Here are some useful links to help you with Retirement Villages, Aged Care and Centrelink.
Make the most of Government rules to help you understand Retirement Village Costs
Retirement village cost information can be hard to find - marketing materials often skip the details. But you have the right to clear information - this is how you get it.
✔ Step 1: Request a Disclosure Statement—this document outlines the full financial details of your contract, including how costs are calculated. It is vital you request this information, and get it at the same time as you are learning about the Retirement Village
✔ Step 2: Don’t confuse this with the General Inquiry Statement, which operators must provide within 14 days. This document contains only basic information and will not help you understand cost.
✔ Step 3: If you already live in a retirement village, you can request an annual contract check-in to stay informed about fees and contract changes. This is an important right of Retirement Village Residents that is often overlooked. We think the information should automatically be issued to all residents annually - current legislation says you must request it.
⚠ Red Flag: If an operator delays or avoids providing this information, take it as a warning sign- you’re entitled to it under NSW legislation.
This is your home and community, and we understand the need for peace and calm—while also ensuring you have clarity and confidence about your financial future and care needs.
We can help you navigate complex situations with discretion and care, ensuring you get the information and support you need without unnecessary stress.
Need help requesting or reviewing documents? Call us on (02) 9173 8560—we’re happy to assist.
Make the most of Government Retirement Village Information and guides
A number of important improvements in how Retirement Village residents access their money when leaving were introduced in 2021—crucial given that 60% of residents move directly into aged care.
If you’re researching Retirement Villages in NSW, understanding these rule changes is essential.
A Retirement Village Contract is Binding – Know What You’re Signing
There’s a lot to consider when making the move. Once you sign a contract and move in, you’re bound by that agreement. Unlike other industries where dispute resolution options are well-established, when it comes to a Retirement Village contract, the responsibility is on you to fully understand the terms.
Set Yourself Up for a Smart Decision:
✔ Read the NSW Fair Trading Guide to Moving into a Retirement Village.
✔ Understand the 2021 rule changes—especially how they impact your exit and access to funds.
✔ Use the Retirement Village Calculator—we believe it needs improvement, and a move into a village requires deeper financial analysis of long-term costs. We can help with this.
✔ Check your village on the Government Register—look up complaints and resale timeframes so you know what to expect when you leave.
✔ Know your dispute resolution options—the system is complex, and the industry needs an ombudsman. Understand the challenges and what avenues are available.
👉 Need help assessing the full financial picture? We’re here to help.
There are some specific forms that need to be completed in the process of applying for an aged care home.
These forms are necessary to clarify the amount of means tested care fee the resident will pay, and to notify Centrelink of changes in financial situation based around the sale of the former home.
My Aged Care is your starting point for accessing Australian Government funded aged care services and holds a lot of information.
The main sections of the website we direct clients towards:
Fee Estimator to get started on a means tested care fee calculation - although it is very limited in explaining choices around how to pay, and whether the resident can be treated as a concessional.
Find a Provider by Name if you have the name of the place and want quick access to more information. There is a significant amount of useful information about individual aged care homes that is a great start for assessing quality.
Aged Care Home Costs and Fees is your most complete description of aged care home fees. Make sure you look closely at the section on “How do these fees work”.
A whole range of fees and thresholds change is March and September each year, as well as at the start of the year. We incorporate these changes in the financial modelling we undertake for clients trying to work out the best way to pay for care. In terms of Residential Aged Care Homes, this schedule provides updated information on the following:
Thresholds used to determine Means Tested Care Fees, as well as updates to maximum annual and lifetime limit
The interest rate used to work out Daily Accommodation Payments when a Refundable Accomodation Deposit is not paid in full.
The maximum amount a concessional resident can be asked to contribute to accomodation costs.
Note: This schedule includes a range of other information not relevant to Residential Aged Care
The Department also published a range of fee scenarios. These are complicated and insightful examples of how aged care fees are calculated.
Carer Conversations is a series of Podcasts by the Benevolent Society in partnership with the Carer Gateway.
We thoroughly recommend a listen to the the podcasts about transitioning a loved one into aged care, and the importance of a Will, Power of Attorney and Enduring Guardian.
Advance Care Planning Australia is a national project funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, enabling Australians to make the best choices for their future health and care.
Are we experts on this - no, does it come up as one of those things that people in the field believe essential, and that people need a reminder about - yes!
10 Questions is a series of leaflets written by nurses, doctors and experts with experience in aged care. Each leaflet focuses on an individual aspect of care to increase consumer knowledge and make the journey into residential aged care easier.
The project brings resources together in easily accessible leaflets that are endorsed by a number of credible professional and advocacy organisations.
The age pension is an important part of the aged care cashflows and how you pay for care will impact age pension rates.
We calculate Age Pension eligibility as part of our process, and seek to make the most of any opportunity to maximise Government support.
Some people my become eligible for the age pension for the first time, and other people may lose the pension in the process of organising assets to pay for care.
Understanding the impact of decisions around how you pay for care is vital.
Some Tax considerations that may be of interest to families transitioning a loved one to residential aged care:
Treatment of Capital Gains Tax on inherited assets:
We encourage our clients to consider the benefit in selling asset sales in the lifetime of the resident (and their spouse) against the likely outcome in the hands of beneficiaries.
Treatment of the former residence for Capital Gains Tax
Note: This is complex and is outside the scope of our advice. The ATO website is helpful in explaining the rules.
This resource is very useful for more information about:
The treatment of the former home if a spouse, dependent or carer live there,
The “2-year rule”, where the former home is exempt from means testing. After 2 years the former home is assessable as an asset, and the resident is assessed as being a “non-home owner” for age pension means testing.
Clarification of “illness separated” members of a couple.