Aged care’s new living fee must serve residents, not bureaucracy

Clarity, fairness and quality have long been the watchwords in aged care reform. The Higher Everyday Living Fee (HELF) looms as the next test of whether those ideals can survive in practice. Beyond the policy detail, the change raises a sharper question: can providers use it to genuinely enhance daily life for residents, or will it simply become another line in the sales brochure?

What HELF is meant to do

The Higher Everyday Living Fee is an optional charge for higher-quality everyday living services in residential aged care. Think food, activities and amenities that sit alongside clinical care, not inside it. Providers may set the price, but residents choose whether to opt in.

Key principles are straightforward in writing but harder in practice:

• Consent must be separate from admission and supported by clear information.
• Residents must not pay for services they cannot or will not use.
• Bundles cannot leave someone worse off than choosing individually.
• Standards and frequency of services must be obvious.

There is a cooling-off period and a routine review built in, to ensure choices keep pace with changing preferences. The start date is 1 November 2025.

Everyday life is the real test

Strip away the acronyms and the intent is clear. HELF is about the daily details that shape dignity:

• A cup of tea at the right time.
• A meal that tastes like home.
• An activity that is more than just busy work.

This is not a shortcut to plug funding gaps in clinical care or a back door for accommodation charges. It is a test of whether we can design for dignity without layering on complexity.

What residents and providers want

Consumers want choice without pressure, plain language without jargon, and the right to decide in their own time. Advocates continue to push for safeguards against hardship and for clearer separation between the basic and the premium offer.

Providers support the intent but warn against short timelines and vague definitions. Many are reshaping admissions processes and staff training already so the first week in care feels like a welcome, not a transaction.

Lauren Todorovic, Care & Co Group CEO & Founder of care page software, cautioned that HELF risks becoming a burden if handled poorly:

“There’s a lot of change taking place… it often impacts how quality of care is defined, delivered and measured. It adds a substantial admin burden and draws away from the human connections that matter most with residents.”

The reminder is stark: if residents cannot feel the difference, it is not a higher standard. If families cannot explain it back in a sentence, it is not clear enough.

The risk of drift

The danger is not deliberate misuse but quiet drift. HELF could easily become:

• A default tick box in a thick admission pack.
• Bundles that sound attractive but do not reflect actual use.
  A fee that rises faster than value.
• More paperwork than conversation.

None of this is inevitable, but avoiding it takes discipline. It also takes leaders willing to say no to complexity that adds cost without adding joy.

The opportunity in front of us

Handled well, HELF can bring personalisation to life. Practical steps include:

• Mapping current everyday living offers and co-designing “higher standards” with residents.
• Creating a one-page service menu that spells out inclusions, standards, frequency and price.
• Making consent a calm discussion after entry, not a rushed decision at the door.
  Turning reviews into a routine check-in on what is working and what is not.
  

Lauren warned that process cannot be allowed to overwhelm purpose:

“Lifestyle and care teams are feeling like they’re having to put documentation ahead of actual care needs. That feels like we’ve gone back ten years.”

The best way forward is simple role play, active listening, and conversations that start with preferences, not products.

How data can help

Technology can lighten the load. Platforms that track meals, activities and feedback in real time can highlight what is working, what is not, and take the mechanics out of HELF administration.

Carepage’s ARI app, for example, is designed to reduce admin across lifestyle scheduling and feedback, while building HELF processes into everyday workflows. The point is not the software itself but whether residents feel the improvement and staff can act on what they hear.

As Lauren summed up:

“This is an opportunity to go beyond simply pricing services. By using feedback and data to refine meals, activities and opportunities for connection, providers can ensure the Higher Everyday Living Fee translates into real improvements in daily life — not just higher charges.”

What good looks like

To deliver on the promise, providers can start small and build:

• Map the basics honestly and define the higher standard with residents.
• Keep the consent process simple and separate from admission.
• Pilot a few offers, learn quickly, and refine.
• Train staff to have conversations with confidence and warmth.
• Review and adjust regularly, publishing what changed because residents spoke up.
  

If HELF is done well, residents will feel the difference at the breakfast table, in the lounge room and in the weekly activity calendar. Done badly, it will show up in mistrust and quiet dissatisfaction.

The bottom line

HELF can lift everyday life only if it is treated as a conversation about what matters to each person, not as a revenue lever. Transparency and consent must be the foundations. Feedback and follow-through will do the rest.

Better everyday life is not a luxury. It is the point.

For transparency, Hello Leaders and carepage are part of the Care & Co Group, a socially-driven organisation focused on improving experiences and quality of life across aged care, retirement living and health services.