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I’ve Sold My Home — What Happens Now (Centrelink & Aged Care Update Guide)

Now that your home is sold, Centrelink needs to recode your details because they treat people differently depending on whether they’re a homeowner or not. We’ll need to give them a clear paper trail — showing the money from the sale landing in your bank account, and if you’re using those funds to pay for aged care or a retirement village, where the money went afterwards. We handle this often, so we’ll walk you through it step by step.

🔁 Think of it like a Relay Race

Imagine your home is a baton. Once you sell it, the baton (money) passes from your house to your bank account — that’s the first handoff. Then, if you’re using that money for aged care or a retirement village, it gets passed again — from your bank to the facility.

Centrelink needs to see each baton pass clearly, so they can record everything accurately and update your pension and aged care fees.

🧾 What We Need to Provide (And Why)

1. Proof of Sale Proceeds

We need to show Centrelink that the money from the house sale has landed in your account.

  • If the sale proceeds were transferred into your bank account:
    → Provide a bank statement showing the amount received.

  • If the final amount was reduced due to selling costs:
    → Provide a settlement statement from your solicitor or conveyancer.

✅ Tip: Most solicitors or conveyancers email these documents automatically. If not, we can request them directly — with your permission — using a Letter of Authority (like a privacy permission slip).

2. What Happens With the Money?

If you're using the sale proceeds to:

  • Pay a Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD) for aged care, or

  • Buy a retirement village unit,

…then we also need to show:

  • Bank statement showing the money leaving your account

  • A RAD receipt or retirement village contract showing the facility accepted the funds.

🧠 Why This Matters

Centrelink and the Aged Care team classify you differently depending on whether you own your home. When you sell, you switch from “homeowner” to “non-homeowner,” which changes:

  • Your aged pension entitlement

  • Your aged care means-tested fees

So it’s essential that we get this right — and we’ve done it many times before, so you’re in good hands.