$1m price tag for an aged care room — but TV, phone, wi-fi cost extra

Aged care residents face bills for TVs, hot breakfasts and soft drinks under new fees Patricia Massa has lived in her inner west Sydney nursing home for the past nine years. The 88-year-old has advanced dementia, but there's one thing that still brings her joy: settling into her room to watch old movies. In August, it looked like that simple joy would end, after her provider, Uniting, handed out a glossy brochure about its new "Higher Everyday Living Fees" (HELF). HELF was introduced by the federal government last year under its "once in a generation" reforms. Although rooms at Uniting's The Marion can cost up to $1.3 million as a deposit, and residents can pay tens of thousands in fees every year, families were told they'd now have to pay $8.80 a day, or $3,200 a year, if they wanted a free-to-air TV in their room. "A prisoner gets a television in their cell," says Patricia's daughter Elizabeth Tosti. "Surely to goodness, an aged care resident suffering from dementia has a right to free-to-air television in their room." In March, Aged Care Minister Sam Rae criticised providers for charging high fees for TVs in trials being conducted, saying having access to a TV was a "basic human right". However, under the government's own policy, the right to a free TV only applies to those who were receiving one while in aged care before November 1, 2025, when the policy changed. Under the current rules, providers are only required to provide a TV in a communal area, not in new residents' rooms. It means that Patricia will keep her TV for free, but everyone who comes after will be charged — and not just for TV. Residents to be charged thousands for telephone, wi-fi and activities A phone, wi-fi, soft drinks, and having mail delivered to your room will also attract a fee for new residents. Under Uniting's offered "Elevate Plus" package, residents could pay $132 for an extra fortnightly activity, $66 for a one-hour session once a month with a carer to "talk about whatever's on your mind", and $220 for a music concert in the nursing home. Uniting's brochure said residents could get better value by purchasing a bundle of services for "just $44 a day". Patricia's daughter Elizabeth Tosti said the fees would create a two-tiered system which would disadvantage those who couldn't afford to pay. "People who have got the money, the capacity to pay these hefty fees can enter the communal room and listen to someone playing music and the poor residents who can't will have to walk past or be shooed away and told, you can't come in here because you're not paying the package," she said. Uniting said it was reviewing its "Elevate Plus" package and intended to make changes "as we work towards a model that is fair, affordable and sustainable". It said residents could choose which services they wanted to pay for and that "televisions in residents' rooms are considered an additional service under the government's funding system". Nation's largest provider rolling out fees in all its homes HELF replaces additional and extra services that some providers used to offer to residents as a package that could include things like alcohol at meals and a choice of meals. It's unknown how many of the country's 700 residential aged care providers will choose to charge the fees, but Opal, the nation's largest provider, says it is rolling out the scheme to all its 148 facilities. Opal trialled the scheme earlier this year and later had to refund $190,000 to residents who were charged for services they had already been receiving at no cost. During the trial, Opal offered a bundled package at one Sydney facility priced at $55 a day, or more than $20,000 per year. In another trial for residents at Opal's Carine Parkside facility in Perth, residents were charged $12.50 a day, or $4,562 per year, for a hot breakfast. Under that scheme, those who wanted soft drinks or juice paid $7 a day, or $2,555 per year and anyone wanting wine or beer with their meal paid $15 a day or $5,475 per year. Opal said fees across its homes would vary according to what residents wished to purchase and it had also introduced "discounted bundles" at a small number of facilities. Advocates accuse providers of price gouging Craig Gear, from Older Persons Advocacy Network, wants the government to make sure basics like TV, phone and wi-fi are free for all across the country with all providers. He said the network had heard reports of gouging by providers under HELF. "Older people have been coming to advocates about things like margarine being the option on the menu but if you want butter, you're going to have to pay an extra $1.70 per day. "If you want your meal in your room, you're having to pay $4.50 for that delivery." The ABC contacted Aged Care Minister Sam Rae for comment but did not receive a response. Loading...