Life in care

What is respite care in aged care?

Updated 24 August 2026

Respite care is short-term care that gives an older person and their carer a break. Residential respite care is the form of it that takes place in an aged care home, and it suits people who rely on a carer for most daily tasks. A residential respite stay can run for a few weeks at a time, and it can be planned in advance or arranged in an emergency. The Australian Government subsidises up to 63 days of residential respite in a financial year, and the count covers planned stays and emergency stays together (My Aged Care, accessed 23 August 2026). An aged care assessor can extend that allowance by 21 days at a time. The resident pays a basic daily fee, capped at $66.80 a day on rates current at 23 August 2026, and may also be asked for a booking fee. No income and assets assessment applies to respite care, and the provider cannot charge a respite resident for accommodation.

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What are the main types of respite care?

Government-funded respite options include respite at home, community and centre-based respite, cottage respite and residential respite care, and they differ by where the care happens and how long it lasts. Any of these arrangements can be planned ahead, for instance when a carer has a trip booked or an appointment to attend, and respite is also available in emergencies and unexpected situations.

• Respite at home. Respite at home is provided in the person's own home, during the day or overnight, and it is also called flexible respite. The care comes to the house, so a carer's absence is covered without the person leaving home.
• Community and centre-based respite. Community and centre-based respite is a daytime arrangement, and it gives the person a chance to talk and meet other people while the carer takes a break.
• Cottage respite. Cottage respite is available overnight or across a weekend. It happens at a centre or another community venue, away from the carer's house and away from a host family's house.
• Residential respite care. Residential respite care is delivered inside an aged care home, and it is best suited to a person who needs carer support across most tasks. It can run for a few weeks at a time, so it covers absences that run longer than a day program or a weekend of cottage respite.

What is the difference between respite care and permanent residential aged care?

A residential respite resident's fees are not the same as a permanent resident's fees (My Aged Care, accessed 23 August 2026). Residential respite care and permanent residential aged care take place in the same aged care homes.

A residential respite resident has the same entitlement to care and support services as the home's permanent residents. The entitlement covers a room, everyday services such as meals, laundry and social activities, and help with personal and care needs.

A residential respite resident and a permanent resident both pay a basic daily fee. The permanent resident may also be asked to pay contributions worked out by a means assessment and to contribute towards accommodation costs.

How long can someone stay in respite care?

The 63 subsidised days of residential respite are drawn down across a whole financial year (My Aged Care, accessed 23 August 2026; Department of Health and Aged Care, page last updated 30 April 2026). They are counted across the different stays a person takes inside that year, so a later stay starts from whatever balance the earlier stays left.

An aged care assessor can approve an extension of up to 21 more days each time, and each further extension needs its own approval. An extension can be granted where a carer is under stress or away, and the assessor weighs the person's needs, abilities and personal preferences. The assessor reviewing an extension request also considers whether permanent residential care is the more suitable arrangement.

How much does respite care in a nursing home cost?

A residential respite resident pays a basic daily fee, and that fee is capped at $66.80 a day on the rates current when My Aged Care was accessed on 23 August 2026. The government sets the respite basic daily fee at 85% of the single basic age pension. It reviews that rate on 20 March and on 20 September each year, matching increases in the age pension.

Some providers also ask for a booking fee to secure a place in the home. A booking fee is capped at the lower of two amounts: one week of respite fees, or 25% of the whole stay's fee (My Aged Care, accessed 23 August 2026). Once the person enters care, the booking fee is deducted from the daily fees, so it works as a prepayment against the cost of the stay. The provider must refund the booking fee if the respite booking is cancelled more than 7 days before the entry date (My Aged Care, accessed 23 August 2026). If the person enters hospital before or during the period of respite, the provider must refund the unused portion of the booking fee.

