Accommodation payments in aged care: what must be disclosed

An aged care provider must tell a person what a room costs before they agree to anything. That means a published maximum price for each room type on the My Aged Care website, the payment options on offer, and a written accommodation agreement that records the price actually agreed.

In short

• An aged care home publishes a maximum accommodation price for each room type on the My Aged Care website, and cannot charge more than it.
• A room price is agreed in writing before the person enters care, as part of an accommodation agreement. That day is the price agreement day.
• Three payment options are offered: a refundable lump sum, non-refundable daily payments, or a combination. Nobody can be asked to choose before moving in.
• Charging above the government-set maximum for some room types needs approval from the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority, and that maximum rises with indexation each July.
• Rates change through the year, so current amounts are read from the official schedules rather than quoted from memory.

What a provider must disclose about accommodation payments

An aged care provider discloses a maximum accommodation price for every room type it offers, publishes those prices on the My Aged Care website, and records the price a resident actually agrees to, with the payment option chosen, in an accommodation agreement. Disclosure is both public and individual.

Public, so a family can compare rooms before they ever call. Individual, so the person signing knows the exact price and how it will be paid.

The published figure is a ceiling, not a quote. My Aged Care states that a home and a prospective resident can negotiate and agree a lower price, but the resident cannot be charged more than the published price for that room (as at October 2026). A home that prices rooms by size, by single or shared occupancy, by ensuite or shared bathroom, and by location publishes a maximum for each of those room types, which is what makes a comparison on the Find a provider tool meaningful.

One nearby fee is worth keeping separate in the paperwork. The higher everyday living fee, which replaced extra service and additional service fee arrangements from 1 November 2025, must not be agreed or charged before a person has entered care, and cannot be used as a condition of entry or to secure a room (My Aged Care, as at October 2026). It is a separate agreement from the accommodation agreement.

Where the prices are published, and what a published price means

Accommodation prices are published on the My Aged Care website, where each home's room types and maximum prices appear and can be compared through the Find a provider tool. That is the single place to send a reader, because it is the place the rules point to.

Two things follow for a provider. First, the published price governs what can be charged for that room, so the published schedule and the price quoted at the front door need to be the same number. Second, the published price is a maximum, so a negotiated lower price is normal, and that lower price is what goes into the agreement.

The amounts a resident pays beyond accommodation, the basic daily fee and the means tested contributions, are set by government and advised by Services Australia rather than negotiated with the home. My Aged Care publishes how each one works, and the rates are indexed on 20 March and 20 September each year (as at October 2026).

Refundable deposit, daily payment, or a combination

A refundable accommodation deposit (RAD) is the agreed room price paid as a refundable lump sum. A daily accommodation payment (DAP) is the same agreed price paid as non-refundable daily amounts instead, and a combination splits the agreed price between the two in any proportion the resident chooses.

For a person who receives government help with accommodation costs, the equivalents are a refundable accommodation contribution (RAC) and a daily accommodation contribution (DAC). The contribution amount is determined by Services Australia from the means assessment rather than negotiated.

Three mechanics matter for disclosure, because they change the amount over time:

• A DAP is worked out by applying the maximum permissible interest rate (MPIR) to the agreed room price and dividing by 365. The MPIR is updated quarterly, but the rate that applies to a resident is fixed on the day they agreed their price, so later movement does not change it.
• For anyone who first enters residential care on or after 1 November 2025 and pays by refundable deposit in full or in part, a retention amount is deducted from the deposit at a rate of 2% a year applied to the daily balance, and no further retention is deducted after five years.
• For anyone who first enters on or after 1 November 2025 and pays by DAP in full or in part, the DAP is indexed twice a year, on 20 March and 20 September. That indexation is not applied to a DAC.

A resident who has paid a part lump sum can ask for their daily amount to be drawn from the balance, and My Aged Care says a provider must allow that draw down on request. Deducting other fees, such as the basic daily fee, from a lump sum is the provider's decision (as at October 2026).

The accommodation agreement and the price agreement day

The accommodation agreement is where the agreed room price and the payment arrangement are written down, and it is entered into before the person enters care. From 1 November 2025, the date it is entered into is the price agreement day, which fixes the MPIR used for any daily payment.

That single date carries more weight than it looks. It sets the rate behind the daily payment for the whole of that person's stay in the home, so the date on the agreement, the price on the agreement and the published price for that room type all need to agree with one another on file.

A resident cannot be asked to choose their payment option before they move in. A lump sum can be paid in full or in part at any time after entry once the means assessment is finalised or a means not disclosed status is set, and until a lump sum is paid, the person pays by daily payments. The full content requirements for an accommodation agreement sit in the Aged Care Act 2024 and the Aged Care Rules 2025, which are the documents to check a template against rather than any summary.

When a price needs extra approval

A home that wants to charge more than the government-set maximum accommodation amount for some room types needs approval from the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority before it does so. That maximum increases with indexation in July each year, so a price that sat under the threshold last financial year is worth checking again against the current figure.

This is why the figure itself is best left in the schedule. A provider checking whether a room needs approval reads the current maximum from the official source on the day, and the same discipline applies to the MPIR, which changes quarterly.

What a provider keeps on file

The paperwork trail for accommodation payments is short but unforgiving: the published maximum for each room type, the signed accommodation agreement with its price agreement day, the payment option chosen and the date it was chosen, and the running record of retention deductions and any draw down against a lump sum.

Homes that report well on care usually report well on this too, because it is the same habit of keeping one number in one place. Our aged care pages explain how we look at a home's reporting, and two related posts cover the funding and budget side: AN-ACC funding classes and what sets a resident's care minutes and home care package budgets and how unspent funds are tracked.

Common questions

What is the difference between a refundable accommodation deposit and a daily accommodation payment?

A refundable accommodation deposit is the agreed room price paid as a lump sum that is refunded when the person leaves, less any amounts deducted along the way. A daily accommodation payment is the same agreed price paid as daily amounts that work like rent and are not refunded. A resident can also combine the two in any proportion.

Where can someone find an aged care home's accommodation prices?

Accommodation prices are published on the My Aged Care website, where the Find a provider tool shows room types and room costs for each home. My Aged Care states that homes are required to publish their maximum accommodation costs for their various rooms there (as at October 2026).

What is the maximum accommodation price a home can charge before extra approval is needed?

The maximum is a government-set amount that increases with indexation in July each year, so the current figure is read from the official schedule rather than quoted from an article. Charging above it for some room types requires approval from the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority.

What must an accommodation agreement include?

At a minimum it records the room price agreed before entry and the arrangement for paying it, and the day it is entered into is the price agreement day that fixes the maximum permissible interest rate for any daily payment. The full content requirements are in the Aged Care Act 2024 and the Aged Care Rules 2025, which are the documents to check a template against.

Can an aged care home change its published accommodation prices?

A published maximum is the ceiling for anyone agreeing a room price while it stands, and a resident's agreed price and fixed MPIR are not changed by later movement in the published schedule. Where a resident first entered care on or after 1 November 2025 and pays by daily accommodation payment, that payment is indexed on 20 March and 20 September. For the rules on updating a published price, check the current My Aged Care and departmental guidance first.

Sources

• Understanding aged care home accommodation costs, My Aged Care, as at October 2026
• Aged care home costs and fees, My Aged Care, as at October 2026
• Aged Care Act 2024, Federal Register of Legislation, as at September 2026
• Aged Care Rules 2025, Federal Register of Legislation, as at September 2026