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March 4, 2026 — 5:01am
There is a moment in everyone’s aged care journey when someone hands over a 37-page document and says, “you need to fill this in.” This calculation of your cost of care form is spoken about as if it’s mandatory. Hospital discharge planners, assessors and even aged care homes will say you have to complete it, but you don’t.
The means assessment is not compulsory, in fact, question 14 will ask if you wish to disclose your assets and income. If you choose not to complete it, you simply pay the maximum means-tested fees – which are the hotelling fee and the non-clinical care contribution.
For some – particularly self-funded retirees – choosing to fill it in can be a complete waste of time.
On the surface, the form appears comprehensive but manageable. It asks about your home, bank accounts, superannuation and investments. If your finances are simple, that may be the end of it.
But tick “yes” to owning an investment property, a family trust or a private company, and the paperwork multiplies. You can be asked for tax returns, financial statements, balance sheets and depreciation schedules for each entity. Every additional structure can trigger more forms – sometimes almost as long as the original 37 pages.
Many self-funded retirees end up engaging their accountant to gather and prepare the information, adding cost to an already expensive life transition – only to discover the outcome was inevitable.
For full pensioners with straightforward finances, completing the assessment usually makes sense.
The means assessment looks at both your assets and your income to determine how much you pay. There are thresholds and caps, but as a rule of thumb, if your assessable assets are close to $1 million, you are likely to pay the maximum means-tested fees.
And here’s what often surprises people: the Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD) counts in your assessable asset for aged care. So a $750,000 RAD plus $250,000 of investments pushes you to $1 million which means even someone receiving a full age pension can find themselves paying the maximum fees.
For full pensioners with straightforward finances, completing the assessment usually makes sense. If you are claiming to be of low means then the assessment is compulsory. If your details are already up-to-date with Services Australia, you may simply be confirming information they already hold, and details of your home.
But if you are a self-funded retiree you need to ask: is the juice worth the squeeze?
Some aged care homes will provide an estimate of what your costs are likely to be. If that’s offered, take it – but ensure it reflects your position on the day you move in and considers what happens if circumstances change, such as selling the house to pay the RAD.
The means test is not a negotiation. It is a formula. And sometimes that formula is going to land on the maximum regardless of how many documents you provide. Sometimes the smartest decision is recognising when filling in the form won’t change the result – and choosing not to.
Rachel Lane is the author of Downsizing Made Simple, a book and website aimed at demystifying downsizing.
- Advice given in this article is general in nature and not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.
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