Under the Act, older people may need to help pay for the cost of their aged care services. This is called their contribution.
Whether they have to pay and how much depends on:
- the service group
- whether services are being delivered through a specialist aged care program
- the specific type of service they’re using
- the older person’s situation – in particular, how much they can afford to pay, which is worked out through means testing.
Means testing assesses how much someone can afford to contribute to help pay for their care. Contribution amounts are reduced for people with low means.
The Act includes a lifetime cap on the total amount that someone can be asked to pay towards the cost of some of their aged care services. This amount is set in the Rules.
Providers can’t collect contributions from older people until they have delivered the service.
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