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Providers, services and places in aged care

Overview of providers, services and places in AustraliaAnchor

An aged care provider (or organisation) manages an aged care service. Providers may operate a number of different services, sometimes across different aged care programs. A service is a facility that provides aged care, such as residential care or home care. A service can also be an outlet that provides home support. The Australian Government provides funding for approved aged care service providers.

Residential and flexible care services are allocated a set number of government-funded places (or beds). At 30 June 2023, the average occupancy rate across all residential aged care places was 86%. Home care services and home support outlets are not allocated a set number of government-funded places.

For more information on managing supply and demand of aged care places, see the Report on the Operation of the Aged Care Act or the Stocktake of Australian Government Subsidised Aged Care Places.

At 30 June 2023 (or during the 2022–23 financial year for home support):

  • 1,334 providers were providing home support through 3,744 outlets.
  • 923 providers were delivering home care through 2,448 services.
  • 764 providers were delivering residential care through 2,639 services.
The table shows the number of aged care providers, services and places for each care type at 30 June 2023. The largest number of aged care providers was for home support (1,334 providers). Home care had the second largest number of aged care providers (923 providers). The largest number of aged care places was in residential aged care (221,467 places).

The aged care system offers a continuum of care under three main types of service:

  • home support (Commonwealth Home Support Programme), which provides entry-level services focused on supporting individuals to undertake tasks of daily living to enable them to be more independent at home and in the community
  • home care (Home Care Packages Program), which is a more structured, more comprehensive package of home-based support, provided over 4 levels
  • residential care, which provides support and accommodation for people who have been assessed as needing higher levels of care than can be provided in the home, and the option for 24-hour nursing care – residential care is provided on either a permanent, or a temporary (respite) basis.

There are also several types of flexible care, and services for specific population groups,  available that extend across the spectrum from home support to residential aged care, including:

  • transition care (Transition Care Programme), which provides short-term care to restore independent living after a hospital stay
  • short-term restorative care (Short-Term Restorative Care Programme), which expands on transition care to include anyone whose capacity to live independently is at risk
  • Multi-Purpose Services Program, which offers aged care alongside health services in Regional and remote areas
  • Innovative Care Programme which includes a range of programs to support flexible ways of providing care to target population groups
  • National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program, which provides culturally-appropriate aged care at home and in the community
  • Department of Veterans’ Affairs community nursing and Veterans’ Home Care services for eligible veterans and their families, which provides support to help people stay independent and in their own home.

For more information on aged care services in Australia see the Report on the Operation of the Aged Care Act, or visit the Department of Health and Aged Care website.

Management of aged care servicesAnchor

The Australian Government provides most of the funding for aged care services but they may be operated by not-for-profit (religious, charitable and community), government (state and territory or local), or private organisations.

At 30 June 2023 (or during the 2022–23 financial year for home support):

  • Not-for-profit organisations operated the majority of aged care services across Australia (58% of residential care, 67% of home care, and 73% of home support outlets, excluding unknown organisations).
  • Private organisations operated the second highest number of residential care (34%) and home care (26%) services, but only 9.5% of home support outlets.
  • Government organisations operated the fewest number of residential care (8.2%) and home care (6.4%) services, but almost one-fifth of home support outlets (18%).
  • Among all states and territories, Northern Territory (92%), Australian Capital Territory (89%) and Tasmania (83%) had the highest proportion of not-for-profit-run residential care services. Victoria had the highest proportion of private and government-run residential care services (42% and 20% respectively).
The stacked column graph shows the number of aged care services in each care type grouped by organisation type and geography (state and territory, and Australia total). The majority of residential aged care places in Australia were funded by not-for-profit organisations (58 per cent). Across the jurisdictions, Victoria had the highest proportion of private and government-run residential aged care services.

