Residential aged care means testing

Information about means testing in aged care, who will complete your means test and the part you play in the process.

Nominating a representative

You may choose to authorise someone to be your nominated representative when dealing with us. A nominated representative can be a partner, adult relative, trustee, agent, legal representative or organisation.

You can set up a nominated representative using MyService or by complete this form - Appointing a third party to represent a DVA client.

For more information visit the nominated representative webpage.

Please note that this form only authorises representation with DVA. Other government departments or services may require you to create other arrangements. Information on representation arrangements for other departments can be found on the Help accessing aged care services page.

What is a means assessment?

A means assessment for residential aged care is a review of your income and assets. It determines how much the government will subsidise your residential aged care (if you are eligible for government assistance) and the amount you can be asked to contribute towards your aged care costs.

This process can take a while, so we recommend that you lodge your assessment as soon as possible to avoid being overcharged in the first months of entering an aged care home.

Both DVA and Services Australia conduct means assessments. The department responsible for completing this process depends on your situation.

Who does my means test assessment?

DVA is responsible for completing the aged care means assessment for:

• Veterans, their partners and war widow(er)s in receipt of one of the following DVA income support pensions:
  • service pension
  • income support supplement, or
  • age pension administered by DVA
• Veterans in receipt of DVA Disability Compensation Payment who have qualifying service, and
• War widow(er)s in receipt of a DVA war widow(er)'s pension and the income support supplement.

For example, veterans who do not have qualifying service or war widow(er)s who are not paid an income support pension by DVA.

Services Australia is responsible for completing the aged care means assessments for all other DVA clients. 

To check if the payment you receive is included or to confirm who needs to complete your means assessment, you can contact us on 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372).

If you do not receive any of the income support payments listed above and you do not have approved qualifying service, you will need to have your means test assessment completed by Services Australia.

You can find out more on how to do this by visiting the Income and means assessments webpage or calling 1800 200 422.

You can get an estimate of your potential fees using the Fee estimator: How much will I pay?

How do I get started with DVA?

If you are in receipt of a means tested payment through DVA (listed above) or if you have approved qualifying service, you will need to submit your income and asset information to DVA for us to complete the means assessment.

Get started with these steps:

Update your Income/Assets and Request a Means Assessment

Complete the SA457 – Residential Aged Care – Calculation of your cost of care form

This form is for:

• clients with approved qualifying service, and/or
• clients who have not updated their income and assets over the preceding 6 months and are receiving one of the income support payments outlined above from DVA.

OR

Complete the SA485 – Residential Aged Care Property details for Services Australia and DVA customers form.

This form is for:

• clients that are homeowners that have updated their income and assets with the department in the preceding 6 months and are receiving one of the income support payments outlined above from DVA.

Please note that if you do not own your home or property and you are receiving one of the income support payments listed above from DVA, you can update your income and assets over the phone and request that a means test assessment be completed for you.

To update your income and assets over the phone, contact 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372).

Send your form

Upon completion of your form, you will need to send it along with any other supporting documents to DVA.

This can be done by:

Email: income.support.aged.care@dva.gov.au

or

Post: Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Aged Care Assets Assessments
GPO Box 9998
Brisbane QLD 4001

In your email, include your name and DVA file number in the subject line and any supporting information for the assessment team in the body. You can also attach any supporting documents.

If you are sending your form in the post, please take copies of the form and documents, in case they are lost in the post.

You should do this before you enter care (if possible).

Receive correspondence advising of your aged care fees

Once DVA completes your means test assessment, the information is provided to Services Australia who will complete the applicable aged care fee calculations.

Services Australia will then send you, your nominee and aged care provider letters advising of the applicable aged care fees payable.

Income included in the means assessment

To assess your income, we will include your income support payment (excluding the minimum pension supplement amount) and any of the following that apply:

• War Widow(er)’s Pension (except if you have qualifying service in your own right)
• deemed income on financial assets and on large gifting amounts
• overseas pensions
• payments from superannuation
• income from annuities, allocated pensions and transition-to-retirement pensions, market-linked pensions or term-allocated pensions
• net income from businesses including farms
• rental income from investment properties
• family trust distributions or dividends from private company shares.

We will not include:

• the energy supplement
• the Flexible Pension Supplement
• the 4% GST component of the War Widow(er)’s Pension.

Assets included in the means assessment

When we assess your assets, we will include:

• money in bank accounts
• investments
• real estate
• motor vehicles
• household contents
• personal effects
• any assets you sold or gave away for less than their value
• lump sum payments made to the aged care facility such as Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD) and Refundable Accommodation Contribution (RAC).

RAD and RAC payments are not included in a pension assessment, but they are counted as assets in your means assessment for the purpose of calculating aged care costs.

Each member of a couple is considered to have half of the combined assets of both partners.

Your home

Your principal home is the home you live in, on an ongoing and permanent basis.

Keeping your home

If you keep your principal home, part of the value may be considered as an asset.

If you own a house as a couple, each partner is considered to own half the value of the house.

If you enter care any time after 1 July 2014, there is a limit on the value of your house that can be included in your assets.

You can find the house value cap amount in the Schedule of Fees and Charges for residential and home care under Home Exemption Cap.

Keeping your home when a protected person is living there

If a protected person is living in your principal home when you go into residential care, your home will not be counted as an asset. 

A protected person can be:

• your partner
• a dependent child
• a carer who is eligible for an Australian Government income support payment and who has been living with you in that home for the past 2 years
• a close relative who is eligible for an Australian Government Income Support Payment and who has been living with you in that home for the past 5 years.

If the protected person moves out of your home, your home may be counted as an asset up to the home capped value or the net market value.

Selling your home

If you sell your home, the home capped value or the net market value will no longer apply.

You may choose to use some or all the money from the sale of your home to pay a lump sum payment to the aged care facility. 

If you do this, the amount you pay for the deposit is included as an asset in your assessment. This is because you can ask the aged care facility to use some of that money to pay for your ongoing aged care costs.

The refundable lump-sum accommodation payment is not counted as an asset for pension purposes.

If you entered care before 1 July 2014 and you sell your home, the full value of your home is included.

Renting your home

If you rent out your home, the rental income may be included as income in the assessment of your costs.

Rent is not included if you entered care before 1 January 2016 and you pay your accommodation by either:

• periodic payment
• a combination of periodic payment and lump-sum payment.

Rent is included in your assessment if you entered permanent residential care on or after 1 January 2016.

If you entered residential care before 1 January 2016 and you leave for more than 28 days, then go back into care, any rental income from your home will be included in your assessment.

If you entered residential care before 1 January 2016 and you leave for more than 28 days, then go back into care, any rental income from your home will be included in your assessment.

Arrangements for residents in care before 1 July 2014

If your care arrangement in residential aged care started before 1 July 2014, different arrangements may apply to you. Contact 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372) if this applies to you.

Help accessing aged care services

It’s no secret aged care can be confusing and it’s often difficult know where to start. You don’t have to do it alone. 

There are many services available through the government as well as independent services that can support you on your aged care journey.

The Help Accessing Aged Care Services page provides information on available support.

There are also further support services to help you understand and navigate aged care.

You can explore these options by visiting the Getting support in aged care webpage on the My Aged Care website.

Other pages we think may interest you

• Aged care resources
• Preparing for your future residential care need
• Understanding residential aged care costs
• Residential aged care and your income support payment
• Supporting you in aged care
• Accessing DVA supports and services in aged care
• Accessing mental health support and staying connected
• Carer support
• Raising an aged care concern
• The new Aged Care Act