From 1 November 2026 extra or additional service fee arrangements a residential aged care provider has with a pre-1 November 2025 resident needs to have ceased or transitioned to the Higher Everyday Living Fee (HELF) arrangement.
What is the Higher Everyday Living Fee in residential aged care?
The HELF was introduced by the new Aged Care Act 2024 (Act). The HELF replaces both the extra service fee and additional service fee arrangements, which existed under the previous Aged Care Act 1997 (previous Act).
The HELF is a fee for residents in ongoing or short-term residential aged care who elect to receive from their provider services that are either:
required to be delivered under the Act but delivered to a higher standard than what is required by the Act; or
in addition to the services required to be provided under the Act.
It is optional for a provider to offer HELF services, and it is also optional for a resident to choose to receive HELF services.
Residents that entered residential care from 1 November 2025 will already be on the HELF arrangements, if this is offered by their provider.
When do extra and additional service fees end?
Although HELF commenced on 1 November 2025, transitional arrangements allow extra service fee and additional service fee arrangements between providers and pre-1 November 2025 residents to continue up to 31 October 2026.
Those transitional arrangements end on 31 October 2026.
For those providers that wish to continue offering, and residents who wish to continue receiving, the extra services or additional services these will need to be under the new HELF arrangements.
What should providers do ahead of 31 October 2026?
With the end of the transition period fast approaching providers need to be considering if:
they have any extra service fee or additional service fee arrangements in place that need to cease from 1 November 2026; and
if so, are they going to:
offer HELF services to replace those extra or additional services; or
cease delivering (or charging for) these services all together.
If a provider decides to completely cease delivering the extra or additional services and not offer HELF services as an alternative, the provider should be communicating to residents that the extra services or additional services (as applicable) will cease from 1 November 2026 and what this means for the resident.
What steps should residential aged care providers take before 1 November 2026?
If a provider decides to continue offering the extra services or additional services as HELF services, the provider should:
review these services against the residential care service list and the Act to ensure the provider is entitled to charge a HELF for the service;
advise residents of the upcoming end to extra services or additional services (as applicable) and the replacement HELF services available to the resident, including timeframes for when the changes are occurring and what this means for the resident;
if a resident elects to receive a HELF service, provide clear information to the resident about:
the required disclosure information for the HELF service;
any Higher Everyday Living Agreement the resident needs to enter into to receive the service;
what are the changes from the previous arrangement under extra services or additional services.
Providers should also consider what operational changes are needed due to the transition such as:
training for staff as relevant to their specific roles, including onboarding staff, care and lifestyle staff, administration staff and financial and accounts staff;
changes to billing and financial systems; and
changes to policies and procedures.
What are the risks if a residential aged care provider gets HELF wrong?
The HELF is already receiving significant regulatory attention. It is highly regulated under the new Act and providers need to be careful to ensure compliance with the requirements. Since the introduction of HELF, compliance by providers with the requirements is receiving heighted attention from the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
What should providers do now?
We can assist providers with their HELF obligations, including transitioning pre-1 November 2025 residents, template Higher Everyday Living Agreements, reviewing if services qualify for HELF and advice on a provider’s HELF obligations under the Act.
Cowell Clarke’s dedicated Aged Care and Retirement Living Team continues to work closely with operators and aged care entities to ensure their best possible outcomes are achieved whilst ensuring compliance.
If your organisation still has residents on extra service fee or additional service fee arrangements, contact us to discuss your transition ahead of 1 November 2026. For further information, please contact our Aged Care, Retirement Living and Health Team
This article is for general information only and cannot be relied upon as legal advice. Do not act on the basis of this document but seek specific advice from your legal adviser.
Megan Jongebloed and Helena Errey-White wish to thank Ashley McConnell-Daish for her contribution to this insight.
This publication has been prepared for general guidance on matters of interest only and does not constitute professional legal advice. You should not act upon the information contained in this publication without obtaining specific professional legal advice. No representation or warranty (express or implied) is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this publication and to the extent permitted by law, Cowell Clarke does not accept or assume any liability, responsibility or duty of care for any consequences of you or anyone else acting or refraining to act in relation on the information contained in this publication or for any decision based on it.