Higher Everyday Living Fees, or “HELF”,  are meant to give residents more choice in their everyday lives while helping aged care providers deliver better experiences in a financially sustainable way.

Yet for many providers, HELF still feels difficult to implement in practice. What looks straightforward in policy often becomes complex once it reaches the floor. This tension was at the centre of a recent Carepage webinar, where Janine and Lauren explored what is really happening when HELF moves from legislation into daily operations. The full webinar replay is available below, and it is particularly relevant for providers who feel unsure, cautious, or stalled in their approach to HELF

Watch the recording here

HELF Is About Everyday Living and Choice

A key theme from the discussion was that HELF is not about selling extras or adding unnecessary upgrades. At its core, it is about everyday living and personal choice. It is about giving residents the option to include the things that matter to them, while also allowing them to opt out of services they do not value and should not have to pay for.

When HELF is implemented well, it supports dignity, autonomy and a genuine sense of home. When it is unclear or poorly supported, it creates uncertainty for residents and discomfort for staff.

Why HELF Becomes Difficult on the Floor

While the intent of HELF is relatively clear, the operational detail is not. Many homes are navigating a mix of old and new agreements, time pressured teams and ongoing workforce change. Policy does not provide clear guidance on how HELF should work day to day, and this lack of clarity often leads to conservative behaviour.

Some providers choose to delay or minimise HELF because it feels too hard to manage. Others go in the opposite direction and provide services broadly to avoid awkward conversations, quietly absorbing the cost. In both cases, resident choice is reduced and long term sustainability is undermined.

The Fear of Turning Care into Sales

Another strong theme in the webinar was concern about frontline staff feeling like salespeople. Care teams are there to support residents, not to persuade them or justify pricing in the moment. The issue is not having conversations about services, but being left to make commercial decisions without clear guidance, consistency or visibility.

This is where small, well intentioned moments can quickly add up. A resident asks for a glass of wine, staff want to be kind, and soon a service that was meant to be optional becomes an untracked cost. Without visibility, providers are left choosing between stopping the service altogether or continuing to absorb the expense.

What Good HELF Looks Like in Practice

When HELF is working well, residents receive services they genuinely value, staff know exactly what is included for each person, and leaders can see patterns early enough to have proper conversations without adding administrative burden. Importantly, services remain sustainable rather than quietly subsidised.

In the second half of the webinar, the CarePage team demonstrates how this kind of clarity can be supported on the ground, using simple, familiar workflows that fit naturally into daily routines.

Want to learn more? Watch the Webinar Replay

If HELF feels confusing, inconsistent or difficult to manage in your homes, this webinar provides practical insight into why and what better can look like.

Watch the full replay to hear the conversation in full and see the examples in action.

The CarePage team is always happy to continue the conversation or provide a deeper demonstration of our HELF-ready tools if you would like to explore this further.