Aged care RAD refunds
Updated 20 August 2026 · 5 minute read
If the person lived in residential aged care, the estate may be owed hundreds of thousands of dollars: the refundable accommodation deposit (RAD). The refund rules are tight, they favour the estate, and providers occasionally need reminding of them.
The rules
- The provider must refund the RAD within 14 days of being shown the grant of probate or letters of administration
- Interest at the base interest rate (BIR) accrues from death until refund during the lawful window
- A provider that misses the window owes the higher maximum permissible interest rate (MPIR) — late refunds cost them real money
- Refunds are government-guaranteed: if the provider becomes insolvent, the Accommodation Payment Guarantee Scheme pays the estate
The executor's sequence
Notify the facility promptly
They'll confirm the RAD balance and any permitted deductions (unpaid fees, agreed extras) — ask for the payout figure in writing.
Get the grant
For most families the RAD alone makes probate necessary — providers rarely release six-figure deposits on indemnities. Smaller RADs sometimes move on certified documents; ask.
Present the grant and diarise 14 days
Send a certified copy of the grant with the estate account details, note the date, and chase with the interest rules quoted if day 15 arrives.
Unpaid daily care fees, means-tested fees and agreed extra-service charges come out before refund. Ask for the itemisation — errors in final aged-care accounts are common enough to check every line.
Until refunded it earns the estate BIR — usually below what even a savings account pays. There's no advantage in delay; get the grant moving early. Current grant times: state by state.
RAD locked behind probate?
That's the single most common trigger for a grant. Fixed-fee quotes, application handled remotely.
Get fixed-fee probate quotesWhat about the bond in older 'accommodation bond' contracts?
Pre-2014 bonds follow similar refund machinery with their own deduction rules — the facility must still itemise and refund to the estate.
Can the refund go straight to a beneficiary?
It's an estate asset — it goes to the estate (or as the grant directs), then distributes with everything else.
Who checks the interest was paid correctly?
You do — ask the provider to show the BIR/MPIR calculation. My Aged Care publishes the current rates.
Sources
- My Aged Care — accommodation refunds (14-day rule, BIR/MPIR)
- Department of Health and Aged Care — Accommodation Payment Guarantee Scheme