How Much Does Aged Care Really Cost in Australia?

Do you know what you’d do if Mum or Dad suddenly needed care, and could you afford it? 💛

Most of us don’t think about aged care until it’s thrust upon us, and by then we’re usually making big financial decisions in the middle of a crisis. This week on Get Rich, Molly sits down with Brenda Will, Financial Adviser and Aged Care Specialist at Bruining Partners, to break it all down. There’s no jargon and no overwhelm, just clear, practical guidance for women who are starting to navigate this for their parents or grandparents (and for their own future).

Whether you’ve been avoiding the topic because it feels too big and too sad, you’re not sure where to start, or you’re worried about how much it will really cost, this episode is for you.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to bring up the aged care conversation with your parents, and why wills and enduring power of attorney are the easiest way in
• The different types of aged care in Australia, from staying at home to retirement villages and residential care
• What changed under the new Aged Care Act on 1 November 2025, and why home care now costs more for many people
• How long the wait for government-funded support at home really is
• What aged care actually costs, from home support through to refundable accommodation deposits
• Why you can’t just give your money away to qualify for subsidised care
• The biggest shocks Brenda sees families face when care is needed urgently
• Why planning early gives your parents more choice, and what to look for in retirement villages and their contracts

Perfect for: Australian women with parents or grandparents who are getting older, anyone who’s about to navigate aged care and doesn’t know where to start, and women who grew up in families where money and ageing were never talked about and want to do things differently.

The biggest takeaway? Planning for aged care isn’t about expecting the worst. It’s about giving the people you love the choices, confidence and say in how they age, before a crisis makes the decisions for them. 🎧

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Introduction: What Happens Financially If Mum or Dad Suddenly Needs Aged Care?
00:52 - Where Do You Start? Why Most Australians Don’t Think About Aged Care Until It’s Urgent
02:29 - How to Talk to Your Parents About Aged Care: Wills, Power of Attorney and Dementia Risk
04:38 - Types of Aged Care in Australia: Home Support, Retirement Villages, Granny Flats and Residential Care
06:04 - How Long Is the Wait? Support at Home Delays Explained
06:56 - What Does the Support at Home Program Actually Cover?
07:31 - How Much Does Aged Care Cost in Australia? Home Care Fees and Means Testing
08:29 - The New Aged Care Act (1 November 2025): Why Home Care Costs More Now
10:00 - Residential Aged Care Costs: When Home Care Isn’t Enough ($8,000 a Week Privately)
11:33 - The Biggest Aged Care Shocks: Falls, Hospital Discharge and Big Financial Decisions Under Pressure
13:28 - Will the Government Pay? The Pension, Subsidies and Gifting Rules Explained
14:21 - Planning for Your Own Aged Care in Your 30s, 40s and 50s: How Super Fits In
15:20 - What Aged Care Facilities Are Really Like Today: Luxury Apartments and Happy Hours
16:09 - Refundable Accommodation Deposits (RADs) Explained: From $600K to $3.5M
17:51 - What Chat Should You Have With Your Parents? Wills, Enduring Power of Attorney and Guardianship
19:39 - Why Last-Minute Aged Care Means Less Choice (and What to Do Instead)
20:19 - How to Financially Plan for Your Elderly Parents: Goals-Based Advice and Ageing-Friendly Homes
21:32 - Retirement Village Red Flags: Contracts, Ownership Types and Why You Need Legal Advice
23:08 - The One Small Action: Start the Conversation Today

RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE

My Aged Care phone line: 1800 200 422 is the number to call to apply for support.
My Aged Care, Support at Home - https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/support-at-home
My Aged Care, Commonwealth Home Support Program - https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/aged-care-programs/commonwealth-home-support-program
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Support at Home - https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/support-at-home

CONNECT WITH BRENDA WILL

Website: https://bruiningpartners.com.au/our_expertise/aged-care-advice/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brenda-will-77607056/

CONNECT WITH LADIES FINANCE CLUB

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Newsletter: https://www.ladiesfinanceclub.com/newsletter23

TAKEAWAYS

SOUND BITES

  "Start opening up conversations about later retirement earlier."

"Support at home is a package of money provided by the government."

