Aged Care & Retirement Living
Plain-English Australian guidance on aged care, assessments, fees, the family home, retirement villages and what happens when someone dies in care. ELUMMA is not a financial adviser and does not calculate your personal aged-care costs.
Aged care changed from 1 November 2025
Aged-care arrangements changed significantly from 1 November 2025. Someone who entered care before that date may have different fee arrangements from someone entering after it. Support at Home also began on this date, replacing the Home Care Packages Program and Short-Term Restorative Care Programme. Some older arrangements and transitional protections may still apply.
What kind of help are we looking for?
Choose the option that sounds closest. Each links to the relevant guidance below. You don’t need an account to read any of this.
Help to stay at home
Support so an older person can keep living at home for longer.
We are considering residential aged care
What aged care homes are and how to think about moving.
We need short-term or respite care
Short breaks, carer relief and transition after hospital.
We are trying to understand costs
What can affect aged-care fees — without a fake calculation.
What happens to the family home?
Keeping, renting or selling the home — and what to consider.
Retirement village or aged care?
How retirement villages differ from aged care homes.
Someone has died in aged care
What generally happens and where to go next.
I’m not sure where to start
A simple sequence to follow first.
What should I do first?
- 1Work out whether help at home or residential care is being considered.
- 2Contact My Aged Care / arrange an assessment.
- 3Understand eligibility and care options.
- 4Compare providers.
- 5Understand fees before signing.
- 6Get advice before selling major assets or signing complex contracts.
This is general guidance only. Your situation may differ.
Aged care home vs retirement village
Aged care home
Accommodation plus ongoing care and support for people who can no longer live safely at home. Part of the Australian Government aged-care system, where government-funded services apply after assessment.
Retirement village
Generally for independent living. Not the same as an aged care home, and generally governed under state/territory arrangements rather than the national aged-care framework. Moving in does not automatically give you aged-care services.
Explore all aged-care topics
Plain-English guidance on each topic \u2014 what to consider, questions to ask, what varies, and official sources. Tap a heading to expand it.
Examples
Example only — not a calculation of your fees. These illustrate concepts. Your situation depends on your circumstances and current rules.
Mum owns a home and Dad still lives there
Mum is moving into residential care, and Dad will remain in the family home. Because a spouse continues to live in the home, the way the home is treated in the means assessment and for pension purposes may differ from a person who lives alone. The family checks Services Australia rather than assuming.
Dad lives alone and is considering selling
Dad lives alone and is wondering whether to sell his home to help pay aged-care accommodation. Selling could change his assessable assets, income and pension position. He seeks financial advice before deciding, because selling is hard to undo.
A resident wants part RAD and part DAP
A resident is weighing whether to pay accommodation partly as a lump sum and partly as a daily payment. Each structure can have different cash-flow, pension and aged-care consequences. She uses My Aged Care’s estimator and the Financial Information Service rather than guessing.
Comparing a retirement village with aged care
A couple is comparing a retirement village with an aged care home. They learn that a village is for independent living and is not the same as aged care, and that care would be arranged separately if needed. They get legal advice before signing any village contract.
Is home support enough?
A family is unsure whether home support is enough for an ageing parent. They contact My Aged Care to arrange an assessment, which helps identify the right level of support — rather than assuming residential care is the only option.
Free & official help
These government and not-for-profit services are the primary sources for aged-care information. Confirm current details on each official site.
Free official aged-care tools
Direct links to the current My Aged Care fee estimators and provider finder — no sign-up needed. You complete any estimates on the official website; ELUMMA does not see what you enter.
Aged care home fee estimator
FREE TOOLEstimate the fees that may apply when entering permanent residential aged care.
Source: My Aged Care
Use fee estimatorYou’ll complete this on the official website. ELUMMA does not receive the information you enter there.
Support at Home fee estimator & budget planner
FREE TOOLEstimate Support at Home contributions and help plan a Support at Home budget.
Source: My Aged Care
Use fee estimatorYou’ll complete this on the official website. ELUMMA does not receive the information you enter there.
Find an aged-care provider
SERVICE FINDERSearch and compare aged-care providers and the services they offer.
Source: My Aged Care
Find a providerFind your advance care planning forms
FREE FORMChoose your state or territory to find the recognised forms and instructions.
Source: Advance Care Planning Australia
Find my formsMore free help for carers & planning ahead
Additional free national services that support carers and future care planning, complementing the aged-care sources above.
ELUMMA puts useful free and low-cost help first. Paid partnerships do not determine this order.
Carer Gateway
FREEFree Australian Government support for unpaid carers, including counselling, planned and emergency respite, skills courses and tailored support packages.
Eligibility: For people providing unpaid care to a family member or friend with disability, a medical condition, mental illness, or who is frail aged. Mon–Fri, 8am–5pm; emergency respite is available at any time.
Advance Care Planning Australia
FREEFree national advisory line for advance care planning — making your future medical and care wishes known. Can talk through the process and post a free starter pack.
Eligibility: Available to anyone. Mon–Fri, 8am–4pm (AEST). Note: the advisory line is free, but registering or storing an advance care directive may involve a fee in some states and territories — check your local process.
Someone has died in aged care
If someone has died in an aged-care facility, ELUMMA’s Someone Has Died journey guides you through what to do next — documentation, notifications, funeral and estate steps.
Someone has died — show me what to do nextELUMMA provides general information only and is not personal financial, legal or medical advice. Aged-care fees, thresholds and rates change. Always confirm important details with My Aged Care, Services Australia, or a qualified professional before making decisions.