People leaving aged care

Overview of aged care exits in Australia

People leave aged care services for a number of reasons, including moving to another service for the same or a different care type. When a person leaves an aged care service it is referred to 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 while using an aged care service in a single episode is described as ‘length of stay’, regardless of whether they use community or residential care. Here we describe length of stay at exit by 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). 

In 2023–24:

• 84,100 exits were from home care, 68,400 were from permanent residential care, 94,600 were from respite residential care, 14,400 were from transition care and 8,900 were from short-term restorative care:
  • the largest proportion of exits were from respite residential care, reflecting that this care type is provided as a transient service and can be used multiple times by one individual
• the median length of stay for permanent residential care was nearly 3 months longer than home care (18.8 and 16.1 months, respectively)
• respite residential care, transition care and short-term restorative care, which provide temporary aged care, had shorter median lengths of stay – less than 1 month (24 days), 2.7 months and 1.8 months, respectively.

 

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

Reasons for aged care exits

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

For exits that took place in 2023–24:

• The most common reason for exits from home care was to enter residential care (39% of exits), followed by death (27% of exits). People leaving home care had similar median length of stay whether they exited due to death or returning home or community, or entering residential care (16.6 months, 16.6 months and 17.7 months, respectively).
• The most common reason for exits from permanent residential care was due to death (86% of exits). Meanwhile, people leaving permanent residential care due to death had the longest median length of stay (21 months).
• The most common reason for exits from respite residential care, transition care and short-term restorative care was to return home or to community-based living (47%, 66% and 69% of exits, respectively).

 

Figure 2: Aged care exits by care type and exit reason, 2023–24

Aged care exits 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.

In 2023–24:

• about 3 in 5 (59%) exits from aged care services were for women
• the median length of stay for women was longer than men for home care (about 2 and a half months longer) and permanent residential care (about 8 and a half months longer)
• men and women had similar median length of stay in respite residential care (21 and 24 days, respectively), transition care (2.7 months each) and short-term restorative care (1.8 months each).

 

Figure 3: Aged care exits by care type and sex, 2023–24

Aged care exits by age

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

In 2023–24:

• the median age at exit was 88 for permanent residential care, 85 for respite residential care, 84 for home care, 82 for transition care and 80 for short-term restorative care
• older age groups represented a larger proportion of exits from permanent residential care than other types of care – nearly two-thirds (64%) of exits from permanent residential care were for people aged 85 and over, compared with 54% for respite residential care, 49% for home care, 37% for transition care and 28% for short-term restorative care
• the longest median length of stay for people leaving home care was for those aged 100 and over at exit (27 months; over 2 years)
• the longest median length of stay for people leaving permanent residential care was for those aged 0–49 at exit (51.2 months; over 4 years). For more information on younger people in residential aged care, see the Younger people in residential aged care dashboard.

 

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

Aged care exits by sex and age

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

In 2023–24:

• nearly half (47%) of women exiting from permanent residential care were aged 90 and over, compared with less than one-third (32%) among men
• the age distribution for people leaving home care, respite residential care, transition care, and short-term restorative care were similar for men and women
• the median length of stay in permanent residential care generally increased with age from age 75 onwards both for men and women – the median length of stay for people aged 75–79 at exit was 12.9 months for men and 16.4 months for women, compared with 24.8 months for men and 40.5 months for women among people aged 100 and over at exit.

 

Figure 5: Aged care exits by care type, sex and age group, 2023–24

Aged care exits 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).

In practice, 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. 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 the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people using aged care dashboard, or visit the First Nations people topic page on the AIHW website.

In 2023–24:

• First Nations people accounted for 1.7% of total exits from mainstream aged care (home care, permanent and respite residential care, transition care and short-term restorative care)
• exits from 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 at exit was 72 and 85 for home care, 77 and 88 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 6: Aged care exits by care type, Indigenous status and age group, 2023–24

Aged care exits 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:

• nearly 1 in 4 (23%) exits from mainstream aged care services (home care, permanent and respite residential care, transition care and short-term restorative care) were for people born in non-English-speaking countries
• people who preferred to speak a language other than English accounted for 11% of exits from mainstream aged care services
• the median length of stay for people leaving permanent residential care was 0.6 months (18 days) longer for people who preferred to speak a language other than English compared with people who preferred to speak English.

 

Figure 7: Aged care exits by care type and country of birth/preferred language,
2023–24

Aged care exits by states and territories

Both the number of exits and the median length of stay for different aged care programs vary 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:

• the median length of stay for home care was longest in Victoria (19.3 months) and shortest in Queensland (12.9 months).
• South Australia had the longest median length of stay for permanent residential care (20.6 months) and Northern Territory had the shortest (17.5 months)
• home care services in Queensland had the highest rate of exits among older people (2.1 exits per 1,000 population aged 65 and over), while home care services in Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory had the lowest (1.4 per 1,000)
• South Australia and Tasmania had the highest rate of exits from permanent residential care among older people (16 exits per 1,000 population aged 65 and over) and Northern Territory had the lowest (8.8 per 1,000).

 

Figure 8: Aged care exits by care type and states and territories, 2023–24

Aged care exits by remoteness areas

In general, the number of exits and the median length of stay for different aged care programs vary across remoteness areas.

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 exiting 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 the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people using aged care dashboard.

In 2023–24:

• Large rural towns (MM 3) and Medium rural towns (MM 4) had the longest median length of stay for exits from home care (19.2 months each) and Very remote communities (MM 7) had the shortest (11.4 months)
• Metropolitan areas (MM 1) had the longest median length of stay for exits from permanent residential care (19.3 months) and Very remote communities (MM 7) had the shortest (15.0 months)
• patterns in the rate of exits among older Australians (exits per 1,000 population aged 65 and over) by remoteness area were often similar to patterns in admissions (see Admissions into aged care). For example, the rate of exits among older people from permanent residential care was highest in Large rural towns (MM 3) and Medium rural towns (MM 4) and lowest in Very remote communities (MM 7), and so was the rate of admissions to this care type.

 

Figure 9: Aged care exits by care type and remoteness areas, 2023–24

Aged care exits 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 exits between 2017–18 and 2023–24. There have been changes in the number of exits – largely mirroring changes in the number of admisssions into aged care and the number of people using different care types over time – and typical length of stay for different care types during the reporting period.

Between 2017–18 and 2023–24:

• the number of exits from home care more than doubled from 35,300 to 84,100 (a 138% increase), meanwhile, the rate of exits from home care among older Australians also increase, from 8.8 exits to 17.9 exits per 1,000 population aged 65 and over. 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)
• in general, the number of exits from permanent residential care remained relatively stable (69,900–68,400), however, the rate of exits from permanent residential care among older Australians declined from 17.4 exits to 14.6 exits per 1,000 population aged 65 and over.

The median length of stay showed different patterns for different care types between 2017–18 and 2023–24:

• it increased from 12.2 months to 16.1 months for exits from home care
• for exits from permanent residential care, it increased steadily from 2017–18 to 2021–22 (from 18.5 months to 22.4 months) before decreasing in the following 2 years to 2023–24 at 18.8 months
• it remained stable for exits from respite residential care.

 

Figure 10: Aged care exits by care type, 2017–18 to 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:

• Admissions into aged care
• People using aged care

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