"Going into residential care can be a good option for very isolated people."

TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00] Welcome back to another episode of Get Rich. So what would happen financially if mom or dad suddenly needed aged care and could you afford it? This week on Get Rich, I'm chatting with Brenda Wills, financial advisor and aged care specialist, about the real cost of aged care in Australia and the financial surprises families face and why planning ahead is so important, and it really does matter.

[00:00:25] Plus, we do a great little section on how to actually have that tricky conversation with your parents before the crisis hits. Now, remember, if you haven't checked out our directory, we've got some incredible financial advisors, mortgage brokers, money coaches all in there. Just head to our website and go to our directory.

[00:00:42] Yeah, Molly's a big fan as well. All right, let's get into this week's episode Brenda, welcome to the podcast.

[00:00:50] Thanks very much for having me, Molly.

[00:00:52] Okay, so we are talking about aged care, and I have to be pretty open and honest, I don't know much about this topic at all. So I'm looking to you for a bit of guidance here.

[00:01:04] But also why I wanted to have this conversation was we started getting our followers reach out to us and be like, "Hey, I'm about to navigate this. Do you have any resources? Is there anything you can do to point us in the right direction?" I guess then for those people who are like, "Literally, where do I start?"

[00:01:21] Where do we start when it comes to this conversation?

[00:01:24] Yeah, that's a really good question, Molly. And to be honest, you're not alone. Most people don't know anything about aged care until it's thrust upon them. It's not exactly a popular topic, so thanks for having me on today, but it's a topic that we all really need to know about, right?

[00:01:37] Mm. Yeah. Because statistically, it's gonna happen to us at some stage. And if it doesn't happen to us, it's gonna happen to our parents or our grandparents or people we know and people that we care for.

[00:01:46] Yeah.

[00:01:47] And the whole thing about aged care, it's super complicated.

[00:01:50] Mm.

[00:01:50] And there's a lot to understand about the system.

[00:01:53] There's been changes to the rules. There's lots of delays into getting into the system. You know, you can't just get it as soon as you decide, "Okay, I'm ready for it now." You've got to actually be planning ahead. So I guess the biggest thing is to start opening up conversations about later retirement- Mm

[00:02:10] earlier. People have a big negative sort of connotations around later retirement. They think, "Oh, this is gonna be terrible, and I don't wanna talk about it. I don't wanna think about it." Yeah. But to be honest, I see so many amazing people aging really well- Yeah ... just by being a little bit more prepared, educated, and knowledgeable about how to go about it.

[00:02:29] Yes, 'cause just reflecting on my own situation, I don't know when I would have that conversation with my parents. I feel like they'd be like, "Who are you to have this conversation with us?" Like, so how do you find people bring it up with their parents to be like, "Hey, I know you don't need it anytime soon, and you might not even go into aged care, but should we have a conversation about it?"

[00:02:52] Like, how do you have that?

[00:02:53] Yeah. Absolutely, and everyone's different, right? Because parents are different.

[00:02:58] Yeah.

[00:02:58] Some parents are very resistant or very private, don't wanna talk about it. Mm-mm. Don't like thinking about it. Yeah. Whereas other ones will embrace it. And of course, parents' health is different as well.

[00:03:07] Yeah. Like, if there is cognitive decline, dementia's really common now. You know- Yeah ... it's the biggest cause of death in Australia, so you really need to get in before these sorts of things happen. So every family is different- Mm ... but you do need to start raising these conversations sooner. Mm. Because, for example, do you talk to your parents about getting will done?

[00:03:26] Yeah

[00:03:27] And if they've got a will done, who's the executor of the will?

[00:03:30] Hmm.

[00:03:30] If it's you that's responsible, are you also the power of attorney? And does that mean that if they have a health crisis and they're in hospital, that you need to handle their finances? Hmm. And if you do, do you even understand what their financial position is?

[00:03:42] Yeah. Or what they would want to happen? Do they want to stay living in their house forever? Do they want to downsize? Do they want to go to a retirement village? Are they accepting of care? These are conversations that are in parents' best interests. I realize it's hard to have them with some parents.

[00:03:57] Mm-hmm. But really, every child has to find that right time to gently, kindly bring it up, because it's better now than later down the track.

