When it comes to aged residential care homes, a room can come with a premium price tag - typically ranging from $5 to more than $100 per day, according to Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora - unless it’s a ‘standard’ room. But should moving into a care home, and the care quality, depend on how much someone can afford?
New Zealand’s aged care system is changing, and so is the mix of accommodation available for older people. The Aged Care Ministerial Advisory Group’s August 2026 report, A place to grow old, highlights the growing number and proportion of premium rooms and care suites, while the availability of standard rooms without an additional accommodation charge has declined. The report says the proportion of standard rooms across the country has fallen from 70% in 2010 to 47% today.
This is an important distinction because standard and premium rooms themselves do not offer different levels of care.
A premium room may offer additional physical features such as an ensuite, additional space, access to the outdoors or a preferred outlook, for an additional daily charge set by the provider. A standard room does not carry that premium accommodation charge and can be easily accessed by people who may require a government subsidy.
For some older people, this distinction can make a real difference. Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission research found that 40% of people aged 65 and over have virtually no other income besides NZ Super, while another 20% have only a little more. For people in this position, an additional daily accommodation charge is simply not realistic, as they will require ongoing government subsidies for all of their care.
That is why having standard rooms available matters.
At Enliven Central, around 70% of all our rooms are standard rooms. Providing this mix is part of our not-for-profit purpose, ensuring there are accommodation options available to care for people with limited financial means.
A standard room nearby means staying close to home and loved ones. The current Aged Care Association’s The Long Drive campaign highlights what can happen when appropriate aged care is not available locally, with families travelling significant distances to visit loved ones who have had to move away from their communities. In one case, a husband was making a 240km round trip twice a week to visit his wife; in another, a couple was separated after suitable care was not available nearby.
For Enliven Central, providing standard rooms across the communities we serve across the lower North Island is about more than affordability. It is about giving people the opportunity to remain connected to the places, people and support networks that matter to them.
‘Standard’ doesn’t mean second best.
A standard room is still intended to be comfortable, private and welcoming. It can be filled with memories; photographs, favourite belongings and the things that make a new space feel familiar. It can be somewhere family and friends enjoy visiting, and most importantly, somewhere a resident can feel at home. Pauline from our Kōwhainui Home in Whanganui says, "This is the best place to live in - I feel like I have come home".
For Enliven Central, our focus is on the person living in our homes, rather than what they can afford.
In Aotearoa, the current asset threshold for the Residential Care Subsidy is $300,811, (although individual circumstances determine eligibility) with those not qualifying meeting more of the care costs themselves.
There will always be differences in people’s financial circumstances. Some may have savings or other assets to contribute towards their care. Others may qualify for government assistance through the Residential Care Subsidy, depending on their care needs and financial circumstances.
The important thing is that financial circumstances do not change the expectation of quality care.
That principle sits naturally within Enliven Central’s not-for-profit model.
Enliven Central is part of Presbyterian Support Central, a registered charity that has served communities across the lower North Island for more than a century. Our resources are reinvested into the people and communities we serve, including care, our facilities, equipment, our teams and training.
In a sector where premium rooms are becoming an increasingly significant part of new room supply in rest homes, Enliven Central’s commitment to affordable care is one way our not-for-profit values remain tangible.
This isn’t about saying premium accommodation shouldn’t exist. For some people, paying for additional features is a choice they want, and can afford to make. But that choice isn’t available to everyone. Enliven Central is one of the largest providers of standard rooms across the lower North Island, ensuring that those who wouldn’t be able to receive care elsewhere can still have access to those needed services.
A standard room is still part of a home. It is a place with comfort, personality and familiar things around you. A place where staff know your name, an environment where you remain autonomous, where family can visit, and where you can continue to live with dignity and a sense of belonging.
For Enliven Central, that is what providing choice means: making sure there is a place for people with different financial circumstances, including those whose income is largely or entirely their NZ Super.