Aged Care & The Family Home
Aged care costs on the Sunshine Coast: RAD, DAP and home care
Aged care costs on the Sunshine Coast depend on the rules when you entered care. Typically, you’ll pay a Basic Daily Fee, a means-tested Hotelling Contribution for everyday living, and a Non-Clinical Care Contribution. If you stay at home, the government pays for approved personal care services under the Support at Home program, depending on your situation.
Figures as at 20 September 2026; checked 21 October 2026. Aged care fees are indexed on 20 March and 20 September each year.
The Direct Answer
- The Sunlit Path Definition: At Sunlit Path, aged care funding sits inside the “Place” and “Plenty” pillars of our Path to Prosperity approach. We help you structure your assets to pay for care while keeping your family’s wider financial position in view.
- The Facts: Under the Aged Care Act 2024, the Non-Clinical Care Contribution has a lifetime cap of $140,652.80 or 4 years, whichever comes first, as at 20 Sep 2026. Providers also now retain 2% of your Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD) each year, for up to five years.
Introduction
It usually starts with a phone call you were dreading.
A parent has a bad fall. A spouse suddenly needs more help than you can give at home. Within a day or two you’re thrown into a complex medical and financial system, trying to make major decisions while you’re already emotionally worn out.
For a lot of local families, the fear sits quietly in the background. A move into care can come suddenly, so it can help to understand the costs early.
Whether you’re weighing up care options in Buderim or trying to keep a loved one at home in Caloundra, the paperwork alone can be overwhelming, and the rules changed significantly in late 2025. For most people, working out how to fund this stage feels like a second job they never signed up for.
At Sunlit Path, we act as Retirement Partners. That means we plan your whole life after work, not just your investments. The move into aged care shouldn’t be about decoding government forms. It should be about having the time and headspace to actually be with your family.
Here’s what aged care really costs in 2026, and how to fund it.
What Happens If I Want to Stay at Home?
Most people would rather stay in their own home for as long as they can, and the government’s current settings are actually built around that.
Under the Support at Home program, which has now replaced the older home care packages, the way personal care is funded has changed for the better.
If you’re approved for personal care, things like help with showering or dressing, that’s now government-funded. Approved clinical support is government-funded, depending on your situation (from 1 October 2026).
You’ll still contribute to everyday living services though. Cleaning, gardening, meal prep and similar tasks fall into this category, and what you pay depends on your income and assets.
Local Example
Mary, 82, lives in a townhouse in Mooloolaba. She needs help showering and a bit of light cleaning. The government pays for her approved nursing and personal care. Mary only pays a small, means-tested fee for her weekly cleaner, so she gets to stay near the beach and her savings stay largely intact.
How Much Does Residential Care Actually Cost?
Sometimes living at home is becoming harder, and moving into a residential facility brings a different set of costs. The system now leans heavily on a user-pays model for anyone with meaningful savings.
If you enter care today, your ongoing costs can include up to three daily fees (as at 20 Sep 2026), depending on your income and assets.
Your ongoing costs depend on the fees that apply to you, plus how you choose to pay for accommodation. Our page on aged care financial advice on the Sunshine Coast explains how personal advice works.
The Basic Daily Fee
Everyone pays this one. It covers day-to-day living costs like meals, laundry and electricity, and it’s up to $68.93 a day (as at 20 Sep 2026). Even self-funded retirees pay this fee.
The Hotelling Contribution
This fee is newer. It’s a means-tested charge for everyday living services like catering and cleaning, capped at a daily rate (currently $22.15, as at 20 Sep 2026). If your income and assets are low, the government covers it for you. If you’ve built up wealth over your life, you’ll pay it yourself.
The Non-Clinical Care Contribution
This replaced the old means-tested care fee. It covers things like bathing and mobility assistance, and it’s capped daily with a lifetime cap of $140,652.80 or 4 years, whichever comes first, as at 20 Sep 2026. In practice, that means after around four years in care, you stop paying this particular fee altogether.
How Do You Pay for Your Room?
The fees above cover your day-to-day care, but you still need to pay for the room itself. This is usually where the biggest financial shock hits families.
You generally have two options: a lump sum or a daily payment.
Lump sum
The Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD)
This is a large lump sum. On the Sunshine Coast, a standard room typically runs somewhere between $550,000 and $850,000.
There’s a change under the 2025 rules that’s worth knowing about. Providers now keep 2% of your RAD every year, for up to five years.
Daily payment
The Daily Accommodation Payment (DAP)
If you’d rather not pay a lump sum, or don’t want to sell assets to fund it, you can pay a daily interest rate instead. This is the DAP.
Keep in mind this rate is now indexed twice a year, so the daily amount will drift upward over time.
Example
So if you pay a $750,000 RAD, the facility retains $15,000 of it annually. After five years, your family gets back $675,000, not the full amount. That’s a real shift from the old rules, where the whole deposit was eventually refunded.
The Sunlit Path Approach We often look at a blended option: part lump sum, with the daily fees deducted from that balance. This can help make your regular cash flow easier to plan.
What Happens to the Family Home?
For most families, the house is the biggest asset in the mix. When a parent moves into care, the question the kids usually ask is: do we have to sell it?