[00:04:06] I like that entry in, that you could have the conversation like, "Hey, have you guys done your will yet? Let's talk powers of attorney while we're here. Like, what is the plan?"

[00:04:17] Yeah, what

[00:04:17] do you want? Not that, you know, what do you want? I like that entry in.

[00:04:21] And that's the irony. People don't wanna talk about it because they think it's gonna be terrible, but to get a good result, you really need to be talking about it. You need to be more proactive- Yeah ... about it, so.

[00:04:30] Ladies, have that conversation with your parents, and would love to know how you go with that as well, and if you found a good entry in.

[00:04:38] Let us know. Shoot us an Instagram message. So can you break down the different types of HK in Australia? So I know people can stay at home, and then there's obviously, like, residential care.

[00:04:51] Absolutely. There's actually lots available out there that people need to be aware of so they can choose their own path, right?

[00:04:58] What they prefer. So everything from staying in your own home, in which case you need to make your home aging-friendly, which is a whole conversation in itself. Getting support at home, which can be government-subsidized support. If you want government-subsidized support, which I suggest that you do, because it will save you some money, then you need to get into the process and understand how to get that, 'cause it takes quite a long time to get into the Commonwealth Home Support Program.

[00:05:25] But more importantly, the Support at Home Program, which has been in the news a lot lately, that takes a long time to get into. All the way through to changing accommodation, so whether that means your house is too much work, it's too big for you, it's too high-maintenance. Do you wanna consider a retirement village?

[00:05:42] Do you want to consider a co-living arrangement with a child, like a granny flat arrangement? I get a lot of questions about that, but that's a big undertaking, right? To consider moving in with family again. How is that gonna work?

[00:05:55] Yeah.

[00:05:56] Versus downsizing, versus at the sort of towards the end of the process considering residential care if that's what you need.

[00:06:04] Mm-hmm. And when you say it takes a while to get into these programs, what are we talking? Are we talking, like, a few weeks, a few years? Months?

[00:06:13] Yeah, months to years typically.

[00:06:15] Wow.

[00:06:16] So there's a lot of pressure on the, um, Support at Home program at the moment. The rules changed November last year. There's always been long waiting lists- Yeah

[00:06:27] of people trying to get into the system. But really at the moment there's multiple stages where you're waiting. You're waiting to get assessed to go into the system, so that wait could be a few months, let's say. Depends, it varies. Some people a lot longer. And then once you get that assessment- Mm-hmm ... and you're waiting for that home care to start, you could be waiting on average at the moment they're saying 10 months.

[00:06:50] Wow.

[00:06:50] It is prioritized to a degree, but I've had people waiting for certainly longer than a year as well. Gosh. So you want to be prepared for that.

[00:06:56] And what does that program give you? So does it give you people to help you?

[00:07:00] Yeah, essentially it's a package of money. Okay. Support at Home is a package of money provided by the government- Mm

[00:07:06] which you can use to pay for services in your home to keep you independent and safe at home for as long as possible.

[00:07:13] Okay.

[00:07:13] Those services can be varying. They can be clinical care, allied health, can be domestic help, can be carers coming in to help you change, shower, medicate- Mm ... eat, transportation, companion care, et cetera.

[00:07:27] So it's really broad, and it can be really helpful if you get it at the right time.

[00:07:31] Awesome. Now, obviously we are a finance money podcast, so let's talk some numbers. How much does aged care really cost? So I guess, so now when we say aged care, we're not talking about, like, in a residential place, but how does it work for the different, I guess, options financially?

[00:07:50] Yeah. This is a really important discussion to be had, 'cause it varies enormously. If you start with support at home-

[00:07:58] Mm-hmm ...

[00:07:58] at home you'll be paying a contribution towards what the government has also given you to spend.

[00:08:04] Mm-hmm.

[00:08:05] And how much you contribute depends upon your financial position, if you're an age pensioner, self-funded retiree, or part-pensioner.

[00:08:12] So this is usually relatively manageable for people from a cash flow perspective. You might need to draw a bit of extra income from your super or something like that, but it tends to be fairly manageable. It is a bit more expensive now after the new system has come in, so people need to be aware of the fact that it's a bit more expensive now.

