The accommodation payment is often the biggest financial decision in residential aged care. You can pay for your room in three ways: a Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD), a Daily Accommodation Payment (DAP), or a combination of both.
What each means
A RAD is a lump sum — it is refunded when you leave (less any amounts you agreed to have deducted), and it is government-guaranteed. A DAP is a daily, rental-style payment calculated from the room price at a set interest rate. Many families pay part RAD and part DAP.
How to decide
It depends on your assets, whether you keep or sell the family home, and cash-flow needs — this is a decision worth taking to a financial adviser who knows aged care. The home must publish its room prices and give you 28 days after entry to choose how you pay.
A ready-to-send message
Hello,
we are comparing how to pay for a room and want to understand your accommodation prices.
Could you send your published RAD and equivalent DAP for the rooms available, and any extra-service fees?
How long do we have after entry to decide between a RAD, a DAP or a combination?
Thank you,
[Name]
[Phone]
How to use this guide in practice
Don’t read this as general information — use it as a worksheet. Write down the details of the person who needs care, the current limits of the situation at home, the monthly budget, the documents you already have, whether they’ve registered with My Aged Care and had an assessment, and who you’ve already spoken with. Then turn every unclear point into a specific question. A family that arrives with a clear picture usually gets more useful answers than one calling under stress with scattered information.
Keep one simple rule: anything about admission, cost, funding, waitlists and whether a home fits must be confirmed directly with the aged care home or the competent authority serving your area. This guide prepares the search — it does not replace official decisions.
Want a clear shortlist before you start calling?
If you don’t know which aged care homes to contact first, Curalune Care Help can prepare an ordered shortlist of 3–5 suitable homes — with Star Ratings, contacts, useful links and a ready-to-send enquiry.
The service helps you organise the search.A$109, one-off. If you don't receive at least 3 homes matching the area and criteria you gave us, we refund you in full. It does not replace the home’s own assessment or the My Aged Care process, and it does not guarantee admission, price or a room.
Important limit
Curalune offers practical help with the search and orientation. Admission, pricing, room availability, eligibility and the final assessment always rest with the aged care homes and the competent authorities (My Aged Care, Services Australia for the means assessment, and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission).
Paying less is mostly a paperwork problem
The advertised room price is only part of the picture. What a family actually pays is set by the income and assets assessment at Services Australia — it decides the means-tested care fee and how much of the accommodation cost the government covers. Lodge it before a room is offered, not after: doing it late costs weeks at the worst possible moment. Two things families miss: if paying the fees would cause genuine hardship you can apply for financial hardship assistance, and the choice between a lump sum (RAD) and a daily payment (DAP) can be changed within the first 28 days after entry.