The National Aged Care Data Clearinghouse (NACDC) holds data for all recipients of government–funded aged care from 1997 onwards, including prior activity data for those in care in 1997. The data mostly relate to government–funded aged care programs operating under the
Aged Care Act 1997. These include care delivery programs (residential aged care, home care, and transition care) and assessment programs under the Act (ACAP and ACFI). Some programs not covered by the Act are also included, such as the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (formally the Commonwealth Home and Community Care Program).
Data is available for further research. Key variables include:
- people in aged care (as obtained from assessment records), such as
- age, sex and marital status
- location (by service location, assessment location, aged care planning region, statistical local area, local government area or state)
- self–reported Indigenous status, language spoken at home, and country of birth
- service providers and facilities, such as
- ownership type, location, and size by number of places (by service provider or facility)
- status (for example, approved, accredited or operational status)
- type of aged care service received, and care needs and conditions that affect care needs (such as those recorded in the ACFI), where applicable
- payments made to providers and the number of claim days
- hours of care provided and care type or level, where applicable
- admissions, separations and number of places by type of aged care service.Data is available over time, for example by financial year, as well as at a given point in time, such as at 30 June. The data are refreshed annually to include the previous financial year ending in June. The refresh fully replaces historical data, where applicable.
For a comprehensive overview of the metadata, see the
metadata documentation for researchers.
The NACDC holds and manages data according to AIHW's established security, privacy and confidentiality principles. Access to aged care data is subject to protocols that manage confidentiality risks and other concerns about potential data misuse. In some cases, an AIHW Ethics Committee approval may be required before allowing access to aged care data.