Financial hardship assistance eligibility

To be eligible for financial hardship assistance you need to:

• have calculated your cost of care
• have assets valued at less than the threshold of $46,835.10 (current as at 20 March 2026)
• haven’t made gifts over the limits.
• have a care assessment approval for Support at Home before applying. This does not apply to Residential or Respite applications.

Calculate your cost of care

To assess your claim for financial hardship assistance, we need a current aged care calculation of your cost of care. If we don’t have this or it hasn’t been updated in the last 12 months, you need to complete it before you can claim.

You don’t have to give us your financial details, but if you don’t, we can’t assess your claim for financial hardship assistance.

If you don’t have a current aged care calculation of your cost of care, you’ll first need to apply for an aged care calculation of your cost of care.

To check if we’ve already worked this out, you can call us on the Aged Care line.

Check your assets meet the eligibility requirements

The value of your assets must be less than the current threshold of $46,835.10. This threshold is indexed (adjusted) in March and September each year.

You can also find out what the threshold is for financial hardship assistance on the myagedcare website.

The threshold excludes any assets you can’t sell or borrow against.

If you’ve paid a lump sum accommodation payment to a residential care service, this is an asset.

Check your gifts meet the eligibility requirements

If you give away your income or assets, they may still count towards your income and assets tests. This also applies if you sell them for less than they’re worth.

The value of the gifting free areas are the same if you’re a single person or a couple. They are both:

• $10,000 in one financial year
• $30,000 over 5 financial years - this can’t include more than $10,000 in a single financial year.

Learn more about gifting.

Care assessment approval

See How to get assessed for further information on how to apply for a care assessment.

If you’re not eligible for financial hardship assistance

We encourage you to seek independent financial advice for your situation.

Our Aged Care Specialist Officers (ACSOs) can provide free financial information. ACSOs are available for video chat appointments or in-person appointments in some service centres.