What is a Services Australia Income and Assets Assessment?
Financials, Fees & Funding
Assessments
Start with My Aged Care guidance
In short...
A Services Australia Income and Assets Assessment evaluates an individual's personal financial situation to determine their eligibility and contribution rates for various Australian government pensions, income support payments (e.g., Age Pension), or aged care services. How It Works Income Test: Evaluates income from all sources. This includes salaries, pensions, superannuation, investments, and rental properties.
The details...
What is a Services Australia income and assets assessment?
A Services Australia income and assets assessment examines your financial circumstances to work out how much you may need to contribute towards government-funded aged care.
It does not determine whether you are eligible for aged care services. Your care needs and eligibility are assessed separately through My Aged Care.
What information is assessed?
Services Australia may consider financial information about you and, where applicable, your partner.
This can include:
Age Pension and other government payments
employment or business income
superannuation and retirement income streams
bank accounts and term deposits
shares and managed investments
rental income and investment properties
vehicles and other significant assets
trusts, companies and overseas income or assets.
For financial investments, Services Australia may use deeming rules rather than the actual interest or investment return you receive.
Is the family home included?
The treatment of your home depends on the type of aged care you receive.
Support at Home
The home you live in is generally not treated in the same way as a residential aged care property assessment. Services Australia assesses your financial circumstances to determine your contribution percentages for Support at Home services.
Residential aged care
The former home may be included in the residential means assessment, subject to specific rules and limits.
It may be exempt while certain protected people continue living there, including:
your partner
a dependent child
an eligible carer
an eligible close relative.
Services Australia considers the ownership, value of the home and who continues to live there when completing the residential aged care assessment.
What happens if I am part of a couple?
Services Australia generally considers both your and your partner’s income and assets.
For aged care calculations, you may need to provide your partner’s financial information even where particular money or property is held in only one person’s name. Services Australia then applies the relevant couple-assessment rules when calculating your costs.
How is the assessment used for Support at Home?
For Support at Home, the assessment determines the percentage you contribute towards certain services.
Your contribution depends on:
your assessed income and assets
your pension or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card status
the type of service you receive
the provider’s agreed service price.
Clinical services such as approved nursing and physiotherapy have no participant contribution. Contributions can apply to independence and everyday-living services.
Services Australia sends you a fee advice letter explaining the contribution rates that apply.
How is it used for residential aged care?
For permanent residential aged care, the means assessment helps determine:
whether you contribute towards accommodation
whether means-tested care or newer residential contributions apply
how much the Australian Government pays towards your care.
The exact fees depend on when you entered residential aged care and your assessed financial circumstances.
Do pensioners need to complete a form?
Not always.
If you receive a relevant means-tested payment from Services Australia or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, they may already hold enough financial information to complete the aged care calculation.
You may need to provide additional details if the information is incomplete or your circumstances have changed.
People who do not receive a relevant means-tested payment will generally need to provide their financial details.
The current forms are:
SA456 — Support at Home calculation of your cost of care
SA457 — Residential aged care calculation of your cost of care.
The assessment can also be requested online through Services Australia.
What happens if I do not provide my financial information?
You can choose not to disclose your income and assets, but this will not usually make your care free.
For Support at Home, a person who does not provide the required information may be charged the highest applicable contribution rates.
For residential aged care, they may be required to pay the maximum applicable means-tested fees and accommodation costs.
Does the assessment affect my Age Pension?
The same financial information may also be relevant to your Age Pension, but the aged care calculation and the Age Pension assessment serve different purposes.
The Age Pension income and assets tests determine whether you qualify for the pension and how much pension you receive.
The aged care calculation of your cost of care determines how much you contribute towards aged care.
Moving into residential aged care, selling your home or paying an accommodation deposit can also affect your Centrelink circumstances, so Services Australia should be told when these changes occur.
The practical distinction is:
Your aged care assessment determines what care you qualify for. Your Services Australia income and assets assessment determines how much you may need to pay towards that care.
What should I do next?
