By Steve Hadfield, AgedCareActionPlan.au · Last updated: 7 June 2026
Your provider takes their care management fee before a single hour of care is delivered. Under Support at Home, that fee is legally capped at 10% of your quarterly budget. On a Classification 3 budget, that's $548 per quarter. Most families never check whether the figure on their statement matches that cap — because nobody told them the cap existed.
Key facts
The care management fee covers your provider's cost of coordinating your care: managing your care plan, scheduling services, conducting reviews, and handling compliance obligations under the Aged Care Act 2024. It is drawn directly from your quarterly budget before services are delivered.
Under Support at Home (effective 1 November 2025), it is the only management-type fee your provider is permitted to charge. The old "package management fee" — which some providers charged at up to 30–40% under the former Home Care Package system — no longer exists. If you transitioned from a Home Care Package and your provider is still describing fees using old terminology, ask them to confirm in writing which fees now apply under Support at Home.
The care management fee is disclosed in your service agreement. If you signed your agreement before you knew to ask about this fee — that's common — check the specific percentage now. Then check your most recent quarterly statement. The statement decoder translates every line, including the care management fee entry.
Under the Aged Care Rules 2025, the care management fee is capped at 10% of your quarterly budget. That cap applies per quarter. Here is what it means in dollar terms at each classification level:
Figures effective 1 November 2025. Indexed annually on 1 July — figures above will be updated after 1 July 2026 indexation.
Not all providers charge the maximum. Some charge 7% or 8%. The cap is a ceiling, not a standard rate. A provider charging 8% on a Classification 4 budget leaves you with $148 more per quarter for actual care services — $594 more per year — compared to one charging 10%.
The administration fee is separate and is not legally capped — but it must be disclosed in your service agreement before you sign. If it wasn't disclosed, you can dispute it. See the section below for how to handle this.
Three steps. Takes two minutes.
Find the care management fee on your statement. It will be labelled "care management fee" or similar. If you can't locate it, the statement decoder explains every line.
Find your quarterly budget figure. Usually labelled "quarterly budget" or "funding allocation" on the same statement.
Divide the fee by the budget. If the result is above 0.10, your provider is above the legal cap.
Example
Care management fee $750 ÷ quarterly budget $5,491 = 0.137. That is 13.7% — 3.7 percentage points above the legal cap, representing an overcharge of $203 that quarter.
The overpayment calculator does this calculation for you and generates the exact wording to use with your provider if you're over.
No. Administration fees under Support at Home are not subject to a legal cap.
Your provider can charge an administration fee on top of the care management fee, but only if it was disclosed in your service agreement before you signed. It cannot be added retroactively. If it appears on your statement and was not in your original service agreement, you have grounds to dispute it.
The most common source of confusion is a combined "management and administration" fee presented without itemisation. Ask your provider to separate the care management fee from any administration fee in writing — the care management component is the one subject to the 10% cap, and the distinction matters when you're checking compliance.
Document it first, then act.
Calculate the overcharge. Use the overpayment calculator or the manual method above. Note the specific figures, the quarter, and the percentage.
Contact your provider in writing. Email creates a record. Say: "I've reviewed my [quarter] quarterly statement. My care management fee of $[X] represents [Y]% of my quarterly budget of $[Z]. The legal cap under the Aged Care Rules 2025 is 10% — $[correct cap amount]. Please provide an explanation and advise whether a refund applies."
If they don't respond, escalate. Contact the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission on 1800 951 822 (9am–5pm Monday–Friday). The ACQSC has explicit power to order refunds where overcharging is found. Free advocacy support is available through OPAN on 1800 700 600.
The ACQSC expanded its enforcement powers in 2026. Providers who overcharge are now exposed to regulatory action and public reporting — not just a note on their record. The risk profile for a provider ignoring a legitimate dispute has materially increased. The escalation ladder guide covers every step from provider contact through to formal complaint, with scripts for each stage.
Checking the maths takes two minutes. The problem is knowing when your quarter ends, knowing which classification budget figure to use after the annual indexation on 1 July each year, and remembering to do it every quarter for as long as your parent is in the system. Most families intend to check. The quarter closes. They didn't.
If that's your situation — every quarter, every year, with figures that change on 1 July — Navigator does this for you.
Every quarter, automatically. If the fee is correct, you hear nothing. If it isn't, you get the exact figures and the exact words to use.
Navigator — $29/month →Check your care management fee now
Enter your classification and the fee on your statement. The calculator tells you whether you're over the cap — and gives you the exact wording to send your provider.
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This guide is for information only — not legal, medical, or financial advice. Verified against the Aged Care Act 2024 and Aged Care Rules 2025. Check myagedcare.gov.au for current rates and rules.