Care Accommodation Pricing

Mareeba Aged Care is a two-storey, 119 bed purpose-built facility which opened its doors in 1981. Since then there have been extensions in 2002 and 2009 as well as ongoing refurbishments to maintain the excellent standard of the facility.

Fees And Charges

We recommend that anyone contemplating entering aged care whether it be Residential or to receive Home Care, obtain specific advice from an accredited Aged Care Financial Advisor in order to protect your families assets and to ensure the most beneficial outcome for your family.

Residents are required to pay fees as assessed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) and Centrelink. These may include:

  • A Basic Daily Care Fee
  • A co-contribution
  • Where determined by Centrelink or DVA, an accommodation payment

Basic Daily Care Fee

The Basic Daily Care Fee is set by the government and equates to 85% of the single pension for pensioners and 96.5% of the single pension for non-pensioners. These amounts vary from time to time as the level of the pension increases.

Co-Contribution

The co-contribution is an amount which is assessed by Centrelink or the Department of Veterans Affairs (if the person is a veteran). It is the amount which the government agency determines as the amount which the resident can pay towards the cost of their care. These amounts are subject to Yearly and Lifetime caps which are set at the time of the resident’s entry to residential care and which are indexed in accordance with the CPI. Further information is available on www.centrelink.gov.au.

Accommodation Payments

The Accommodation Payment is set by the Board of Mareeba Aged Care Pty Ltd and is varied from time to time. They are only applicable to those residents entering on or after 1 July 2014 who Centrelink or DVA determines as having the asset base to afford such a payment. All Refundable Accommodation Deposits (RADs) are as the name indicates – fully refundable. Any RAD paid to Mareeba is refunded to you in full unless you request certain payments be deducted from your RAD.

The maximum Refundable Accommodation Deposits (RADs) and the corresponding Daily Accommodation Payments (DAPs) are as follows:


Room Type Quantity RAD DAP
1 bedroom suite with ensuite & private lounge 2 $500,000 $81.64
1 bedroom with ensuite & kitchenette 14 $360,000 $58.78
1 bedroom with ensuite 64 $345,000 $56.33
1 bedroom with shared ensuite 1 $305,000 $49.80
Double room with ensuite & kitchenette 2 $360,000 $58.78
Double room with ensuite 4 $250,000 per bed $40.82
Double room with shared ensuite 13 $250,000 per bed $40.82



Residents have the right to choose which option would best suit their financial arrangements. Those options are:

  • To pay the RAD wholly by lump sum payment, or
  • To pay the RAD as a daily payment (known as a DAP), or
  • To pay the RAD by a combination of lump sum and daily payment

Within 28 days of entering the facility residents must advise the management of Mareeba Aged Care which option they wish to choose. If this is not done the management of Mareeba Aged Care will implement the preferred option of the Board of Mareeba Aged Care Pty Ltd.

From the date of entry, and pending advice of the resident’s preferred option of payment, residents will be charged the Daily Accommodation Payment. Where the resident chooses to pay by lump sum (RAD), the DAP will be charged until the lump sum is paid.

It is recommended that you seek advice from a financial planner to see which payment option best suits your financial arrangements.

The Accommodation Payment can also be paid by a combination of the lump sum (RAD) and daily payment (DAP). This is done by the resident electing to pay a percentage of the RAD as a lump sum and the remainder as a daily payment. The daily payment is calculated by applying the Maximum Permissible Interest Rate (MPIR) to the unpaid lump sum amount. See the following examples.

Resident A enters into a single room with ensuite and chooses to pay the RAD 20% as a lump sum and 80% as a daily payment. Resident A would therefore pay a lump sum of $64,000 and a daily payment (DAP) of $46.50. This daily payment is calculated as follows.

Unpaid lump sum $256,000
Maximum Permissible Interest Rate 6.63%
DAP ($256,000 x 6.63%) divided by 365 days $46.50


Resident B enters into a single room with ensuite and chooses to pay $60,000 as a lump sum and the remainder as a daily payment. Resident B would therefore pay a lump sum of $60,000 and a daily payment (DAP) of $47.23. This daily payment is calculated as follows.

Unpaid lump sum $260,000
Maximum Permissible Interest Rate 6.63%
DAP ($256,000 x 6.63%) divided by 365 days $47.23


Prospective residents who do not have the means to pay an accommodation payment are always welcome at Mareeba Aged Care.


Services not included in Accommodation Payment

Mareeba Aged Care offers an extensive range of services which are not taken into account in the Accommodation Payment and some of which will attract an Additional Services Charge. These include:

Personal services

  • Home cooked, culturally diverse meals
  • Hairdressing
  • Massage
  • Spiritual and emotional support
  • Music therapy programs
  • Multi-lingual staff
  • Escorts to appointments
  • Shopping trips and services
  • Stimulating recreational activities programs
  • Celebration of special events, national days and birthdays
  • Special barbeque breakfasts
  • Computer terminals for residents use
  • Bus for regular outings
  • Provision for telephone and data cabling in each room

Clinical and Other Services

  • 24 hour care by a registered nurse
  • Physiotherapy and rehabilitation care, where required
  • Podiatry and speech pathology, where required
  • Dental care
  • Optical care
  • Psychology services
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Respite and palliative care