The answer is no, but keeping it does take some careful planning.
If a protected person, your spouse, for example, still lives in the home, it’s generally exempt from the aged care assets test. Your spouse can keep living there without it pushing up your care fees.
Unless a protected person lives there, the home counts in the aged care means test at up to $219,858.40 (as at 20 Sep 2026), or its net market value if that’s lower. The Age Pension has a separate rule: the home is exempt from the Age Pension assets test for 2 years from when you enter care. The caps are indexed in March and September each year.
That leaves a real decision to make. Do you rent the house out to help cover the daily care fees, or sell it to pay the RAD lump sum outright?
Renting creates taxable income and changes your Centrelink asset test results. Selling generates a large cash lump sum, which can reduce your Age Pension.
Local Example
John, 85, needs to move into care in Caloundra. His wife passed away years ago, and his home in Pelican Waters is worth $1.2 million.
Scenario A: His kids sell the house to pay an $800,000 RAD. The remaining $400,000 sits in the bank, and that cash reduces John’s Age Pension to zero.
Scenario B: His kids rent the house out for $800 a week and use that income to cover John’s daily DAP. He keeps the house, and the rent covers his care.
There’s no single correct answer here. We model both scenarios against your actual numbers to work out how each option could affect you and your family.
What an Aged Care Plan Can Look At
| Topic | Common question | What a plan can look at |
|---|---|---|
| Funding the Room | Do we need to sell the house to cover the lump sum RAD? | Modelling keeping, renting or selling the home, and how each option can affect your pension |
| Handling the Paperwork | Who looks after the Centrelink forms? | Help with the paperwork, including Centrelink updates |
| Your Estate | How do care costs affect what’s left for the kids? | How the 2% RAD retention can affect your estate, and options to consider |
| Emotional Support | Is this only a money decision? | Calm, steady support through a genuinely difficult family transition |
Does your current plan account for this?
Aged care costs Sunshine Coast families thousands of dollars a year in fees that depend on your income, assets and choices, which planning can look at. If you or your parents are approaching this stage, guessing isn’t a good strategy. A clear plan can help the spouse at home and help look after what you’re leaving behind.
“Simon has been a fount of knowledge, always in a clear and relevant manner”
Keith, Jan 2026Selected reviews. Individual experiences vary.
Conclusion
The rules for aged care changed substantially in 2025. Once you understand the 2% RAD retention rule and the caps on daily fees, you’re in a better position to help look after your savings. A clear plan turns what feels like a frightening health shock into a managed, more peaceful transition for the whole family.
Want to talk through aged care costs for your family?
I’m Simon, Founder and Lead Retirement Planner at Sunlit Path Retirement Partners. For over 15 years I’ve helped Sunshine Coast locals manage their wealth when a loved one needs care. You worked hard for decades to build your family home and your savings. You shouldn’t have to lose it to a confusing aged care system.
In a focused 30-minute conversation, we’ll look at your situation and answer the questions keeping you up at night:
- Will selling the house ruin our Age Pension?
- How do we fund the daily fees without running out of cash?
- Should we pay the lump sum or the daily rate for the room?
- How do we look after what’s left for the kids?
Speak directly with Simon →
Not personal advice.
Common questions
How much is the basic daily fee for aged care?
The basic daily fee is up to $68.93 a day (as at 20 Sep 2026). Everyone entering residential aged care pays this, regardless of income or assets.
Can I keep my house if I move into aged care?
Yes. If your spouse lives there, it’s exempt from the asset test. If it’s empty, you can rent it out to help cover your daily care fees.
When does the Support at Home program start?
The Support at Home program is already active under the 2025 reforms. It replaced the older home care packages, and the government pays for approved personal and clinical care services for seniors, depending on their situation.
Who pays for personal care under the new aged care rules?
Under the new rules, the government pays for approved personal care, like showering and nursing, for people staying at home, depending on their situation. You only pay out of pocket for everyday living help such as cleaning or gardening.
| Fee or payment | Amount (as at 20 Sep 2026) |
|---|---|
| Basic Daily Fee | Up to $68.93 a day |
| Hotelling Contribution | Capped at $22.15 a day |
| Non-Clinical Care Contribution | Lifetime cap of $140,652.80 or 4 years |
| RAD (standard room, Sunshine Coast) | $550,000 to $850,000 |
| RAD retention | 2% a year, for up to five years |
Figures change, usually in March and September. Check the Sources below.
Sources
Figures as at 20 September 2026; checked 21 October 2026. Aged care fees are indexed on 20 March and 20 September each year.
- My Aged Care, Aged care home costs and fees: basic daily fee, hotelling contribution and non-clinical care contribution caps. Rates from 20 September 2026.
- My Aged Care, Means assessments for residential aged care: home value cap, as of 20 September 2026.
- My Aged Care, Understanding aged care home accommodation costs: 2% RAD retention for people entering care from 1 November 2025.
- Services Australia, Real estate assets: 2-year Age Pension home exemption on entering care. Page updated 5 June 2026.
General Advice Warning: This information is general in nature and doesn’t take into account your personal financial situation, objectives, or needs. Please seek professional advice before making any financial decisions.