Services and places over timeAnchor

The number of aged care providers and services can change over time due to demand, funding and other market forces. The number of aged care places, however, are decided by the Australian Government. Residential and flexible care services are allocated a set number of government-funded places. The Australian Government manages the supply of aged care places by specifying a national target provision ratio of subsidised aged care places based on the population aged 70 and over. This approach aims to grow the supply of aged care places in proportion to the growth in the older population. Home care services and home support outlets are not allocated a set number of government-funded places.

At 30 June 2023 (or during the 2022–23 financial year for home support):

  • The total number of residential and flexible care places had increased by 7.1% over the 5 years since 30 June 2018 – from 211,680 to 226,607 places. The biggest relative increase in places was for transition care and short-term restorative care (49%), followed by other flexible care (13%) and residential care (6.9%).
  • The number of home care services had decreased by 5.8% over the 5 years since 30 June 2018 – from 2,599 to 2,448 services – but had increased by 0.9% when compared with 30 June 2022 (2,427 services).
  • The number of home support outlets had increased by 5.7% over the 5 years since 2017–18 – from 3,542 to 3,744 services.
The column graph shows the number of aged care providers, services and places for each care type between 2017 and 2023 (2016–17 to 2022–23 for home support). The number of residential aged care services increased from 2,695 in 2018 to 2,722 in 2020 and has since decreased to 2,639 in 2023. Similarly, the number of home care services has fluctuated, increasing from 2,599 in 2018 to 2,691 in 2019, and decreasing to 2,448 services in 2023. The number of home support outlets increased from 3,542 in 2017–2018 to 3,744 in 2022–2023.

Provision and management of aged care over timeAnchor

The number of residential and flexible care places in aged care services operated by not-for-profit, government and private organisations have changed over time, and vary by state and territory. The Australian Government manages the supply of aged care places by specifying a national target provision ratio of subsidised aged care places based on the population aged 70 and over. States and territories with more older people have more aged care places available.

Between 30 June 2013 and 30 June 2023:

  • For residential care, privately-run services experienced the most growth in aged care places – increasing by 34% from 67,470 to 90,159 places. However, the number of privately-run residential care places per capita decreased from 30 to 28 places per 1,000 people aged 70 and over. Not-for-profit and government-run residential care services also saw a decrease in places per capita – from 48 to 38 places per 1,000 for not-for-profit services and 4.6 to 2.4 places per 1,000 for government-run services.
  • The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care (NATSIFAC) Program is a prominent part of aged care service provision in the Northern Territory. The number of NATSIFAC places in the Northern Territory had tripled – from 208 to 628 places. The number of places per capita increased for not-for-profit and government-run services – from 22 to 34 per 1,000 people aged 70 and over for not-for-profit services and from 4.3 to 9.6 per 1,000 for government services.
The line graph shows the number of aged care places and the places per 1,000 people in the target population (all people aged 70 and over) by care type, organisation type, and geography (state and territory, and Australia total) over time (2013 to 2023). In residential care, services managed by private organisations have seen the most growth between 2013 and 2023 (34 per cent). However the number of private places per person aged 70 and over decreased.

Size of residential care services over timeAnchor

The size of residential care services has change over time – there are fewer small facilities (with 60 or fewer operational places) and more large facilities (with 101 or more operational places). Privately-run residential care services are more commonly large facilities, while not-for-profit and government-run services tend to be small.

At 30 June 2023:

  • Small facilities (60 or fewer places), as a share of all residential care services, had decreased from 52% at 30 June 2013 to 34%. Over the same period, large facilities (101 or more places) increased from 18% at 30 June 2013 to 32% of all residential care services.
  • Almost 9 in 10 (88%) government-run residential care services and 37% of not-for-profit services were small facilities (60 or fewer places), compared with 17% of private services.
  • The proportion of privately-run residential care services that were large facilities (101 or more places) increased from 27% at 30 June 2013 to 45%.
  • Half (51%) of all available residential care places were in large facilities (101 or more places), 33% were in medium-sized facilities (61–101 places) and 16% were in small facilities (60 or fewer places). By comparison, at 30 June 2013 the proportion of all residential care places in large, medium and small places was 35%, 35% and 30% respectively.
The line graph shows the number of residential aged care services and the number of residential aged care places by organisation type, service size, and year (2013 to 2023). In 2023, almost 9 in 10 (88 per cent) government-run residential aged care services were small services (60 or fewer operational places). Three in five (60 per cent) residential aged care places operated by private organisations were in a large service (101 or more operational places). The number of places in large privately-run residential care services increased by 94% between 2013 and 2023.