[00:08:29] And when you say new system, is this one that's just taken over and... Was there an old? Like, what's the old system?

[00:08:35] Yeah. So on the 1st of November last year- Mm ... 2025, the Aged Care Act changed.

[00:08:41] Okay.

[00:08:41] So prior to that, we had a different home care system, which to be honest, for a lot of people was way less expensive, way cheaper.

[00:08:50] Okay. So a lot of people received care at home without having to pay anything or paying a minimal amount.

[00:08:54] Yeah.

[00:08:55] Whereas under the new system for everyone who's gone into it after 1st of November last year, there is a more significant contribution that people have to pay depending on their age pension status, and also depending on what types of services you're gonna use.

[00:09:07] So worst case scenario, for example, if you've got a cleaning lady, a cleaner, and you're f- a self-funded retiree, you may pay 80% of the cost of that cleaner.

[00:09:18] Oh, wow. Okay.

[00:09:19] So if the cleaner costs 100 bucks, you might pay 80 bucks and the government only pays 20. Mm. Which is a lot more than in the old system where for a lot of people, they were getting a cleaner at no cost.

[00:09:29] Okay. That's good to know. So new system, more expensive. So really you fund it from your super and the pension?

[00:09:36] So you fund it out of your cash flows.

[00:09:38] Your cash flows.

[00:09:39] And it-

[00:09:39] Okay ...

[00:09:39] it is means tested. So generally- Okay ... speaking, if you've got more assets, more income, you may have to contribute more. Yeah. If you've got less assets, less income, you'll probably contribute less.

[00:09:50] Mm-hmm. So it is based on sort of affordability for that person. Yeah. But that's just Support at Home, because after that you go on to potentially residential care, where the cost is a lot more.

[00:10:00] Mm-hmm.

[00:10:01] And this is where you have to do a lot more financial gymnastics, upheavals, moving of assets, to try to afford the cost of residential care.

[00:10:09] Yeah. So that's what most people tend to talk about more, because it is the more difficult to navigate financially.

[00:10:16] And we're talking- So you pr- ... nursing home here,

[00:10:18] like a- Correct. Yeah, okay. Correct. When you can't manage at home anymore. Mm-hmm. And sometimes people will choose to go into residential care, 'cause it can be a good option for people who are very isolated, for example.

[00:10:28] Yeah.

[00:10:28] But other people, they'll wanna stay at home for as long as possible.

[00:10:31] Yeah.

[00:10:32] But they may reach a stage where it's just not possible anymore, or it becomes too expensive. Mm-hmm. 'Cause even the Support at Home program, it won't cover everything. It won't cover 24/7 care. Like, it'll cover enough for maybe two visits a day or a visit a day or something like that, depending on what services you're using.

[00:10:49] But after that, if that's not enough, like if you've got advanced dementia and you need 24/7 supervision- Yeah ... it's not gonna cover it, in which case you're gonna have to pay privately, which then becomes super expensive. I've got clients who try to pay privately for full-time care, and you're looking at maybe eight grand a week, something like that- Yeah

[00:11:07] in your own home, plus then you've gotta pay for all your household expenses as well. Ooh. Whereas if you go into residential care, then you're sharing staff with other people. Yeah. Your fees include your food and your electricity and all that kind of stuff. Yeah. So it gets to a point where it actually becomes a more practical option from a financial perspective.

[00:11:25] Financial.

[00:11:26] But also from a care perspective, you know. It's a lot to be at home with one person looking after you 24/7.

[00:11:33] Yeah, big time. That's a huge stretch on that person. So what would you say are the biggest shocks when they, after they have a conversation with you? And sorry, please do tell the audience what you do as well.

[00:11:44] But what would you say are the biggest, like, people are just going, "Oh, I didn't know that."

[00:11:48] Yeah, I get that a lot. So I am a aged care financial advisor. So I'm a financial advisor that specializes in giving people aged care advice. Mm-hmm. Typically, people come to me to find out how to fund care when there is an urgent need and that's because none of us like to think about it in advance, right?

[00:12:08] No. So people put their heads in the sand and they delay, delay, delay. Don't wanna think about it. Don't wanna talk about it. And then something terrible happens. Fall.

