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A cap is a maximum amount of money you pay for the means tested fee or the non-clinical care contribution part of your aged care fees. Once you reach a cap, you’ll stop paying that cost and government funding pays the remaining amount.
Types of caps
Caps are updated regularly, to reflect changes in living costs.
There are 3 types of aged care caps:
- annual caps
- lifetime caps
- time limited caps.
Annual caps are the maximum amount you pay in a year for the means tested fee part of your aged care costs.
Lifetime caps are the maximum amount you pay over the course of your aged care, even if you have more than one provider or move between care settings.
Time limited caps only apply for the non-clinical care contribution in an aged care home.
How caps affect your fees and contributions
We’ll write to you and your aged care provider when you’ve reached the annual, lifetime or time limited caps.
Annual, lifetime and time limited caps apply to some of your fees or contributions. This is determined by your means assessment and care type.
If you get Support at Home or if you are in an aged care home under the 1 November 2025 fee arrangements, you’ll stop paying a non-clinical care contribution when you reach the lifetime cap.
If you are in an aged care home, you’ll stop paying a non-clinical care contribution when you reach the time limited cap.
When you reach the annual cap
Once you reach the annual cap, you will not need to pay some of your aged care costs until the anniversary of the date you started receiving aged care services. You will still need to pay your other agreed aged care costs. Only the means-tested care fee will stop until your anniversary date resets.
Annual caps only apply for the means tested care fee for people living in an aged care home who are covered by the post 1 July 2014 fee arrangements.
If you move from an aged care home and to Support at Home while an annual cap is in place, you will not need to pay non-clinical care contributions until your next anniversary date.
When you reach the lifetime cap
Once you reach the lifetime cap, you won’t need to pay some of your aged care costs. You’ll never pay these costs again.
You’ll still need to pay other fees that apply to you, such as the basic daily fee, accommodation costs and any other agreed fees. The lifetime cap applies to:
- the means tested care fee in under the post 1 July 2014 fee arrangements
- non-clinical care contributions for Support at Home or aged care homes under the post 1 November 2025 fee arrangements.
When you reach the time limited cap
The time limited cap only applies for aged care homes for non-clinical care contributions under the post 1 November 2025 fee arrangements. You will still need to pay other fees that apply to you, such as the basic daily fee, accommodation costs and any other agreed fees.
You’ll reach the time limited cap after paying a non-clinical care contribution for 4 years or 1,460 days, regardless of the amount paid.
The days don’t need to be continuous. We add all eligible contribution days together when calculating the time limited cap.
When the cap amounts change
The cap amounts change on 20 March and 20 September each year in line with the Consumer Price Index.
Read more about the current cap amounts on the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website:
- Schedule of Fees and Charges for Residential Aged Care
- Schedule of Contributions for Support at Home Services.
Visit the My Aged Care website for more information about:
- aged care home costs and fees
- Support at Home costs and contributions
- changes to fees, contributions, and accommodation costs while in an aged care home
- changes to contributions while accessing Support at Home.
This information can help you understand how changes to cap amounts may affect what you pay.