States and territoriesAnchor

The map below shows where aged care services are located. Each dot represents an aged care service, and the colour reflects the type of care it offers (see above for a description of the types of aged care available in Australia). The location of the service is a base from which care is delivered, so services for home care and home support can deliver care some distance away from the physical location of the service marked on the map. Home support outlets on this map are shown if they were active during the financial year 2022–23, while all other services are as at 30 June 2023.

Overall:

  • Aged care services were concentrated in more densely populated urban areas.
  • Some services, such as those providing flexible care, were more frequently located outside of densely populated urban areas.
A map of Australia shows the number and location of aged care services grouped by care type and geography (state and territory). Residential aged care services are mostly located along Australia’s Eastern coastline and are concentrated in more densely populated urban areas. Services providing flexible care, home care and home support constituted the majority of services outside densely populated urban areas.

RemotenessAnchor

The availability of aged care services varies by remoteness and care type, with most aged care services located in metropolitan areas. The number of services per 1,000 people aged 70 and over also varies by remoteness and care type. The location of the service is a base from which care is delivered, so services for home care and home support can deliver care some distance away from the physical location of the service.

At 30 June 2023 (or during the 2022–23 financial year for home support):

  • More than 3 in 5 (63%) residential care services were located in metropolitan areas (MM 1), compared with 21% located in rural, remote or very remote areas (MM 4–7). The number of residential aged care services per capita was highest in medium rural towns (MM 4) – 1.1 residential care services per 1,000 people aged 70 and over.
  • Almost a quarter (24%) of home support outlets and 15% of home care services were located in rural, remote or very remote areas (MM 4–7). The number of services per capita for home support and home care were highest in very remote areas (MM 7) – 8.1 home support outlets per 1,000 people aged 70 and over and 3.1 home care services per 1,000.
  • Almost half (46%) of other flexible care services, which includes the NATSIFAC, were located in remote and very remote areas (MM 6–7), compared with just 4.3% located in metropolitan areas (MM 1).
The stacked horizontal bar graph shows the proportion of aged care services by care type and remoteness (Modified Monash classification). More than 3 in 5 residential aged care services were located in metropolitan areas (MM 1), while other flexible care services, which includes the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program, were mostly located in remote areas (MM 5–7). This figure also includes a line graph showing number of services per 1,000 people in the target population (all people aged 70 and over) by care type and remoteness. Across all remoteness areas home support had the largest number of outlets per 1,000 target population.

The Modified Monash Model (MMM) is one of several classifications for defining whether a location is a city, rural, remote or very remote. The model measures remoteness and population size on a scale of Modified Monash (MM) category MM 1 to MM 7. MM 1 is a metropolitan area, including Australia’s major cities, and MM 7 is a very remote community, such as Longreach. You can learn more about MMM on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.

COVID-19 and aged care servicesAnchor

Most residential care services experienced a COVID-19 outbreak during 2022–23 – 2,619 facilities experienced one or more outbreaks.

The Australian Government continues to support residential care providers with access to personal protective equipment (PPE), COVID-19 vaccination clinics, PCR and rapid antigen testing, and supplementary workforce/Australian Defence Force clinical personnel. Similar supports and funding measures are in place for in-home aged care services.

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.

Where can I find out more?

Related information can be found on other GEN topic pages:

For a list of residential care, home care and flexible care services, view the Aged care service list.

For a confidentialised unit record file (CURF) on this topic, view the GEN data: Providers, services and places in aged care.

For more information about providers, services and places in aged care, view the Report on the Operation of the Aged Care Act.