[00:12:17] Yeah.

[00:12:17] Broken hip, pneumonia, whatever it is. In hospital, can't go home. Mm. Must find residential care. And obviously there's a lot of pressure on the hospital system.

[00:12:26] Yeah.

[00:12:26] Gotta vacate the bed as quickly as possible. Gotta find an aged care position as quickly as possible, and that's often when people come to me in a big stress because they're under pressure to find a spot.

[00:12:36] Mm-hmm.

[00:12:37] It's hard to find spots, and it's very hard to get your head around how the costings work for aged care, particularly when you're in a stressed out situation.

[00:12:46] Oh my gosh. Not a great time to be making big financial-

[00:12:49] No ...

[00:12:50] decisions. No. So, so I guess that's the biggest shock that a lot of people have- Yeah ... is just dealing with everything at the same time.

[00:12:55] Yeah.

[00:12:55] And trying to understand that it actually costs a lot to have someone move into an aged care facility and have 24/7 care.

[00:13:05] It costs a lot. Pe- some people think, "Oh, well, I've worked my whole life, and it should be covered by the government."

[00:13:10] Yeah.

[00:13:10] It's really not the case anymore. There are a small percentage of the population who are of genuinely low means- Yeah ... where the government will cover a large amount of the costs.

[00:13:19] Yeah.

[00:13:19] But the system is now that the more money you've got, the more the government will expect you to contribute towards the cost of your care before they're gonna pick up the full bill.

[00:13:28] And just for the people who are like, "Oh gosh, I'm gonna be reliant on the pension. I don't have much in my super," and they might be listening, so the government will foot some of that bill?

[00:13:39] Yeah, absolutely. The aged care system in Australia is government subsidized Okay It's just a question of how much subsidy you get. Mm. So if you're wealthy, you're not gonna get much.

[00:13:48] No.

[00:13:48] But if you are of low means, genuinely, then you can get quite a lot of the cost of your care subsidized. But you need to jump through certain hoops to show that.

[00:13:57] And for example, you can't just give all your money away. Some people say to me, "Oh, I'm just gonna give all my money away and then I can get subsidized aged care." But there's gifting rules. Yeah. The government have lots of ways to check if you've done anything to change your situation- Okay ... that is gonna cost them more.

[00:14:17] So it's really important to be on top of all of these things sooner rather than later.

[00:14:21] So then I guess for a lot of our listeners who are maybe between 30, 40, and 50, how can they start planning for their own aged care? And I guess how does super play into that?

[00:14:33] Yeah, that's a good question, and it's a really hard question- Mm

[00:14:36] in lots of ways because the environment's changing.

[00:14:39] Yeah.

[00:14:39] Super environment's changing, the aged care environment's changing. We're in a, such a, a changing time. Mm-hmm. But the bottom line is, is that people say to me, "Oh, Brenda, I wish I didn't have all this money because now I'm gonna have to pay for care."

[00:14:51] But personally, I would much rather have money and pay more for care, and have some choice about where I go.

[00:14:58] 100%.

[00:14:59] Otherwise, if you have no money, the government will help pay for you, but you're not gonna get the penthouse suite. You're probably gonna get the most basic, smallest room. It might be a shared room, might be a shared bathroom.

[00:15:10] You have less choice.

[00:15:11] Yeah.

[00:15:12] So fundamentally, by strengthening your own financial position-

[00:15:16] Yeah ...

[00:15:16] I think it gives you more choice if and when that time comes.

[00:15:20] Yeah, I wanna be in the aged care facility where they have cocktail hour.

[00:15:23] Oh, yeah.

[00:15:24] I was wa- I was watching a US TV show and I was like, "That's the kind of retirement home I wanna be living in.

[00:15:28] That looks fun."

[00:15:29] They do have happy hours. They have absolutely, absolutely have happy hours. And aged care facilities are changing, right? Yeah. People have got this mindset that it's gonna be this horrible little hospital bed type situation. There is a massive range of them out there. It's actually an industry where there's been a huge amount of innovation because we have an aging population.

