards the annual and lifetime caps if the care recipient:
- moved to home care package program after 1 July 2014
- moved to home care package program from a different care type
- changed home care providers and opted in.
Residential Care
Means-tested care fees paid from the time the care recipient starts residential care only count towards the annual and lifetime caps if the care recipient:
- moves to residential aged care after 1 July 2014
- moved to residential aged care from a different care type
- changed residential aged care providers and opted in.