$15,330 a year for two hot breakfasts a week: what Bupa’s aged care residents are being asked to pay

For more than 5,000 people living in Bupa’s aged care homes, eggs and toast in the morning now come with a price tag.

Bupa has confirmed that residents who do not buy its “Enhanced Dining Experience” are served a continental breakfast. The package costs $42 a day, which adds up to $15,330 a year, and includes two hot breakfasts a week, a daily extra hot option at lunch, a dessert at lunch and a beer, wine or soft drink with lunch and dinner.

Bupa says it will provide “additional cooked protein options” for any resident a dietitian recommends them for, whether or not they have bought the package. In a statement, it said it works to provide a “consistently high standard of care and services to all our residents”.

How is this allowed?

The fee falls under Higher Everyday Living Fees, known in the sector as HELF, which arrived with the new Aged Care Act on 1 November 2025. The scheme lets providers charge residents for optional services above the standard they must provide, and replaced the old “additional service” fees. It was sold as more choice and clearer pricing.

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission says the legislation does not prescribe particular foods, such as cooked eggs, and does not require every resident to get a cooked breakfast each morning.

What are other homes charging?

Price lists sent to the Commission show how far HELF has spread. At Oryx Communities’ Queenslea home in Western Australia, “barista-style” coffee costs $32.43 a day, or more than $11,800 a year, and residents who do not pay $39.75 a day for pay TV and streaming have the TV disabled. The not-for-profit Warrigal charges $70 for a monthly barbecue and $4.50 to deliver a meal to a room without a care reason. The Royal Freemasons’ Benevolent Institution lists $1,900 a year to use a pharmacy other than its own and $570 a year for optional mini-fridge cleaning. Some bundled packages run to about $20,000 a year.

Who is objecting?

Dietitians Australia president Fiona Willer says many homes have no dietitian on staff, and that residents should not need to be malnourished to get simple protein at breakfast. A cooked breakfast, she said, should not be “seen as a luxury”.

Ageing Australia, the providers’ peak body, puts the blame on Canberra. Its chief executive Tom Symondson says the government should be honest that it does not pay for the things HELF covers. In Western Australia, Advocare’s David Thompson says it is unfair that care staff are left explaining the fees to residents.

What does this mean for families?

At $42 a day, the Bupa package is $294 a week, and it sits on top of the fees residents already pay for their care and their room. Families choosing a home now need to ask not just what the room costs, but what breakfast, the TV and the coffee cost too.

Anyone unhappy with care or fees can contact the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission on 1800 951 822.