[00:15:47] Mm. And people are wanting, demanding much more than generations before. Yeah. So I've been to facilities where it looks like a luxury apartment- Yeah ... with balconies and a view. Yeah. And it's got technology fitted into it- Yeah ... so that they can know if you fall over or if there's any problems. Yeah. People visiting you and all these kinds of things.

[00:16:05] Yeah. So there is a huge range out there. Yeah. But you just need to be ready for it.

[00:16:09] Absolutely. Okay, we had some questions from our community that I wanted to ask you, and these have literally come straight from our ladies. So one of them was talking about aged care home bonds. If you have more money, they take more money, and I was like, "I don't even know what an aged care home bond is."

[00:16:27] So maybe could you shed some light on this and if it is a thing?

[00:16:32] Yeah. I'm guessing this person is referring to what we used to call an accommodation bond in aged care. So aged care has, has had lots of changes in rules and naming of things. But in the past, you would pay a lump sum to enter an aged care facility called an accommodation bond.

[00:16:50] Now, these days they've changed the name, and it's now called Refundable Accommodation Deposit, a RAD. But essentially it's the same kind of thing, where you pay a lump sum to enter into an aged care facility to buy your accommodation, if you like, and that's a large lump sum. And that lump sum amount will vary depending upon which facility you choose and which room you choose in the facility.

[00:17:12] So if you want the standard base room, it might be, I don't know, $600,000. If you want the fancy room with the panoramic views and all the mod cons in the, the nicest suburb, you might pay $3.5 million. So it varies depending on the market really, what the facility feels that they can sell that room for.

[00:17:37] The exception to that is those people we talked about who are genuinely of low means. For people in that category, then the government will help cover some of that cost. But that's a minority of people. The majority of people will pay the advertised cost for that room.

[00:17:51] Wow. Well, we've talked a little bit about this.

[00:17:54] So this question was, what chat should we have with our parents to set them up for aged care? So I guess it's probably just having a chat about like, "Hey, what do you want it to look like? Do you wanna stay in your house? Do you want..." Yeah, is that it? Is it like you actually just sitting down having that awkward conversation?

[00:18:11] Yeah. It's like eating an elephant, isn't it? You just wanna take one little nibble at a time. Yeah. Um, so for parents, yeah, absolutely talking about wills is usually an easy entry point.

[00:18:22] Yeah.

[00:18:22] Talking about enduring power of attorney, enduring powers of guardianship- Yeah ... are really important too. For a lot of clients that I've had who are retirees who are not yet in aged care, then having those kids come along to their financial advice meetings- Yeah

[00:18:35] their review meetings with their advisor, can be really helpful as well. Yeah. Because, you know, this is all a natural part of having someone help you, support you as you get older. So yeah, raising those discussions and even just getting a little bit of involvement with finances earlier- Mm ... assuming you're in that responsible position-

[00:18:54] Yeah

[00:18:54] is really important. And parents can accept the fact that they're gonna die, that's why they're doing a will.

[00:19:00] Mm.

[00:19:00] Statistically, and really, we all know that we are going to get older and things are gonna change. We don't like to think about it, but retirement isn't gonna be Grey Nomad Adventures like throughout retirement.

[00:19:12] Yeah. There will be that for a period, and there'll be a period where parents are might be, have a quieter time living at home in retirement.

[00:19:18] Yeah.

[00:19:19] And then there's a period where there's health issues. Yeah. This is just the normal, normal world for us now, unless you get hit by a bus halfway through. Yeah.

[00:19:26] That's just the aging process. So it's- Yeah ... it's planning for that so you can actually have some choice. And that's the thing, parents need to be given choice. But they can't have that choice, make that decision- Mm ... unless it's discussed and shared with the responsible people.

[00:19:39] Yeah. And I feel like even just thinking about my own grandma's situation is exactly what you said happened.

[00:19:45] It was like she had a fall, she couldn't be back home. They had to find a place to put her ASAP. And it's kind of like- There was like, there could have been planning along the way, but that wasn't done.

[00:19:59] Yeah. And- It happens last minute like that, you'll usually get a spot, but is it the spot that you want?

[00:20:04] Yeah. Yeah. So you have less choice. You just gotta take what's available, right? Yeah. Whereas if you've done the, the due diligence beforehand, you'll know which places you like 'cause you've been there and you've seen them. Yeah. Yeah. And you've got your name on the wait list there. Yeah. So yeah, you have a lot more choice that way.

