Understanding the My Aged Care System: A Plain-English Guide

If you have ever tried to understand how aged care works in Australia, you have probably come away more confused than when you started. There are home care packages, residential care, respite care, transition care, the Commonwealth Home Support Programme, ACAT assessments, RAS assessments, means tests, basic daily fees, refundable accommodation deposits, and an endless trail of acronyms. Even people who work in the system find parts of it confusing.

This guide is a calm, plain-English overview of how aged care actually works in Australia in 2026, what the main types of care are, who pays for what, and where to start if you or a family member is just beginning to look into it. It is not a substitute for personal advice — but it should help you walk in to a conversation feeling far less lost.

What "My Aged Care" Actually Is

My Aged Care is the entry point to the entire Australian Government-funded aged care system. It is run by the federal Department of Health and Aged Care, and you reach it through:

• The website at myagedcare.gov.au
• The free phone line on 1800 200 422

You do not access government-funded aged care services by ringing a provider directly. You start with My Aged Care, get an assessment, and then choose a provider once your assessment confirms what you are eligible for.

Think of My Aged Care as the front door, and the actual services (cleaners, nurses, meal deliveries, residential care places) as the rooms inside.

The Three Main Types of Care

Government-funded aged care in Australia broadly comes in three forms:

1. Help at home — small amounts. This is for people who are mostly independent but need a bit of support to keep living comfortably at home. It includes things like help with cleaning, mowing, transport to appointments, simple home modifications (handrails, ramps), and social activities.

2. Help at home — more substantial. This is for people who need more regular and varied support to stay at home. It typically includes nursing, personal care (showering, dressing), meal preparation, more comprehensive home modifications, and continence aids. This level is delivered through Home Care Packages.

3. Residential aged care. This is for people who can no longer safely live at home. It is what most Australians still call "nursing homes" or "aged care homes" — full-time care in a facility, with meals, accommodation, personal care, and nursing all provided.

There is also respite care (short-term care so a regular carer can have a break or recover from illness), transition care (short-term support after a hospital stay), and flexible care for specific situations.

How Assessments Work

To access government-funded aged care, you need to be assessed.

For lower-level home support, the assessment is done by the Regional Assessment Service (RAS). A RAS assessor visits you at home, asks about your daily life, your health, what you find difficult, and what kind of help would make a real difference. The visit takes about an hour. There is no cost.

For more substantial care — Home Care Packages or residential care — the assessment is done by an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) in most states (it is called ACAS in Victoria). ACAT teams are made up of doctors, nurses, social workers, and similar health professionals. The assessment is more in-depth and considers your medical, social, and functional needs.

Both assessments are free. To request one, call 1800 200 422 or apply online at My Aged Care.

The wait for an assessment can vary. After requesting one, you may wait a few weeks for a RAS visit and longer for an ACAT visit. If your situation is urgent (after a hospital stay, after a major illness, or following the loss of a primary carer), make sure that is clearly communicated.

Home Care Packages: The Four Levels

If your ACAT assessment finds that you need substantial help to stay at home, you may be approved for a Home Care Package. There are four levels:

• Level 1 — basic care needs (around $10,000 a year of services)
• Level 2 — low-level care needs (around $18,000 a year)
• Level 3 — intermediate care needs (around $40,000 a year)
• Level 4 — high-level care needs (around $61,000 a year)

The dollar amounts shift each year. The level you are approved for is meant to reflect the complexity of your needs, not just how much help you want.

Once approved, you go on a national queue for a package at your level. Wait times have improved in recent years but can still be several months. While you wait, you may be offered a lower-level package as an interim measure.

Once you receive a package, you choose a home care provider from the list of approved providers in your area. You and the provider work together on a care plan that decides how the funds are spent — cleaning, gardening, nursing, personal care, meal services, social outings, equipment, and so on.

You will pay a basic daily fee (a small contribution most package recipients pay) and may pay an additional income-tested care fee if your income is above a certain level. Both are capped, including a lifetime cap.

