Hundreds of aged care residents have been refunded or credited almost $200,000 after a major provider came under regulatory scrutiny over fees charged for everyday living services.
The case has put a spotlight on a relatively new aged care charge, and given families good reason to look more closely at exactly what Mum, Dad or another loved one is being asked to pay for.
SBS News has identified Opal HealthCare as the provider that refunded or credited almost 350 residents following a review by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission of its Higher Everyday Living Fee arrangements.
The Commission has separately confirmed it is investigating several residential aged care providers over the fees and that some providers have acknowledged errors and refunded residents who were inappropriately charged.
Now the Federal Government is moving to strengthen protections for existing residents, while aged care advocates warn there are still questions about what future residents could be expected to pay for.
The Higher Everyday Living Fee, usually shortened to HELF, came into effect on November 1, 2025.
It replaced previous additional and extra service fee arrangements and allows aged care residents to choose services that are above the standard their home is already required to provide.
The key word is optional.
A HELF cannot be agreed to or charged before a resident enters care and cannot be used as a condition of entry or to secure a room.
The government says providers cannot charge HELF for services they are already required to provide under the Residential Care Service List.
A resident’s basic daily fee already contributes towards everyday living costs including meals, cleaning, laundry, heating and cooling.
HELF is supposed to sit above that standard.
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission revealed in July that it had launched investigations into several providers amid concerns the new fees were not always being used as intended.
Some of the examples uncovered by the regulator were extraordinary. One provider removed televisions from vacant rooms with the intention of charging incoming residents to have a television installed, while another removed basic services and attempted to charge residents to have them reinstated.
The Commission also identified a provider planning to charge residents for performances being given by volunteers for free.
The regulator says several providers have since acknowledged errors and given assurances that existing residents would not lose services or face new charges for services already being provided before HELF began.
Where residents were charged inappropriately, refunds have been made.
If you have a parent, partner or other loved one in residential aged care, it may be worth taking a closer look at their latest statements.
Look for Higher Everyday Living Fee or HELF, particularly if a charge has appeared since November 1 last year. Then find out exactly what is being provided for that money.
A HELF agreement must outline the cost of each additional or higher-standard service, what will be delivered, how often it will be delivered and how the resident will be charged.
Residents should not be asked to pay for a service they cannot or will not use, although there are particular rules covering bundles of services.
There is also a 28-day cooling-off period in which a resident can cancel or change their HELF services without a cancellation fee. After that, services can generally be cancelled or varied with 28 days’ notice, subject to limited circumstances involving unavoidable costs.
Agreements must also be reviewed at least once a year to make sure the resident still wants the services.
For families trying to make sense of a bill, there is another useful question to ask the provider: What would Mum or Dad receive if they didn’t pay this fee?
The Federal Government has now announced changes designed to stop providers charging existing residents a HELF for services they were receiving without an additional charge before November 1, 2025.
The Older Persons Advocacy Network has welcomed the move but says it does not settle the issue for people who entered residential care after that date, or those who will enter in future.
OPAN Director Policy, Education and Systemic Advocacy Samantha Edmonds said the organisation continued to hear concerns about charges involving services many older Australians would consider part of ordinary life in residential care.
“OPAN continues to hear concerns about HELF charges relating to services many older people reasonably expect to be part of everyday residential aged care, including televisions, access to basic internet and food options,” Edmonds said.
She said greater clarity was needed around the boundary between standard aged care and something for which a resident could legitimately be charged extra.
Edmonds warned HELF risked creating “a two-tiered aged care system, where quality of life may depend on an older person’s ability to pay rather than genuine choice”.
OPAN stressed it was not opposed to genuine optional extras being available.
“However, they should never become a barrier to necessary care, dignity or informed choice,” Edmonds said.
Don’t assume a fee is correct simply because it appears on an aged care statement.
Ask the provider for an itemised explanation of the charge and a copy of the resident’s HELF agreement.
Check what service the fee covers, when the charge started, whether the resident agreed to it and whether they were receiving the same service without an additional charge previously.
If you believe a charge is wrong, raise it with the provider.
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission says that if its investigations find residents have been incorrectly or unjustly charged, it will use its regulatory powers to ensure providers promptly issue refunds.
OPAN is also calling for older people incorrectly charged since November 1 to receive their money back, either through providers acting voluntarily or regulatory intervention.
With hundreds of residents at one major provider already receiving refunds or credits, checking the bill could be worthwhile. For families navigating an already complicated aged care system, one simple question may cut through much of the confusion: What exactly are we paying extra for?
For information or support regarding aged care, call the Aged Care Advocacy Line on 1800 700 600 or visit OPAN.
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