From 1 July 2025, the new Aged Care Act 2024 requires Australian aged care providers to publish and explain all fees and charges before clients commit to their service. It’s a legal obligation enforced by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Providers who bury fees in fine print or spring surprise charges on clients now face significant penalties.
The compliance stakes are high, but the business case is stronger. Clients who understand pricing upfront are more likely to stay with you, refer others, and avoid disputes. When done well, aged care pricing transparency builds the kind of loyalty that sustains a provider’s growth. For decades, aged care pricing operated in the shadows. Clients received complex fee schedules filled with obscure terminology and unexpected out-of-pocket charges. The Aged Care Act 2024 ends this era.
Why Pricing Opacity Has Cost Providers Trust
For decades, aged care pricing operated in the shadows. Clients received complex fee schedules filled with obscure terminology and unexpected out-of-pocket charges. Many did not know the full cost until they had already moved in. Providers defended this complexity as unavoidable, but it created friction, complaints, and regulatory scrutiny. Clients felt misled. Families questioned value. Disputes over billing consumed staff time and damaged reputations.
The Aged Care Act 2024 ends this era. The regulator now mandates that pricing be clear, itemised, and accessible to prospective clients before they sign any agreement.
Five Key Obligations Under the New Act
1. Publish a Standardised Fee Schedule
You must create and publish a fee schedule that itemises every charge associated with your service: accommodation costs, daily care costs, extra services such as meals and transport, and any one-off fees including entry or exit charges. Write it in plain language, not jargon. Publish it on your website and provide it in print to any prospective client who requests it.
2. Disclose Costs Before Commitment
Before a client enters a care agreement with you, ensure they have received your full fee schedule and understood all costs. Provide it at the first contact, not three weeks into an admission process. Document that the client received the schedule. If a dispute arises later, you will need evidence that you disclosed pricing upfront.
3. Explain Optional and Bundled Services Clearly
The Act requires you to separate optional services from compulsory ones. If residents can choose between a standard meal plan and a premium meal plan, state the cost difference explicitly. If transport is included only to medical appointments and not entertainment outings, say so. Bundling is not forbidden, but hiding the structure behind a single price is.
4. Respond to Pricing Enquiries Within Five Business Days
When clients or families ask questions about costs, you must answer clearly and honestly within that window. Silence or evasion breaches the Act.
5. Maintain Transparent Records and Support Audits
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission now reviews pricing practices, client agreements, and fee collection records during audits. Assessors will interview clients and families about whether they understood pricing before committing. Keep your fee schedules, client agreements, and payment records in a format you can produce quickly.
How to Implement Transparent Pricing
Start by auditing your current pricing. List every charge you levy, from accommodation to meals to laundry to optional services. Group them by category. Identify any charges that are not clearly named or justified. Rewrite vague descriptions in plain language. Have your finance team and a client (or family member) review the new schedule for clarity. If they have to re-read a sentence, rewrite it.
Next, update your client intake process. Ensure your admissions team provides the fee schedule at the first contact. Train them to walk prospects through the schedule, answer questions, and document that they have done so. A simple form noting the date the client received and confirmed the schedule is enough.
Finally, set a deadline for responding to pricing enquiries. If your admissions team handles these, give them five-day turnaround targets. If finance handles them, establish a workflow that routes enquiries to finance immediately. Late responses read as evasion and create compliance risk. ShiftCare’s team collaboration tools can help you route and track client enquiries across your team so nothing falls through the cracks.
Embrace Transparency to Build Trust and Avoid Penalties
The new Aged Care Act is strict, but it aligns with what clients have always wanted: honesty. Providers who embrace aged care pricing transparency now avoid regulatory action and build stronger client relationships. Those who resist will face audits, penalties, and reputational damage. Start implementation with something simple, i.e., a five-day deadline for responding to pricing enquiries. ShiftCare’s team collaboration tools help you route and track client enquiries across your team so nothing falls through the cracks.
Start your free trial today. See how ShiftCare helps you manage client communication and maintain compliance with the Aged Care Act.