[00:20:19] Two last questions from the community. How to financial plan for my elderly parents, I help them plan. I mean, I think for those people who are in the situation where they can afford it, it's worth seeking financial advice. Absolutely. 'Cause it's complicated.

[00:20:34] Yeah. Advice and planning is really important, right?

[00:20:37] Mm. 'Cause we know that planning helps us achieve a better outcome. Yeah. We plan for weddings, we plan for early retirement, we plan for lots of stuff, but sometimes we have a bit of a negative idea about what something is, so then we suddenly don't wanna plan for it, but that just makes it worse. Mm. So really, kids need to encourage parents to plan ahead.

[00:20:58] Mm.

[00:20:58] Part of that is getting a financial plan in place. Yeah. Part of that is just talking about what their goals are. Financial planning is very much goals-based, right? Yeah. So is your goal to stay in your house for as long as possible? Yes? Mm. Okay, then we need to do something about the staircase. We need to have an aging-friendly home.

[00:21:17] Yeah. We, it needs to be low-maintenance. It needs to be set up in a way- Yeah ... that you have a good chance of living there for as long as possible. Yeah. 'Cause if you just put your head in the sand, don't deal with that kinda stuff, it's just gonna mean you ha- gonna have to go into care sooner.

[00:21:30] Yeah. Such good advice.

[00:21:32] And final question was, what other things to ask when exploring retirement living arrangements for my mother? I mean, we've chatted about a couple of different ones, but the actual, like, retirement homes as such, are there any that you've come across that you're like, "Oh, it's important to make sure you check this," or that's a red flag?

[00:21:53] There is... Yeah, there is so much to check out, and there's a lot in this space, right? It's a really varied space. Mm-hmm. All these people that don't really feel like they should be in the family home anymore- Yeah ... but they're not ready for residential care, they're in this kind of gray area, and there's lots of people there trying to find the right solution.

[00:22:11] Yeah. So that can be retirement villages, it can be granny flat arrangements- Mm-hmm ... it can be downsizing. And even in the retirement village space, there's so many different ownership agreements and contracts that you can have. Mm-hmm. You could be strata titled, you could be rental, you could be lifetime leasehold.

[00:22:27] You could be, uh, all kinds of different things- Mm ... which all have different end results from a legal and a financial perspective. So I guess, again, the advice would be shop around, don't leave it to the last minute.

[00:22:41] Mm-hmm.

[00:22:42] And always, these types of arrangements, particularly with retirement villages, have notoriously long contracts that are- Yeah

[00:22:48] really important for you to understand. Mm. So that means you need to be prepared to get legal advice and financial advice. Mm. Which I know a lot of people don't want to do, but- Yeah ... it's a lot of money that you're spending on your, your home that's hopefully gonna be your home forevermore.

[00:23:02] Yeah.

[00:23:02] It's really important to, to invest that little bit of money to get professional advice and make sure it's gonna be the right place for you.

[00:23:08] All righty. Okay. Thank you so much, Brenda. This has been great. If we were to say after listening to this conversation you want someone to take one small action, what would that one small action be?

[00:23:21] I think it's having the conversations. So we have to not be afraid to talk about these sorts of things.

[00:23:29] Yeah.

[00:23:29] I know it can be uncomfortable, but there's lots of uncomfortable things we talk about in life, right? Yeah. So we need to open the conversations, and there's lots of information available out there.

[00:23:37] Mm-hmm.

[00:23:37] I work at Bruning Partners. We have a quick reference guide library. You can log on there and get hold of a, of a quick reference guide of things to think about when you're caring for older parents and...

[00:23:48] Or you can check me out on LinkedIn. I post all the time about tips of what you can do. Just open that door a bit, one bite at a time-

[00:23:56] Mm-hmm ... and

[00:23:56] open up those conversations.

[00:23:58] Brenda, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your knowledge on the podcast.

[00:24:03] Thanks for having me, Molly.

KEYWORDS
aged care, Australia, financial planning, retirement, support at home, residential care, aged care costs, family conversations, retirement villages, aged care system