Confirm the details with My Aged Care or the relevant provider, write down your questions and ask for important information in writing before making a decision.
Helpful Local Home Help resources
Takeaways
- Confirm which fee rules apply before relying on a quoted amount.
- Individual eligibility, availability and outcomes can vary.
- Ask questions early and seek independent help if anything feels unclear or unsafe.
About Local Home Help
How Providers Are Listed
How providers appear on Local Home Help Local Home Help helps families discover home support services available in their area. Providers may appear on the site in a few different ways. Some providers create and manage their own listing on the platform. Others may appear based on publicly available information about services operating in a particular region. This helps families see a broader view of support options available locally. Where possible, we encourage providers to claim and manage their listing so information such as services offered, contact details and service areas remain accurate and up to date. There are no paid or enhanced listings on Local Home Help, and there never will be. Claiming or managing a listing has no effect on a provider's visibility, ranking, or how often it appears in a consumer's personalised shortlist, it simply keeps the information families see accurate and current. Local Home Help does not charge consumers to access the platform. We may generate revenue in other ways in the future, but none of these will ever influence which providers a consumer sees, how they're ranked, or what appears in their shortlist. Provider visibility is, and will remain, based solely on relevance to each family's stated needs. What does not influence Liz There are no paid or enhanced listings on Local Home Help, not now, and not in the future. No provider can pay for a higher position in Liz results, a better ranking, or inclusion in a consumer's shortlist. This is a permanent commitment, not a current-state description. Claiming or updating a profile does not improve a provider's ranking. It gives Liz more accurate information about the provider's services, coverage and care model, which can make the explanation of why a provider matched clearer, but it has no effect on whether or how highly that provider appears. Local Home Help intends to generate revenue in other ways in the future - for example through tools built for providers, or products separate from the consumer matching experience. None of these will influence which providers appear in Liz's results, how they're ranked, or what a consumer sees in their personalised shortlist. Visibility and ranking are based solely on the fit factors described above, and nothing else. This reflects the platform's core ethos: Local Home Help is built consumer-first. Every design and revenue decision is made so that what a family sees from Liz is the most relevant outcome for them. Never the most profitable outcome for Local Home Help or a provider.
Independence Statement
Our independence Local Home Help is designed to help families navigate the often confusing world of home support and aged care services. The platform aims to present information in a clear and balanced way so families can better understand the types of help available and where to find it. While providers may appear on the platform, Local Home Help does not recommend one provider over another. The decision about which service may be suitable will always depend on individual circumstances. Families are encouraged to contact providers directly, ask questions and make their own enquiries before making a decision. Our focus is to make the process of understanding and finding support at home easier. Local Home Help does not accept payment of any kind in exchange for provider visibility, ranking, or shortlist placement, and never will. Any future revenue Local Home Help generates will come from sources entirely separate from how providers are matched to consumers.
Quality Signals
What to look for when choosing a provider Finding the right support service can take time. When considering a provider, families may wish to look for signs of quality such as: Clear information about services offered Transparent pricing or funding options Experience supporting older people at home Relevant professional qualifications where appropriate Positive feedback or reputation in the community Willingness to answer questions about care and services It is often helpful to speak with more than one provider before making a decision. Local Home Help aims to provide a starting point for exploring services, but the best choice will depend on the needs and preferences of the individual receiving support.
About the Author
Local Home Help Editorial Team
This article was created by Local Home Help to help Australian families better understand aged care and home support options in plain English.
Our content is based on publicly available information from:
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My Aged Care
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Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
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Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
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Provider pricing schedules and operational experience within the aged care sector.
Local Home Help is an independent consumer information platform and does not provide medical, legal or financial advice.
Important information
Aged care rules, fees, eligibility requirements and program arrangements can change. The information on this page is general guidance only and may not apply to every person or situation.
Before making a financial, legal or care decision, check the latest information with My Aged Care, Services Australia, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, or another appropriate official source.
Local Home Help does not provide legal, financial, medical or clinical advice.
Source data
Last reviewed
20/7/26, 9:08 pm