Two things a respite provider cannot charge are means tested contributions and accommodation costs. No income and assets (means) assessment is required to work out what a respite stay costs, so a respite fee estimate does not wait on a means assessment result. What the resident pays is discussed and agreed between the resident and the provider, and the agreed fees are set out in the respite service agreement before the services start. That agreement is made provider by provider. The Elderberry directory lists 708 aged care providers in Australia (Elderberry directory, August 2026), and whether one of them asks for a booking fee is settled in that agreement, within the cap.

Who pays for respite care in Australia?

The cost of residential respite is split between the Australian Government and the person receiving the care. The Australian Government pays providers a respite subsidy and a supplement so they can deliver respite care to people who are eligible (Department of Health and Aged Care, page last updated 30 April 2026). The subsidy is paid to the provider of whichever aged care home takes the person for the stay, and the Elderberry directory lists 2,590 aged care homes in Australia (Elderberry directory, August 2026). The resident's share is the basic daily fee, plus a booking fee where the provider charges one.

The government's share is set per person. The aged care assessment produces a respite classification, and that classification determines the level of respite subsidy the provider receives and keeps the care matched to the person's needs.

How do you qualify for respite care?

Residential respite requires an aged care assessment, which is what determines eligibility. To qualify for an aged care assessment, a person must have care needs and meet an age requirement. The age requirement is 65 years or older. It drops to 50 years or older for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness (My Aged Care, accessed 23 August 2026).

The assessment runs in a set order:

1. Submit the application for an aged care assessment. The wait for the assessment organisation's first contact runs from the day the application is submitted.
2. Take the call from the assessment organisation. An assessment organisation calls within 2 to 6 weeks.
3. Complete the face-to-face assessment. The organisation arranges a time to visit the person at home, or at their current residence, and carries out the assessment there.

Because the first call takes 2 to 6 weeks, an application for planned respite needs to start well ahead of the dates a carer needs covered. Emergency provisions sit outside that sequence. Where there has been no assessment, a person may still be able to enter an aged care home for residential respite in an emergency, and the provider can arrange an urgent assessment afterwards.

What are the disadvantages of respite care?

Residential respite carries three practical limits that the fee schedule does not show: availability, absences and the day count.

• Approval does not guarantee a place. Not every aged care home offers residential respite, and some homes have no room to take in temporary residents, so an approval for respite care is not a booked bed. Confirm availability for the intended stay dates directly with the preferred provider before the rest of the plan is set. The Elderberry directory counts 224,493 places across Australia's aged care homes (Elderberry directory, August 2026), and only some of those homes take respite residents.
• There are no formal leave provisions. A residential respite resident, or their family or carer, can agree with the provider on a temporary overnight absence from the stay, for social or other reasons and for one night at a time. The resident keeps paying the agreed fees for that night, so a night absent from the stay is charged at the same fees as a night spent in the aged care home.
• The day count is the care recipient's to track. Services Australia holds a record of the respite days used, and that record can take time to update, so it is the care recipient's responsibility to monitor the days used across different stays. Going over 63 days in a financial year without an approved extension can mean being asked to pay the full cost of the care, and no further residential respite is available until a 21-day extension is in place.

Common questions

How much respite can a carer get?

A carer's break through residential respite is bounded by the care recipient's entitlement of 63 subsidised days in a financial year, because the allowance is counted against the person receiving the care. An extension is approved for that person as well, so the days a carer can take are the days the care recipient still has left in the year.

How much money can you have in the bank and still get Carer Allowance?

There is no assets test for Carer Allowance, so a bank balance is not assessed for the payment. The test that applies is an income test. The carer's combined adjusted taxable income with their partner must stay under $250,000 in a financial year, measured before tax (Services Australia, page last updated 16 June 2026).

What rights does a person have during a respite stay?

A respite resident's rights are protected in the same way as those of any other person receiving aged care. The rights of aged care residents are outlined in the Statement of Rights. Those rights hold no matter what type of care the person receives, including permanent residence and care at the end of a resident's life in an aged care home.

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