Volunteers at a New South Wales aged care home were shocked to find out that residents were being charged $15 each to attend musical performances that were provided for free. This incident has sparked a broader conversation about how the aged care sector is managed and what it means for residents’ quality of life.
Katrina Evans, who has been playing piano at Blue Haven Bonaira in Kiama for ten years, has always focused on performing “anything that brings a smile to my mum’s face.” Her mother, 98-year-old Madeline, has lived at the facility for five years. When staff introduced a new “Additional Services” package, Evans was taken aback by the idea that her mother would have to pay to watch her perform. She stated, “Nobody should be making money off the back of a volunteer.”
For two months, Evans and other volunteers sent multiple letters to management expressing their concerns about the charges. On Tuesday morning, they received an email confirming that the facility would return to offering “one core program, which all residents will be able to attend and participate in.”
The centre is owned by Hall & Prior, which operates aged care facilities across New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, and Western Australia. In a statement, the company attributed the change to recent aged care reforms implemented in November, when the “expanded activity and lifestyle program” was developed with input from residents and their representatives.
Under the Aged Care Act 2024, providers can offer an optional Higher Everyday Living Fee (HELF) for those who want to access extra services like hairdressing, wine, or premium menu options. Providers can set the cost and inclusions of these packages without government approval, but they cannot charge existing residents for services or activities that were previously included.
Residents at Blue Haven Bonaira were offered a HELF bundle for $20 per day – or $7,300 per year – which included volunteer-provided entertainment. Residents not part of the bundle could still attend shows if they paid a one-off $15 fee.
Evans expressed relief that management had decided to remove the HELF charge, as she believes music should be “free for all.” However, she is concerned that other aged care facilities may be doing the same across Australia and that there may be a misinterpretation of the law. She hopes for more clarity from the government.
Federal Minister for Aged Care and Seniors, Sam Rae, stated that the government has been “very clear” that the HELF “can only be charged for services that go above and beyond what a provider is already required to deliver.” He added that charging for volunteer performances “clearly falls short of the community’s expectations,” though such cases are rare and “providers mostly act reasonably.”
Dr Christa Wood, who runs Alchemy Chorus South Coast, a dementia-inclusive choir that performs at aged care homes, said residents “absolutely love it” and often join in singing or dancing. Initially, she assumed there was a misunderstanding about the charges, but was stunned when staff confirmed and defended the fee. Hall & Prior stated that the fee was intended to “assist in offsetting the additional costs associated with supporting residents to attend activities, supervision requirements, venue cleaning costs, and engaging external entertainers and service providers.”
“It’s terrible,” Wood said. “It’s creating a two-tiered system in a retirement village between those who can attend a performance because they can afford it and those who can’t.”
Wood noted a noticeable drop in attendees across all volunteer sessions, affecting the atmosphere of the shows and “denying people that opportunity to feel some joy.”
Blue Haven Bonaira was originally built and operated by Kiama Council, opening in 2019 as one of the largest council projects in the country. Evans described the $106 million complex, with its landscaped grounds and water views, as “the Hilton Hotel of Kiama.”
After it pushed the council into heavy debt, the facility was sold to for-profit aged care provider Hall & Prior in 2024, which officially took over in April last year.
The opposition’s Health and Aged Care spokeswoman, Senator Anne Ruston, called the case “just another example of the fundamental flaws in Labor’s Aged Care Act.” She said, “Either the system is operating exactly how Labor intended, or they botched the design. Either way they need to go back to the drawing board and take the time to fix the mess they’ve made.”
Rae has referred the matter to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
