Aged Care & Family Stewardship

What We Cover

Aged Care Funding: The Decisions That Cost Families the Most

The single largest financial decision at aged care entry is how you pay for accommodation. A Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD) is a lump sum — potentially $500,000 or more — that is returned when care ends. A Daily Accommodation Payment (DAP) is an ongoing charge calculated on that same amount. You can split between the two. Each option has profoundly different effects on your assessable assets, your pension entitlements, your income position, and your estate.

There is no universally correct answer. The right structure depends on your total asset base, your income sources, whether the family home is retained or sold, your Centrelink status, and what you want to leave behind. We model the scenarios, quantify the trade-offs, and give you a clear recommendation grounded in your actual numbers — not a generic rule of thumb.

Means Testing, Centrelink, and the Family Home

Aged care means testing determines how much you pay for care and accommodation. It assesses both income and assets — and the rules are different from the pension assets test, different from the tax system, and full of traps for families who assume the frameworks align.

The family home is the most consequential variable. Whether it is exempt or assessable depends on who lives there, for how long, and under what arrangement. Selling at the wrong time, renting without understanding the Centrelink implications, or gifting to the next generation without proper structuring can trigger asset test penalties, deprivation rules, or a complete loss of pension eligibility.

We map your position across aged care assessments, Centrelink, and the tax system simultaneously. Where the rules conflict — and they frequently do — we identify the strategy that optimises your position across all three, not just the one in front of you.

Preserving Family Wealth Through the Transition

Aged care costs can erode a lifetime of accumulated wealth if the funding strategy is disconnected from the broader financial plan. Care fees compound. Accommodation payments tie up capital. Investment income from redirected assets gets captured by the means test. Without coordination, the aged care tail wags the wealth dog.

We integrate aged care funding into your existing wealth strategy — superannuation drawdowns, investment reallocations, insurance proceeds, property decisions — so that the transition into care does not inadvertently dismantle the structures you spent decades building. Where estate planning needs to be updated to reflect the new reality, we coordinate that too.

When the Whole Family Is at the Table

Aged care decisions are rarely made by one person. Adult children are involved. Spouses have different needs. Siblings disagree on the best facility, on who manages what, on how the costs are shared. These are financial decisions wrapped in family dynamics — and they need to be handled with both precision and care.

We provide a structured framework for family decision-making — clear options, modelled outcomes, and transparent trade-offs that give every family member the same information. This does not eliminate disagreement, but it ensures disagreements are grounded in facts rather than assumptions. Where powers of attorney, guardianship, or capacity questions arise, we flag them early and coordinate the legal response.

Where Aged Care Meets Estate Planning, Tax, and Law

Aged care entry rarely stays in one lane. A change in living arrangements triggers capital gains questions. Updated wills and powers of attorney are needed. Trust distributions may need restructuring. Centrelink reporting obligations shift. The pension status of a surviving spouse can change overnight.

abCredo Wealth sits alongside two independent, aligned divisions: abCredo Legal and abCredo Advisory. When your aged care matter extends into estate planning, property, tax, or asset protection, we bring the relevant expertise to the same table — no repeated briefings, no overlapping fees, no hunting for external firms. This happens only when it adds direct value to your family’s position, and only with your prior approval. The capability is ours to offer — the decision is always yours.