Admissions into aged care

Overview of aged care admissions in Australia

The map below shows where aged care admissions occurred in 2023–24. The map is divided into 73 Aged Care Planning Regions (ACPRs). The Australian Government uses ACPRs to plan the distribution and types of aged care services to be made available across Australia. You can learn more about ACPRs on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.

In 2023–24, there were 299,000 admissions to aged care services in Australia, including 102,000 to home care, 75,600 to permanent residential care, 98,000 to respite residential care, 14,400 to transition care and 9,100 to short-term restorative care. Most admissions to home care and residential care in 2023–24 were the person’s first time accessing that care type (74% for home care, 90% for permanent residential care and 63% for respite residential care). 

 

Figure 1: Overview of aged care admissions in Australia by care type, 2023–24

Admissions by sex

In general, there are more admissions to aged care for women than men across all care types.

In 2023–24:

• around 3 in 5 admissions to aged care were for women
• across all types of care, the proportion of admissions by sex was very similar – approximately two fifths (39–41%) for men and three fifths (59–61%) for women.

 

Figure 2: Aged care admissions by care type and sex, 2023–24

Admissions by age

Although the majority of aged care admissions are for people aged 65 and over, admissions for younger people also occur.

Younger people under the age of 65 primarily access aged care services due to challenges associated with accessing age-appropriate accommodation and supports in the community. The Australian Government has committed to no people under the age of 65 living in residential aged care by 2025, except in exceptional circumstances. For more information on younger people in residential aged care, see Younger people in residential aged care dashboard.

In 2023–24:

• the median age at admission was 85 for permanent and respite residential care, 81 for home care and transition care and 80 for short-term restorative care
• around 2,400 admissions to aged care services were for people aged under 65 (representing 0.8% of total admissions), the largest proportion of which were to home care
• over half admissions to permanent and respite residential care were for people aged 85 and over (54% and 53%, respectively). By contrast, a third of admissions to home care and transition care (35% and 36%, respectively) and less than 3 in 10 (27%) admissions to short-term restorative care were for people aged 85 and over.

 

Figure 3: Aged care admissions by care type and age group, 2023–24

Admissions by sex and age

The age profiles of men and women entering aged care services differ.

In 2023–24:

• men and women had a similar age distribution for admissions to home care (35% of total admissions for men and 34% for women were aged 85 and over)
• higher proportions of women were admitted to residential care at an older age than men – nearly 6 in 10 female admissions (58% for permanent and 57% for respite residential care) were aged 85 and over, compared with just under half of male admissions (49% for permanent and 48% for respite residential care).

 

Figure 4: Aged care admissions by care type, sex and age group, 2023–24

Admissions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people face multiple health and social disadvantages. As a consequence, they are more likely to develop serious medical conditions earlier in life, and have a lower life expectancy than their non-Indigenous counterparts. In recognition of poorer health among First Nations communities, aged care services are offered to First Nations people from age 50. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census, of the 812,000 people who identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin, 18% were aged 50 and over (ABS 2021). First Nations people accounted for 1.7% of the 9.0 million Australians aged 50 and over (ABS 2021).

First Nations people may face barriers to accessing and using aged care services for complex, inter-related reasons, including remoteness, language barriers, and the effects of racism and continued socioeconomic disadvantage in practice. Delivering culturally appropriate aged care can improve access to, and the quality of, aged care for First Nations people. The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care (NATSIFAC) Program provides culturally appropriate care for First Nations people in certain locations, mostly in rural and remote areas, that are close to their communities.

For more information on First Nations people using aged care, see Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people using aged care dashboard, or visit the First Nations people topic on the AIHW website.

In 2023–24:

• First Nations people accounted for 1.8% of total admissions to mainstream aged care (home care, residential care, transition care and short-term restorative care)
• admissions to aged care for First Nations people more commonly occurred at younger ages, usually around a decade younger than non-Indigenous Australians – respectively for First Nations people and non-Indigenous Australians, the median age of admission was 70 and 82 for home care, 75 and 86 for permanent residential care, 75 and 85 for respite residential care, 70 and 82 for transition care, and 68 and 80 for short term restorative care.

