Younger people in residential aged care
The Australian Government is working to reduce the number of younger people (under the age of 65) going into residential aged care, and to help younger people who are already in residential aged care to move into age-appropriate accommodation with the supports they need.
In response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, the Australian Government announced the Younger People in Residential Aged Care (YPIRAC) targets, apart from in exceptional circumstances, to work towards there being:
- no people under the age of 65 entering residential aged care by 2022
- no people under the age of 45 living in residential aged care by 2022
- no people under the age of 65 living in residential aged care by 2025
While the YPIRAC targets have not been met, the Australian Government remains committed to ensuring there are no younger people under the age of 65 living in residential aged care and to supporting younger people to access alternative, age-appropriate accommodation and supports outside of aged care.
Eligibility for aged care are under the Aged Care Act 2024
On 1 November 2025, the Aged Care Act 2024 (the Aged Care Act) came into effect, which prevents entry into residential aged care by younger people, except under very limited circumstances and where it is their preference. Under the Aged Care Act, access to Australian Government-funded aged care services is limited to people with care needs who are either:
- aged 65 years and over
- Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people and aged 50 years or over
- homeless, or at risk of homelessness, and aged 50 years or over
- already living in an aged care home or accessing aged care services (including having an existing aged care assessment and/or approval).
Changes to YPIRAC reporting from the June 2024 release onwards
Where possible, people who are eligible for aged care at a younger age have been excluded from the number of younger people in residential aged care (YPIRAC counts). Specifically:
- First Nations people aged 50–64 eligible for aged care are excluded from YPIRAC counts for targets 1 and 3 and are reported separately in the downloadable data tables.
To view counts of YPIRAC before this differentiation was made, a historical version of the data tables, with data to September 2023, is available for download. Please note, data in the historical version is static. Due to the live nature of the data source, differences between the current data and historical version will be observed. - Data on younger people in residential aged care who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, is limited. As a result, the YPIRAC counts include this cohort and they are not separately reported. An indication of this cohort has been included in the factsheet using other data provided by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
Target 2 reporting remains unchanged. Target 2 measures the number of younger people aged under 45 living in residential aged care. As such, YPIRAC counts for target 2 (and Table 2 in the data tables) are unchanged as First Nations people aged 50–64 are above the age of 45.
The dashboard below tracks the progress being made towards these targets, using the most recent data available.
For more information related to this initiative, see the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website.
For more information on younger people with disability living in residential aged care, see the National Disability Insurance Agency website.
For the AIHW publication Exploring pathways for younger people living in permanent residential aged care, see the AIHW website.
For the AIHW publication Health services used by younger people in permanent residential aged care, see the AIHW website.
For the AIHW publication National Disability Insurance Scheme participation by younger people living in residential aged care, see the AIHW website.
