By Lucinda Garbutt-Young in Canberra

A major aged care provider has paid back thousands of dollars it charged elderly residents for basic amenities like television and air-conditioning.

Opal Healthcare has refunded roughly $190,000 to almost 350 residents under a sweeping review into misuse of new aged care standards.

The standards came into effect in November and were designed to give residents more say over what premium products they opted to pay for.

Guidelines said services that were previously offered for free could not be charged, though they were not made law.

Reports emerged months later of aged care providers wrongfully charging residents for basic amenities, including television and wi-fi services.

In some cases, services were removed if they were not paid for.

Aged Care Minister Sam Rae said laws would be tightened to ensure residents would not be charged for things they were receiving before the standards changed.

“We’ve always said it was unreasonable for providers to start charging older Australians for services they previously received at no cost,” he said.

“We’ve listened to older people and we are acting now to make the rules clear.”

An investigation was launched by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission after Mr Rae informed the regulator of claims against Opal Healthcare, one of Australia’s biggest aged care providers.

He said at the time the removal of services like air-conditioning and televisions was unacceptable.

“Frankly, television and access to information is a human right as prescribed by the United Nations,” Mr Rae said.

The commissioner, Liz Hefren-Webb, said it was crucial providers protected their residents.

“Providers must take proactive steps to identify everyone who may have been impacted and ensure they receive appropriate remediation,” she said in a statement.

“I encourage residents and their supporters to continue raising concerns. Even if an individual issue has been resolved, the information may point to a broader practice affecting other older people.”

Opal Healthcare said the overcharging was the result of the government’s new standards, introduced in November 2025, which allowed people who had the means to pay for greater additional lifestyle, food and beverage options.

“Following Opal HealthCare’s introduction of that program in February, there were changes to the guidelines and as a result, we identified that charges to approximately two per cent of residents required reversal to comply with the updated guidelines,” an Opal spokesperson said.

“We voluntarily reversed the relevant fees for all affected residents.

“In March, we notified the regulator of what had occurred and ensured the correct billing is in place for all residents.”

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