Home Care Packages are subsidised by the Australian government, but you are asked to pay something towards the cost of the service. The amount you are asked to contribute depends on your income, assets and circumstances.

What you pay:

There are two types of fees you may be asked to pay: the basic daily fee and an income-tested care fee.

Your provider may ask you to pay a basic daily fee. This amount is added to your budget and boosts what you can spend on care and support. Different providers charge different basic daily fees. Some providers have no fee and some use a sliding scale. The maximum you can be charged is the amount equal to 17.5% of the full Age Pension. You can negotiate with your provider about what basic daily fee you pay.

If your income is above a certain amount, you must pay an income-tested care fee. Your income-tested care fee is assessed by Centrelink and increases the higher your income is. The government subsidy for your package is reduced by the same amount as your income-tested care fee.

Both of these fees are the same no matter what level of package you are on.

The government contributes a different amount depending on your level of package.