Leaving a retirement village – information for residents moving into aged care

The aged care rule is for registered interest holders

The aged care rule can ease the financial burden of a resident’s transition from a retirement village to an aged care facility.

Residents can ask a retirement village operator to pay a part of the calculated exit entitlement – up to 85% – to an approved aged care facility. The resident can request this be paid as a daily accommodation payment.

This helps pay for the resident’s aged care accommodation.

The aged care rule only applies when a former resident who is a registered interest holder puts their property on the market for sale.

In certain circumstances, a person whose retirement village operator is paying their daily accommodation payment to an aged care facility can apply for an exit entitlement order 2 years after the date on which the person first entered the aged care facility to which the payment relates.

Note: The aged care rule only applies to registered interest holders with a long-term registered lease that gives them at least 50% of any capital gain.

Residents in strata schemes, company title and trust villages cannot access these provisions.

Aged care rule for partners

One partner cannot remain in the residential premises while the other uses the aged care rule to move to residential aged care. The aged care accommodation would have to be funded another way.

Who regulates aged care in NSW

The Commonwealth Government administers aged care legislation. The NSW Government has responsibility for regulating retirement villages, not aged care. 

Privacy protections in aged care

Residents are not required to share any of their financial information with the operator to use the aged care rule. 

Information a retirement village operator must provide

If you are a former resident receiving payment under the aged care rule, the operator must provide you with a summary document of the payments made to the aged care provider.

They must provide this summary within 6 months after the first accommodation payment and then every 6 months after that.

Information that may be recorded and provided by the operator may include:

• the daily amount paid
• the percentage of the lump sum payment being made
• a running cumulative tally of amount paid
• the total exit entitlement value on the date the property sold
• any completion payment of the remaining exit entitlement amount not paid under the aged care rule once the property is sold. 

Eligibility for aged care accommodation payments

You must be a registered interest holder with a long-term registered lease that gives you at least 50% of any capital gain.

If you are not a registered interest holder, you are not eligible to apply for aged care accommodation payments.

Unsure whether you're a registered interest holder?

Learn more about registered interest holders and non-registered interest holders.

Eligibility flowchart

Use our accommodation payments eligibility flowchart to check your eligibility. 

How to apply for aged care accommodation payments

Once you've checked you are eligible, you must make a request in writing to the operator using this form.

Have the following information and documents ready to include in your request:

• the date you entered, or propose to enter, the aged care facility
• the contact details for your village operator and manager
• the details of the aged care provider and facility where you are living, or intend to live
• the amount of each accommodation payment
• a copy of the accommodation payment schedule provided by the aged care provider
• the number of accommodation payments you want the village operator to make to the aged care provider on your behalf (this could be 1, or more).

Application form

Aged care accommodation payments form