Important to know: the package money belongs to the government, not to you personally. Unspent funds at the end of your package eventually return to the government. The funds cover services and equipment, not general spending.

Residential Aged Care: How the Costs Work

Residential aged care is the part of the system that most worries people, mostly because the costs sound enormous when you first encounter them.

There are four main fees:

1. Basic daily fee. This is a fixed amount paid by all residents, set at 85% of the single Age Pension. Everyone in residential care pays this.

2. Means-tested care fee. This depends on your income and assets. People with low income and few assets pay nothing. People with more pay an additional contribution, capped on both an annual and lifetime basis.

3. Accommodation payment. This is the big one — it covers your room and shared facilities. You can pay it as:

• A Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD) — a lump sum that is refunded to your estate when you leave (usually after death). The lump sum can be hundreds of thousands of dollars.
• A Daily Accommodation Payment (DAP) — a daily fee instead of a lump sum.
• A combination of the two.

People with low assets may be eligible for fully or partially supported accommodation, where the government covers some or all of this cost.

4. Additional services fee. Some homes offer extra services (better food choices, hair services, special activities) for an additional fee. This is optional.

The numbers can be daunting on first reading, which is why most families speak to a specialist aged care financial adviser before signing any agreement. The decisions you make in the first few weeks of a residential care arrangement can affect the family finances for many years.

The Commonwealth Home Support Programme

This is the entry-level program for help at home. It is suitable for people who need a bit of support — perhaps fortnightly cleaning, a weekly meal delivery, regular transport to medical appointments — rather than ongoing daily care.

Services available under the Commonwealth Home Support Programme include:

• Domestic assistance (cleaning, laundry)
• Home maintenance (gutter cleaning, minor repairs)
• Home modifications (grab rails, ramps)
• Meals (Meals on Wheels and similar)
• Personal care
• Social support (companion visiting, group outings)
• Transport
• Allied health (limited)
• Nursing (limited)
• Respite care (limited)

You will usually pay a small contribution towards each service, but the costs are heavily subsidised by the government.

Reforms in the Pipeline

The aged care system has been undergoing significant reform following the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. The new "Support at Home" program is being rolled out to replace and simplify several existing in-home care programs over the next few years.

If you are reading this in 2026 and considering aged care, it is worth checking the My Aged Care website for the very latest information. The general principles described above are stable, but specific program names, fees, and structures are changing.

A Few Things to Know Before You Start

A few practical pieces of advice from people who have been through the process:

1. Start earlier than you think you need to. Assessments take time, queues take time, and getting things organised properly takes time. Many families start the process in a panic after a hospital admission or a fall, when calmer earlier planning would have been much easier.

2. Bring someone with you to assessments. Whether RAS or ACAT, having a family member or friend at the assessment helps with memory, with advocacy, and with reducing the natural tendency older people have to say "I'm fine, I don't need help."

3. Keep records. A simple folder with your medical history, medications, contact details for your GP and specialists, and a summary of your current home situation will save you re-explaining everything to every new person you encounter.

4. Get financial advice before signing residential care agreements. Specialist aged care financial advisers exist for a reason. The decisions are complex, the fees are significant, and the rules interact with the Age Pension in ways that are not obvious.

5. The free Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) can help if you feel lost or are having trouble with a provider. They are independent, free, and confidential. Phone 1800 700 600.

The Bottom Line

The Australian aged care system can feel overwhelming when you first encounter it, but it is built around a fairly simple logic: the lighter your needs, the lighter the help; the heavier your needs, the more substantial the support. Almost everyone who needs help at home or in residential care can get some level of support, and the safety nets for people with limited financial means are real and substantial.

Start with a phone call to 1800 200 422 or a visit to myagedcare.gov.au. Get the assessment booked. Bring a family member with you. Take your time. The system has its frustrations, but with patience and good information, it does work — and most people end up better supported than they expected.

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This article is a general overview only. Specific eligibility, fees, and program details change regularly. For the most up-to-date information and personal advice, contact My Aged Care on 1800 200 422, speak to a specialist aged care financial adviser, or contact the Older Persons Advocacy Network on 1800 700 600.