People leaving aged care

Information is collected on why people leave aged care and how long they generally stay using a care service.

Last updated: 28 June 2023.

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Related information can be found on other GEN topic pages:

• Admissions into aged care
• People using aged care

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

People leaving aged care in 2021–22

People leave aged care services for a number of reasons, including moving to another service for the same or a different program type. When a person leaves an aged care service it is referred to here as an ‘exit’ (excluding short periods of leave, such as for family visits or hospital stays). A person may exit aged care services more than once over a 12-month period. 

The time that a person spends using an aged care service in a single episode is described as ‘length of stay’, regardless of whether they used community or residential care. Here we describe length of stay using the median value – the number found in the middle of a distribution of values (around half of people have a length of stay longer than the median, and around half of people have a length of stay shorter than the median).  

For exits that took place in 2021–22:

• The median length of stay for permanent residential care was around 5 months longer than for home care  (22.4 and 17.1 months, respectively).
• Respite residential care, which provides temporary aged care, had a short median length of stay – 0.7 months (21 days) 
• Over 72,100 exits were for permanent residential care, almost 48,100 for home care, and nearly 19,000 for transition care.
• The most exits were for respite residential care (over 82,600 exits), reflecting that this care type is provided as a transient service and can be used multiple times by the one individual. 

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Reasons for leaving aged care

People leave aged care services for a number of reasons. Death is a common reason for leaving aged care, particularly permanent residential care. Other reasons include moving to another care service or returning to living in the community.

For exits that took place in 2021–22:

• People in home care had the same median length of stay whether they exited due to death or due to entering permanent residential care (18.3 months). For people in permanent residential care, the longest median length of stay was for those who died in care (24.7 months).
• Most exits from permanent residential care were due to death (86% of exits), while most exits from home care were due to entering residential care (51% of exits).
• The most common reason for exit from respite residential care and transition care was to return to community-based living (49% and 61% of exits, respectively).

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People leaving aged care over time

There have been changes in the number of exits and typical length of stay for different care types over time. See also COVID-19 and people leaving aged care. 

Compared with 2020–21, in 2021-22:

• The median length of stay increased by almost one month in permanent residential care and just over one month in home care.
• The number of exits from home care increased by 27% (from over 37,900 exits in 2020–21 to almost 48,100 exits in 2021–22). This may be explained, in part, by increasing numbers of people being admitted into and using home care services over this period (see Admissions into aged care and People using aged care).
• The number of exits from transition care decreased by 19%, however for respite residential care and permanent residential care the number of exits increased slightly (by 1.8% and 7.3% respectively).

Trends over the 10 years from 2012–13 to 2021–22 indicate that:

• The median length of stay increased by 4.4 months for home care and by 5.6 months for permanent residential care, but remained stable for respite residential care.
• The number of exits increased for most care types, with the largest increase in exits for home care (97% increase), followed by respite residential care (30% increase).

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People leaving aged care by age

Although the majority of exits for aged care services are for people aged 65 and over, younger people also access and exit these services.

For exits that took place in 2021–22:

• The longest median length of stay for people in permanent residential care and home care was for those aged 100 and over (43.6 months; just over 3 and a half years and 29.1 months; almost 2 and a half years, respectively).
• Older age groups represented a greater proportion of exits from permanent residential care compared with other types of care. The proportion of exits for people aged 85 and over was 65% for permanent residential care, 54% for home care and 53% for respite residential care. The proportion aged 85 and over exiting transition care was 38%, reflecting the younger age demographic of people using this type of care.

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People leaving aged care by sex

There are more exits from aged care for women than men across all program types. This is because more women than men use aged care services in general (see People using aged care). 

For exits that took place in 2021–22:

• Almost 3 in 5 (58%) exits from aged care services were for women.
• The median length of stay for women was longer than for men for permanent residential care (10 and a half months longer) and home care (3 and a half months longer). Length of stay in respite residential care was slightly similar for males and females (approximately 21 to 24 days, respectively).

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People leaving aged care by age and sex

Women tend to leave residential aged care services at a later age than men.

For exits that took place in 2021–22:

• For both men and women, the median length of stay in permanent residential care generally increased with age from age 70 onwards (length of stay for people aged 70–74 was approximately 14 months for men and 16 months for women, compared with people aged 100 and over whose length of stay was approximately 31 months for men and 48 months for women).
• In permanent residential care, almost half (49%) of exits were for those aged 90 and over among women, compared with just over one-third (34%) among men. The age distribution for people leaving home care and people leaving transition care were similar  for men and women.

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians leaving aged care

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 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. You can learn more about Indigenous Australians in aged care by viewing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people dashboard, or learn about the health and welfare of Indigenous Australians on the AIHW website.

In recognition of poorer health among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, aged care services are offered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from age 50. In practice, Indigenous Australians 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 socio-economic disadvantage.

Delivering culturally appropriate aged care can improve access to, and the quality of, aged care for Indigenous Australians. The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program provides culturally appropriate care for Indigenous Australians in certain locations, mostly in rural and remote areas, that are close to their communities. Data on exits from this program are not currently available.

For exits that took place in 2021–22:

• There were 710 exits from permanent residential care, 915 exits from respite residential care, approximately 1100 exits from home care and nearly 220 exits from transition care were by Indigenous Australians. Exits by Indigenous Australians constituted 1.0% of exits from permanent residential care, 1.1% of exits from respite residential care, 2.3% of exits from home care, and 1.2% of exits from transition care.
• Exits from all care types tended to take place at younger ages for Indigenous Australians compared with non-Indigenous Australians. The proportion of exits from permanent residential care by Indigenous Australians were highest in age group 75–79 years, whereas exits by non-Indigenous Australians were highest in age group 90–94 years. ​

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People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds leaving aged care

Many older Australians, including those living in residential aged care, were born overseas, speak a variety of languages, may not speak English fluently or have differing religious or cultural practices. These groups of people can be referred to as culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD), although these Australians are by nature heterogeneous, and situations and needs vary greatly. CALD Australians can face barriers in engaging with aged care and the support they require. Due to data availability, this section focuses on country of birth and preferred language as measures of people’s cultural and linguistic diversity. 

For exits that took place in 2021–22:

• The median length of stay for all care types was slightly longer for people who preferred to speak languages other than English, however differences in median length of stay were small (1.7 months). 
• Approximately 21% of exits were for people born in non-English-speaking countries, and 9.7% were for people who preferred to speak a language other than English. Home care was the service with the greatest proportion of exits by people born in non-English-speaking countries (24%) and people who preferred to speak a language other than English (almost 13%).

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States and territories

Both the number of exits and the typical length of stay for aged care programs vary across Australia’s states and territories.

For exits that took place in 2021–22:

• South Australia had the longest median length of stay for permanent residential care – almost 5 months longer than Tasmania, which had the shortest median length of stay for permanent residential care. The median length of stay for home care was longest in Victoria (18.2 months) and shortest in Western Australia (14.3 months).
• Patterns in the number of exits per 1,000 target population by state and territory mirrored patterns for admissions (see Admissions into aged care).  For example, the number of exits from respite residential care per 1,000 target population was highest in South Australia and lowest in Western Australia, and so were admissions.

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Remoteness

The number of exits from aged care services per person in the target population differs between remoteness areas. 

Additional flexible care types, such as Multi-Purpose Services (MPS), also provide aged care to people in the target population in regional, rural and remote areas, however these data are not represented here. For more information, see the MPS fact sheet.

For exits that took place in 2021–22:

• Very remote areas (MM7) had the longest median length of stay for exits from permanent residential care and home care (26.2 months and 21.5 months, respectively. The median length of stay was similar across all other remoteness areas for permanent residential care and home care.   
• Patterns in the number of exits per 1,000 target population by remoteness area mirrored patterns for admissions (see Admissions into aged care). For example, the number of exits from permanent and respite residential care per 1,000 people in the target population was highest in regional centres and medium rural towns (MM 2 and MM4, respectively) and lowest in very remote areas (MM 7), as were admissions to these care types.

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People leaving permanent residential care by dementia status

People with dementia tend to have longer lengths of stay in permanent residential care than people without dementia. People’s health conditions are captured through Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) assessments.

For exits that took place in 2021–22:

• The median length of stay for permanent residential care was 9 months longer for people with a record of dementia than for people without a record of dementia.
• The difference in length of stay between people with dementia and without dementia was over 11 months for women and over 8 months for men.
• Over half (57%) of people exiting permanent residential care had a record of dementia, with the proportion remaining the same for men and women.

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People leaving permanent residential care by care needs

Some people in permanent residential care have high care needs recorded in each care domain of the ACFI, meaning that they were assessed as requiring considerable assistance in managing activities of daily living, cognition and behaviour, as well as medications or other complex health care procedures. People whose care needs are rated ‘high’ in all three domains in their last assessment before leaving permanent residential care typically have the longest median length of stay.     

For exits that took place in 2021–22:

• The median length of stay for permanent residential care was nearly 12 months longer for people whose care needs were recorded as ‘high’ in all three ACFI domains than for people with other ratings.
• The difference in length of stay for people with high ACFI ratings compared with people who had other care ratings was over 13 months for women and just over 7 months for men.
• Just over half (51%) of exits from permanent residential care were for people who had ‘high’ care ratings in all three ACFI domains.

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COVID-19 and people leaving aged care

Australia has faced significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 illness can be more serious for people who have pre-existing health conditions, including older Australians.

The number of people leaving aged care services is likely to have been impacted by COVID-19, including exits due to death. People in residential aged care were acutely impacted by COVID-19 because the close proximity of residents increased the risk of virus transmission. Older people also had an increased risk of death if they contracted COVID-19.

• Three-quarters (75%) of all COVID-related deaths in the first year (to 5 March 2021) of the COVID-19 pandemic were among people living in residential aged care.
• In the 2021–22 financial year there were 2,173 COVID-related deaths in residential aged care. As at 30 June 2022, 29% of all COVID-related deaths in Australia were among people living in residential aged care.

In May 2020, the Australian Government introduced measures for permanent aged care residents who temporarily return to the community because of COVID-19. This allowed residents to take emergency leave during outbreaks, rather than using and potentially exhausting their social leave entitlements. The Australian Government also provided funding for Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) providers to support residents who re-locate from aged care homes.

For further information on aged care services and the COVID-19 pandemic, see the Report on the Operation of the Aged Care Act and the COVID-19 outbreaks in Australian residential aged care facilities weekly report.

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