 

Figure 5: Aged care admissions by care type, Indigenous status and age group, 2023–24

Admissions for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds

Many older Australians were born overseas, speak a variety of languages, may not speak English fluently or have defining religious or cultural practices. These groups of people can be referred to as culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD). The situations and needs of CALD Australians vary due to their diverse backgrounds. CALD Australians can face barriers in accessing and engaging with aged care and the support they require.

This section focuses on country of birth and preferred language as measures of people’s cultural and linguistic diversity. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census, of the 4.4 million older Australians (people aged 65 and over), 35% were born overseas and 16% spoke languages other than English at home (ABS 2021).

In 2023–24:

• people born in non-English-speaking countries accounted for 24% of total admissions to mainstream aged care (home care, residential care, transition care and short-term restorative care) – this proportion was higher in home care (28%) and short-term restorative care (29%), and lower in permanent residential care (19%) and transition care (20%)
• people who preferred to speak a language other than English accounted for 11% of total admissions to mainstream aged care – similar to country of birth, this proportion was higher in home care (15%) and short-term restorative care (13%), and lower in permanent residential care and transition care (8.2% and 7.9% respectively).

 

Figure 6: Aged care admissions by care type and country of birth/preferred language, 2023–24

Admissions by states and territories

The proportion of older Australians (people aged 65 and over) admitted to aged care services varies across states and territories.

In this section, states and territories are based on the physical location of the service, facility or outlet. For home care, as a service can deliver care some distance away from its physical location, the state or territory of the service can be different to the state or territory where a care is received.

In 2023–24:

• home care services in Queensland had the highest rate of admissions among older people (28 admissions per 1,000 population aged 65 and over), while the lowest was for home care services in Northern Territory (12 per 1,000)
• South Australia and Victoria had the highest rate of admissions to permanent residential care (17 per 1,000); South Australia also had the highest rate of admissions to respite residential care (28 per 1,000)
• Northern Territory had the highest rate of admissions to transition care and short-term restorative care (5.9 and 3.8 per 1,000, respectively) – almost double the national rate (3.1 per 1,000 for transition care and 1.9 per 1,000 for short-term restorative care, respectively).

 

Figure 7: Rate of aged care admissions among older Australians by care type and states and territories, 2023–24

Admissions by remoteness areas

In general, the proportion of older Australians admitted to aged care services varies across remoteness regions and depends on the types of aged care services available.

Most older people live in metropolitan areas. At 30 June 2024, 66% of the older Australians (aged 65 and over) lived in Metropolitan areas (MM 1), 9.5% lived in Regional centres (MM 2), 23% lived in Rural towns (MM 3–5) and only 1.5% lived in Remote or Very remote communities (MM 6–7). For more information on people using aged care by remoteness area, see People using aged care.

Most aged care services are located in metropolitan areas. It means that people living in remote areas may need to move to less remote areas to access higher-level aged care services. For more information on the distribution of aged care services, see Providers, services and places in aged care.

In this section, remoteness areas are based on the physical location of the service, facility or outlet, so people using home care can live some distance away from the physical location of the service.

Additional care types, such as Multi-Purpose Services (MPS) Program and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care (NATSIFAC) Program, cater to specific population groups, often in rural and remote areas. For more information on these flexible care programs, view Multi-Purpose Services Program Residential Care fact sheet and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people using aged care dashboard.

In 2023–24:

• the rate of admission to home care services among older people was highest in Very remote communities (MM 7; 32 admissions per 1,000 population aged 65 and over)
• admissions to residential care (both permanent and respite) among people aged 65 and over were higher in more densely populated areas (MM 1–4) and lower in Small rural towns, Remote and Very remote communities (MM 5–7)
• the rates of admissions to transition care among older people were higher in Regional centres and Large rural towns (MM 2–3); there were no transition care services in Small rural towns (MM 5) and Very remote communities (MM 7)
• the rates of admissions to short-term restorative care among older people were higher in more densely populated areas (MM 1–4), followed by Very remote communities (MM 7).

