Trust + transparency

How we make money

Running a directory site costs money. Hosting, research, fact-checking, design and editorial all take real time and real cash. Here is exactly how Best Aged Care Australia pays for itself, in the order of how much each source contributes.

Family help & placement referrals — read this first

This is the honest bit, because aged care is a hard decision made at a hard time and you deserve to know exactly how it works.

When you ask us for a free shortlist or to speak to a placement specialist, we connect you with a trusted aged-care placement specialist. Placement specialists are paid by the aged-care home when a family they introduce moves in — this is the long-standing industry model, and it's why their help is free for you. When we make that introduction, we may receive a referral fee from the specialist. That fee never comes out of your pocket, and it never changes the homes we rank or recommend.

  • It's free for families. You are never charged for our shortlist, our calculator, or for being connected to a specialist.
  • You're never obligated. Speak to a specialist or don't; tour a home or don't. There's no commitment and no pressure.
  • We don't spam you or sell your details. We share what you tell us only with the specialist helping you, to provide the help you asked for. We never sell your details to a list or hand them to a dozen homes that then cold-call you.
  • You can always do it yourself, for free. The government's My Aged Care line (1800 200 422) is free and is the official starting point — including booking the ACAT assessment you'll need. We say this on our pages because it's true and it matters more than a lead.

Our rankings are editorial and unpaid: homes are ordered on the government's ACQSC star rating and other verifiable data, never on whether they (or a specialist) pay us. If a home isn't a good fit for you, we'd rather tell you than place you.

2. Display advertising

We run display ads (currently via Google AdSense, eventually direct ad sales) on most of our pages. Ads are clearly distinguished from editorial content and never affect ranking. We do not target ads using personal-information you may have shared in a profile claim or newsletter signup.

Ads are placed for usefulness and pageview economics, not to maximise clicks at the expense of reading experience. If you find ad placement on a particular page disruptive, email editorial@bestagedcareaustralia.com.au.

2. Premium provider profiles

Listed providers may upgrade to a premium profile (annual subscription) for richer features such as photo galleries, pricing-transparency blocks, video, and a direct (do-follow) link to their website. Premium is an annual subscription, not a per-lead or per-click fee. Premium does not affect ranking. A premium plumber and a free plumber compete on the same scoring criteria; premium adds presentation, not position.

See claim your profile for what's included.

3. Disclosed affiliate links

On a small number of pages we link to third-party services (industry-specific tools, regulator look-ups, comparison engines we don't compete with) where we may earn a referral fee if you click through and sign up. These links are always disclosed inline next to the link itself, and they are never used to determine which provider we rank first.

Where an affiliate relationship exists, the words "affiliate link" or a small disclosure tag will appear next to the link.

5. We do not

  • Sell your details to a list, or hand your enquiry to a dozen homes that then cold-call you. When you ask for help we make one introduction to a placement specialist, as described above.
  • Take payment to rank a home higher.
  • Allow providers to remove negative reviews, factual errors notwithstanding.
  • Use AI to fabricate reviews or testimonials.
  • Sell your email or browsing data to third parties.

In short

Best Aged Care Australia earns money the way a magazine earns money: from advertisers and from providers who pay to make their listing richer (not higher). Editorial and rankings are walled off from revenue. If we ever change this, we will say so on this page in the largest font we know how to make.

Last reviewed 11 June 2026.