Residential respite care over Christmas and the summer holidays can fill early. As a guide, start enquiries six to eight weeks ahead and aim to have a place confirmed by mid-November for a stay starting before Christmas, although booking windows vary between homes. Before you book, check that the person you care for has an aged care assessment approving residential respite and enough of their 63 subsidised days left this financial year. Respite isn’t means tested and there’s no accommodation payment, although a booking fee may apply.
Key Takeaways
- Holiday respite fills early, so aim to confirm a place by mid-November for a stay before Christmas.
- Subsidised residential respite is capped at 63 days per financial year, so days used since 1 July already count.
- An aged care assessor may approve up to 21 extra days, but an extension isn’t automatic.
- You pay the basic daily fee and possibly a booking fee, with no means-tested fees or accommodation payment.
Christmas can be a busy time for residential respite care. If you need a place across Christmas, New Year or the January school holidays, it pays to enquire well before December.
Booking early comes down to a few checks you can make now: whether the approval is in place, how many respite days are left and what the stay will cost.
When Should You Book Respite for Christmas?
As a guide, start enquiries six to eight weeks before a holiday respite stay, although booking windows vary between homes. For a stay that starts in the week before Christmas, aim to start your enquiries in late October and have a place confirmed by mid-November.
Settle your dates before you start calling, including the day you leave and the day you’re back. Some homes set a minimum length of stay and won’t hold a place without firm dates, so knowing yours speeds up every conversation.
Has the Person You Care for Been Approved for Residential Respite?
A planned subsidised residential respite stay needs an approval from an aged care assessment. Don’t assume approval for permanent residential care or respite services at home covers residential respite, so check the Notice of Decision to confirm residential respite is listed.
If there’s no approval yet, apply through My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 or online now. Assessment wait times vary, and an application lodged in December may not be finalised in time for Christmas.
How Many Respite Days Are Left This Financial Year?
Many people assume respite days reset on 1 January. They don’t. The 63 days of subsidised residential respite run per financial year and reset on 1 July.
That means a Christmas stay draws on the same allowance as any respite used since July. If the person you care for spent three weeks in respite after a hospital stay in August, for example, those days have already come out of the 63.
If 63 days won’t be enough, an aged care assessor can approve extensions of up to 21 days at a time. An extension isn’t automatic, so raise it with the aged care home when you book and arrange it before any additional subsidised days are used.
Some aged care homes also offer private respite, where you pay the full cost of the stay rather than receiving a government subsidy.
Keep your own note of the days used at each stay. Services Australia’s records can take time to update.
What Does Residential Respite Care Cost?
Residential respite isn’t means tested, so income and assets don’t determine the basic daily fee. There’s no accommodation payment either, because aged care homes can’t charge accommodation costs for respite.
The main cost is the basic daily fee, which contributes to meals, cleaning, laundry, heating and cooling. It’s set at up to 85% of the single basic Age Pension and is indexed on 20 March and 20 September. See the current Schedule of Aged Care Fees and Charges for the current amount.
Some homes also charge a booking fee to hold the place. It’s capped at the lower of one week’s fees or 25% of the fees for the whole stay, and it comes off your daily fees once the stay begins.
The booking fee and the cancellation rules go together. Cancel more than seven days before the stay and you get the booking fee back in full. Cancel within seven days and the home may keep some or all of it, although it must be refunded in some situations, such as a hospital admission.
For stays starting from 1 November 2025, some homes offer an optional higher everyday living fee for a higher standard of everyday services. It can only be agreed after the person enters care and can’t be a condition of entry. A written agreement has a 28-day cooling-off period, although you still pay for services already received.
If the fees are unaffordable for reasons outside your control, you can apply for Financial Hardship Assistance to help with the basic daily fee. You’ll need to complete an aged care means assessment first.
Read our article How to Get Government-Funded Short-Term Respite Care for more on eligibility and subsidies.
How Do You Book a Respite Place?
- Confirm the approval and days. Check that residential respite is listed on the Notice of Decision and that enough days remain this financial year.
- Shortlist aged care homes. Contact homes in your preferred area directly, or use a free placement service such as Aged Care Decisions to see which have respite places over your dates.
- Check the minimum stay and booking fee. Both vary between homes, and either can rule a home in or out before you go further.
- Get everything in writing. Make sure the dates, fees and cancellation terms are in the agreement before you pay a booking fee.
- Arrange transport both ways. Confirm arrival and departure times with the home so the handover runs to plan.
What If You’ve Left It Late?
If you’re booking within a few weeks of Christmas, widening your search area and being flexible on dates may help you find a place. A home 20 minutes further away may have a bed when closer homes don’t.
Residential respite isn’t the only option. Depending on your eligibility, you may be able to access respite at home or at a day centre through Support at Home or the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP). CHSP also offers cottage respite, which is a short overnight or weekend stay in a community setting. These options are funded differently from residential respite and may suit a shorter break. Read our article What Is Respite Care in Aged Care? to compare them.
Emergency respite is a different service again. Carer Gateway can help arrange it at short notice, where available, when you suddenly can’t provide care because of an illness or injury. It isn’t designed to cover a planned holiday, but if that situation comes up over the break, call Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737.
What Should You Prepare Before the Stay?
Aged care homes usually ask for medical and care information before a respite stay begins. Gather the following, along with anything else the home requests:
- GP and medical summaries
- An up-to-date medication list and any medication chart requested by the home
- The Support at Home care plan, if they have one
- Emergency and family contact details
- Labelled clothing for the length of the stay
- Glasses, hearing aids, dentures and mobility aids
A written summary of their routine, including sleep times, food preferences and how they like personal care done, helps staff keep things familiar from the first day. Read our article A Guide to Preparing for Respite Care for the full checklist.
How Our Free Service Helps
Finding a respite place over the holidays comes down to knowing which homes have beds on your dates. That’s where we come in.
- Current availability: we check which aged care homes in our network have respite places over your dates, so you’re not ringing around homes that are already full
- Matched options: we listen to the care needs, location and budget, then shortlist homes in our network that fit
- Independent advice: we’re independent, and we don’t take payment from you. Participating providers pay us a fee, which is the same for all providers.
- No obligation: you decide which home to book, and when
Respite approvals and extensions are handled by My Aged Care and aged care assessors, so we can’t approve days or extend them. We can help identify suitable respite options in our network, but availability can change quickly, particularly over the holiday period.
So, contact us for your free Options Report today.
Here’s how our 100% FREE, FAST, and INDEPENDENT service works:
