Services in more detail

Navigating aged care can be complex. Our financial package helps you understand the system, the costs, and your options so you can make informed decisions with confidence.

What is Included:

1. Before Your Meeting
We review your loved one’s situation and financial position, analyse the numbers, and model various cash flow outcomes for aged care fees and age pension. If you hold Enduring Power of Attorney, you are responsible for key financial decisions — we help you understand the traps and implications, especially around the family home. The meeting is invaluable for documenting the reasons for your decisions.

2. The Meeting (approx. 2 hours)
Held in person or via Zoom, this session provides clear, practical advice on:

· Aged Care Overview – Up-to-date, factual information on Residential Aged Care from experts.

· Understanding Costs – Explanation of all fees (including means-tested care fees and grandfathering rules) with guidance for singles and couples.

• Fee Estimates & Scenarios –      Detailed estimates of aged care fees and Age Pension outcomes based on whether the home is kept vacant, rented, or sold.
• Family Home Rules – Clarity on how the home is assessed, including “protected person” provisions and their impact on entry to care.
• Centrelink Impacts – How aged care may affect or improve your Age Pension entitlements.
• Finding a Provider – What to look for when finding a provider and guidance on what to expect when services are offered. 

3. After the Meeting

· Once you’ve secured a room, we’ll provide up to three updated financial scenarios to reflect changes in room costs or property sale outcomes — ensuring you have accurate information every step of the way.

· We can provide a snapshot of the aged care fees to residential aged care facilities. Some facilities require this before services can commence.

Professional Details

No legal, tax, or investment advice is provided.
Lyn Walker is an Accredited Aged Care Professional and Fellow of the Financial Adviser Association of Australia (non-practising CFP®), specialising exclusively in aged care.
We can refer you to trusted financial planners, accountants, or lawyers for investment, tax, or legal advice, ensuring seamless coordination between professionals.

Our professional cost for the Aged Care Financial package:

• $1,650 per person
• $1,870 total for couples entering      care together
• Meetings available at our Carrara office, via Zoom, or offsite
• Offsite visits incur additional charges
• Complex cases may attract additional fees, quoted in advance

Ready to book your meeting

  Moving a loved one into aged care is a new experience for most people and comes at a time when emotions are high. The process can be confusing and stressful.

Choosing the right care provider is an important and onerous decision and sometimes the choice may be limited because of the shortage of providers, the urgency and lack of time or the availability of suitable places. The pressure can be overwhelming.

We can assist and help you identify options and choose the one that best suits your situation.

- Taking the time to understand your preferences- we talk to you about aged care options in your area and discuss things that are important to you.

-  Finding a provider – We are in regular contact with aged care facilities in the area, we know their processes and preferences for successful admissions. Based on the care needs required we can provide guidance around your best choices in the area. We aim to provide you with a shortlist of up to three aged care facilities based on your preferences, for location and style of facility. Demand at the time will depend on, the elderly persons care needs, financial position, how many rooms are available and what choices are on offer.

- Application form – lodgement of your initial application forms and clinical assessment at each facility in your chosen location. Depending on the care needs of the individual and preferred location we may lodge between 5 and 15 applications on your behalf.

- Fees and affordability- we will ensure the shortlist meets your financial budget. 

- Room cost – we liaise with the aged care facility to ensure they understand your choice of payment option. 

- Smooth transition- we communicate with the aged care facility to ensure a smooth transfer from hospital into the selected aged care facility.

- We are not brokers – we do not receive any commissions or other payments from aged care facilities or Government organisations. We work for our client.

Engaging our services will save you time and reduce the stress associated with this process. Our chances of successfully locating a room are much higher than individuals going through this process alone, due to our contacts within the industry.

The cost for this service is $3,300 per person, including GST.

Additional services – 

Tours – if you are unable to attend to your tours due to time or location, we can do this on your behalf. To ensure our immediate availability to view rooms on your behalf an additional charge of $330 per tour is charged. This includes photos of the offered room and the surrounding areas within the facility.

Admission document assistance – after a room is offered and accepted there are many admission forms to be completed. If you need assistance with this next step we offer services to assist you. Admission kit completion is $550 per person.  

We do require clients to undertake our Aged Care Financial Package Service before engaging Placement Services. The only exception to this is if you have already seen a Financial Planner that has provided you with aged care financials, including means tested care fees, hotelling fee & non clinical care fees and you also understand the implications for paying your accommodation fees. Otherwise the financial package is a critical step in understanding the aged care system and explains all matters relating to aged care and the journey you are about to embark on for your loved one.

Let us complete the documentation for you. 

We are experts in the preparation of documents required to be submitted to Services Australia (Centrelink). Once entering aged care or receiving home care packages or entering the age pension system, certain forms are required to be submitted to Services Australia (Centrelink). If Centrelink do not hold the correct information, then you will be incorrectly assessed. This can result in you either paying too much in aged care fees or not receiving the right age pension that you are entitled to.

Each time your assets change you are required to update Centrelink within 14 days of any financial change. If your information is not proactively updated, and this is your responsibility, then your aged care fees will be incorrect. This may result in overcharging of aged care fees and underpayment of your age pension.

Reasons why you may need to update your financial information with Centrelink:

· When you enter aged care

· When you are making a new claim

· Changes to your bank balance

· Changes in your investments due to market fluctuations

· Changes in your account-based pension or superannuation balance

· When you sell your residential home and invest the proceeds, both your aged care fees and Centrelink age pension (if applicable) will change. 

· When you pay a refundable accommodation deposit (RAD) to your aged care facility. If you are not already receiving an Age Pension, paying a RAD may reduce your assets and you may be entitled to age pension benefits. It is up to you to know if you need to apply for an age pension, the Government will not notify you.

· If you inherit money

· If your partner passes away or goes into aged care, you need to update Centrelink

· You may be required to update your assets in order to receive a Commonwealth Seniors Health card.

How we can assist you

We offer a service where you can outsource these matters by appointing us to do this for you. Copies of your Centrelink letters will come to us, and we will be able to sort matters out for you quickly. We will also assess your aged care and Support at Home Care fees and any age pension entitlements when your circumstances change. This will ensure you are receiving the correct benefits and the correct aged care subsidies to which you are entitled.

Who finds this service valuable?

· Clients needing to claim a Centrelink Age Pension

· Clients needing assistance to submit residential aged care forms

· Clients needing assistance to submit Support at Home forms

· Clients that find it difficult to access online services or do not have the skills to deal with Centrelink.

· Clients that are too unwell to address these matters.

· Clients or their Enduring Power of Attorney, who do not have the time to manage this process.

· Clients that have changing asset valuations or those that cannot afford to pay excess aged care & HCP fees.

· Clients with unique or complex financial circumstances for aged care fee assessment

· Clients needing to understand their eligibility and require assistance with claims

· Clients wanting to make sure this process is professionally managed – no stress.

For Centrelink Services our costs can vary based on complexity and time required. Please refer to our pricing guide below for Professional Costs which start at $880 for a basic Age care claim, Plus $110 per month until you no longer require us to act for you.