Review of aged care fees

We review aged care fees for care recipients every 3 months.

About the review

Every 3 months we:

  • look at changes to a care recipient’s personal or financial circumstances
  • set the care recipients fees for the next 3 months
  • work out if the care recipient should get any refunds
  • adjust the government subsidy you’re paid as a result of this change.

New fees start each year on:

  • 1 January
  • 20 March
  • 1 July
  • 20 September.

After the review

We send a letter to the care recipient and their nominee when either:

  • a refund is due
  • the income or means tested fees or accommodation contribution for the next quarter increased by 10 cents or more per day, or decreased by 1 cent or more per day.

We won't send a letter to the care recipient if the only change is the basic daily fee.

We’ll send you a letter if there’s a change for your care recipient during the review period.

If a refund is payable to a care recipient, we pay the refund to you. This is part of the normal claim process. You must pass this refund onto your care recipient.

Ad hoc reviews

A care recipient can request an ad hoc review if their circumstances change and they want their fees and charges checked outside of the review process.

If a new fee is set after an ad hoc review, the new rate applies from the review date.

If the new fee is lower than the previous fee, we calculate a refund at the next quarterly review. We send a notification letter about the refund to you and your care recipient.

If a refund is payable to a care recipient, we pay the refund to you. This is part of the normal claim process. You must pass this refund onto your care recipient.

Read more about the Aged care fees, charges and payments on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.

Page last updated: 7 July 2022.
QC 48101

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