SA457 Aged Care Form: How to Complete It Without Delays

The SA457 is the form Services Australia uses to calculate how much your parent contributes to the cost of residential aged care. Getting it wrong — or incomplete — causes processing delays that can hold up accommodation agreements and means-test fee reductions. Here is exactly how to complete it, with the documents you need to gather first.

What the SA457 Determines

The SA457 collects your parent's income and asset details for the residential aged care means assessment. Services Australia uses this information to calculate:

• The means-tested care fee (how much your parent pays toward daily care costs)
• The accommodation payment status (whether they pay the full RAD/DAP or receive government assistance)
• The hotelling contribution (up to $22.15/day)
• The Non-Clinical Care Contribution (up to $107.32/day, capped at $137,917.01 lifetime)

Without a completed SA457, your parent is treated as a full-fee-paying resident by default. If they actually qualify for reduced fees, you are overpaying until the form is processed.

Documents You Need Before Starting

Gather everything before you begin. Missing documents are the primary cause of processing delays.

Identity and registration:

• Medicare card number
• Centrelink Customer Reference Number (CRN) or DVA file number
• Tax File Number (optional but speeds processing)

Income documentation:

• Age Pension summary letter (if applicable)
• Superannuation income stream statements (account-based pension, allocated pension, annuity)
• Rental income leases and tax returns
• Any overseas pension or benefit statements
• Investment dividend statements
• Employment income (rare for residential aged care entrants, but include if applicable)

Asset documentation (three months of statements for each):

• All bank account statements (savings, term deposits, offset accounts)
• Superannuation accumulation balance statements
• Managed fund and share portfolio statements
• Investment property valuations
• Motor vehicle and caravan values
• Funeral bond details (exempt up to $15,000)
• Any gifting over $10,000 in a single year or $30,000 over five years

The Family Home: Exemption Rules

The family home is the most complex part of the SA457. Whether it counts as an assessable asset depends on who is still living there.

Protected person exemption: The home is completely exempt from the aged care means test if any of these people continue to reside in it:

• Your parent's spouse or partner
• A dependent child
• A carer who has lived in the home for at least two years while receiving a Centrelink income support payment
• A close relative who has lived in the home for at least five years while receiving income support

If no protected person lives there: The home's value is capped at $214,884.00 for the aged care means test as of 20 March 2026, even if the market value is significantly higher.

If the home is sold: The proceeds become fully assessable financial assets. However, the portion used to pay a Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD) is excluded from the Age Pension assets test.

Centrelink two-year rule: A vacant family home remains exempt from the Age Pension assets test for two years after your parent enters residential care. After two years, it becomes an assessable investment asset, which can reduce or eliminate the pension.

Deeming Rates

Services Australia applies deeming rates to calculate assumed income from financial assets (regardless of actual returns):

• 0.25% on the first $62,600 of financial assets (singles)
• 2.25% on anything above that threshold

These rates are current as of 2026 and are reviewed periodically.

Financial Hardship

If the means test produces contributions your parent genuinely cannot afford, Form SA462 allows them to apply for a hardship waiver. This is processed through Services Australia and can reduce or eliminate care fees.

Tips for Faster Processing

1. Submit all three months of statements — partial documentation gets sent back for completion
2. Complete every section — even if the answer is zero, leaving fields blank triggers review
3. Lodge early — submit the SA457 as soon as the decision to enter residential care is made, not after admission. Processing takes time and backdating is limited
4. Use a Financial Information Service (FIS) officer — free through Services Australia, they can help you complete the form correctly in a face-to-face appointment

The Australian Dementia Care Support Toolkit includes a pre-filled SA457 preparation checklist, family home decision worksheet, and means-test impact calculator to help you organise everything before lodging.

See more Australia guides →