 

Figure 8: Rate of aged care admissions among older Australians by care type and remoteness areas, 2023–24

Aged care admissions over time

A number of aged care reforms and changes were implemented between 2015 and 2017. This includes introduction of the Short-Term Restorative Care (STRC) Programme, rollout and expansion of the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP), and changes to the Home Care Packages (HCP) Program.

To improve comparability, we only report trend data for admissions between 2017–18 and 2023–24.

The population of older Australians (people aged 65 and over) grew by 23% between 2017 and 2024, while the total population (all ages) grew by 12%. With an increasingly ageing population in Australia, aged care admissions are growing overall.

Between 2017–18 and 2023–24:

• the overall number of admissions increased by 32%, from 227,000 to 299,000
• admissions increased for home care, permanent and respite residential care and short-term restorative care (106%, 5.1%, 24% and 463% increase, respectively) while admissions to transition care decreased by 43%
• the number of admissions to home care fluctuated, with the largest increase (a 57% increase) occurring between 2018–19 and 2019–20, and the largest decrease (a 16% decrease) occurring between 2022–23 and 2023–24
• admissions to permanent residential care increased by 5.1%; however, after accounting for the growth in older population, the rate of admissions to permanent residential care for older Australians decreased from 18 admissions per 1,000 population aged 65 and over in 2017–18 to 16 per 1,000 in 2023–24
• the number of admissions to transition care declined each year from 2017–18 to 2022–23 (from 25,200 to 14,300) – with the largest year-on-year declines occurring between 2020–21 and 2021–22, and between 2021–22 and 2022–23 (each over a 20% annual decline) – and then remained relatively stable between 2022–23 and 2023–24 (around 14,300–14,400)
• the number of admissions to short-term restorative care increased each year (from 1,600 to 9,100), with the largest year-on-year increase (an 89% increase) occurring between 2018–19 and 2019–20.

 

Figure 9: Aged care admissions by care type and sex, 2017–18 and 2023–24

Home care admissions over time

Home care provides care to individuals based on their assessed care needs. Home care packages are available at 4 levels, from Level 1 (suitable for basic care needs) through to Level 4 (suitable for high-level care needs).

In 2023–24, of the 102,000 total admissions to home care, the largest share were at Level 2 (42%), followed by Level 3 (31%) and Level 4 (21%); only 6.1% were admitted to Level 1.

Recording of home care admissions changed following the Increasing Choice in Home Care reforms introduced on 27 February 2017. Prior to this date, an admission to home care was recorded when a person started receiving care from a home care service, changed package level within the same home care service, or changed home care service (at the same or different package level). After this date, an admission to home care was only recorded when a person started receiving care from a home care service or changed home care service, and not when they changed package levels within the same home care service.

To improve comparability, we only report trend data for admissions between 2017–18 and 2023–24.

Between 2017–18 and 2023–24:

• the number of home care admissions at Level 1 increased from 5,200 in 2017–18 to 25,600 in 2020–21 (representing a growth of 392%), before decreasing by 76% in the next 3 years to 6,200 in 2023–24
• the number of home care admissions at Level 2 fluctuated, with the largest year-on-year change being a 91% increase occurring between 2021–22 and 2022–23, followed by a 44% increase between 2018–19 and 2019–20 and a 30% decrease between 2017–18 and 2018–19
• the number of home care admissions at Level 3 increased from 6,400 to 42,300 (a 565% increase) between 2017–18 and 2022–23, and then decreased by 26% in the following year to 31,500 in 2023–24
• the number of home care admissions at Level 4 remained relatively stable between 2017–18 and 2018–19 (5,600–5,800), before rising from 5,600 to 20,900 (a 273% increase) in the next 5 years to 2023–24.

 

Figure 10: Admissions to home care by care level, 2017–18 and 2023–24

Reference

ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) (2021), Snapshot of Australia, ABS, Australian Government, accessed 4 March 2025.

Where can I find out more?

Related information can be found on other GEN topic pages:

• Providers, services and places in aged care
• People using aged care

For a confidentialised unit record file (CURF) on this topic, view the GEN data: Admissions into aged care.

For information on people using aged care by Aged Care Planning Region (ACPR) or Primary Health Network (PHN), view the My aged care region dashboard.