People using aged care

Australia’s aged care system offers a variety of services to cater to people as they age. 

Last updated: 30 April 2024

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Contents 

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Aged care use in Australia

The map below shows where people use aged care services. The map is divided into 73 Aged Care Planning Regions (ACPR). 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.

Overall:

• On 30 June 2023, approximately 456,000 people were using residential care, home care, transition care or short-term restorative care in Australia. This comprises 193,000 people using permanent or respite residential care, 258,000 using home care and 4,500 using transition care or short-term restorative care.
• In addition, during 2022–23 over 816,000 people were assisted under the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (home support).

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Aged care use by age

A person’s access to government-subsidised aged care is determined by their assessed need, not their age. Although the majority of people using aged care services are aged 65 and over, younger people also access these services, chiefly 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 the Younger people in residential aged care dashboard.

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

• People living in permanent residential care were older (58% of care recipients were aged 85 and over), while people accessing home support and home care were younger (29% and 40% were aged 85 and over, respectively).
• Across residential care and home care, approximately 5,100 people were aged under 65. This included approximately 2,100 younger people living in permanent residential care and 3,000 people using home care.
• The proportion of people using aged care services who were aged under 65 was slightly higher in home support (1.9%) compared with home care (1.2%) and permanent residential care (1.1%).

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Aged care use by sex

Men and women differ in their patterns of aged care use. This is partly driven by the fact that women’s life expectancy exceeds men’s, so there are more women at older ages needing care than men.

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

• Around 2 in 3 people (65%) using aged care services were women.
• Aged care services with the greatest proportion of women were permanent residential care (66% women, 34% men), home care (65% women, 35% men) and home support (64% women, 36% men).
• The smallest differences in aged care service usage between men and women were in respite residential care and transition care (both 59% women, 41% men).

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Aged care use by age and sex

The age profiles of men and women using aged care services differ. Women make up a larger proportion of the oldest people using aged care, in part because women’s life expectancy exceeds men’s, resulting in more women at older ages needing care. Conversely, men make up a larger proportion of the youngest people using aged care.

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

• Almost two-thirds (64%) of women living in permanent residential care were aged 85 and over, compared with 48% of men.
• The age profiles of men and women using home care or home support were similar between the sexes. Around 2 in 5 women (41%) and men (40%) using home care were aged 85 and over, while approximately 3 in 10 women (29%) and men (30%) using home support were aged 85 and over.
• There were more men than women in residential care in younger age groups, despite more women using aged care services overall (52% of people aged under 65 in permanent residential care were men) – 1.7% of men living in permanent residential care were aged under 65, compared with 0.8% of women.

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Aged care use by age and sex over time

Over the past 10 years women have consistently used more aged care services than men. However, this has differed somewhat over time for different care types. For example, men now represent a larger proportion of people living in residential care than in the past, but the opposite trend is apparent for home care.

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

• The number of people using home care had increased more than fourfold from 57,000 people in 2013 to 258,000 people – an increase of 357%.
• The number of people using permanent residential care had increased from 169,000 people in 2013 to 185,000 people – an increase of 9.5% – while the number of people using respite residential care had increased by 97% over the same period (from 4,100 people in 2013 to 8,100 people).
• The number of people using home support increased 13% over 6 years from 723,000 people in 2016–17 to 816,000 people.

Trends over the period from 2013–2023 indicate that:

• Proportionately more men have entered residential care over time (men made up 31% of residents in 2013, compared with 34% in 2023).
• The proportion of men using home care has increased over time, with men making up 32% of home care users in 2013, and 35% of home care users in 2023.
• The number of people using home care and respite residential care per 1,000 population aged 65 and over increased, while the per capita usage of permanent residential care and transition care decreased.

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians using aged care

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.

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

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

• First Nations people represented 2.7% of people using the mainstream aged care services (residential care, home care, home support, transition care and short-term restorative care) where Indigenous status was known.
• 38% of First Nations people using home support, 27% using home care, and 13% using permanent residential care were aged under 65.

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People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds using aged care

Many older Australians were born overseas, have a parent who was born overseas, or have a preferred language other than English. These groups of people can be referred to as culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD). Many CALD Australians face barriers in accessing and engaging with services that support wellbeing, although these Australians are by nature heterogeneous, and situations and needs vary greatly.

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

• Across mainstream aged care services (residential care, home care, home support, transition care and short-term restorative care), most people were born in Australia or other mainly English-speaking countries. The care types with the highest proportion of people born in non-English speaking countries were home care (31%), short-term restorative care (25%) and respite residential care (24%).
• People using these mainstream services also spoke a range of languages. Home care had the largest proportion of people with a preferred language other than English (19%), followed by short-term restorative care (14%) and respite residential care (12%)

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States and territories

The proportion of older Australians (all people aged 65 and over) that use aged care services differs between states and territories. State and territory in this section is based the location of the service (facility or outlet) from which care is delivered, which can be different to the state or territory of the care recipient for home care and home support.

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

• South Australia had the highest per capita usage for permanent residential care (43 people per 1,000 population aged 65 and over), while the Northern Territory had the lowest (21 per 1,000). In the Northern Territory, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care (NATSIFAC) Program is a prominent part of aged care service provision.
• Home care usage among older people was highest for home care services in South Australia (61 per 1,000) and lowest in the Australian Capital Territory (37 per 1,000).
• Home support outlets in Tasmania had the highest per capita usage for home support (200 per 1,000), while the lowest usage was in Western Australia (132 per 1,000).

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Remoteness

In general, the proportion of the older population (aged 65 and over) that uses aged care services varies across remoteness regions and depending on types of aged care services. Remoteness in this section is based the location of the service (facility or outlet) from which care is delivered, so people using home care and home support 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 the Multi-Purpose Services Program Residential Care factsheet and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people using aged care dashboard.

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

• Usage of permanent residential care per 1,000 population aged 65 and over was highest in medium rural towns (MM 4) and large rural towns (MM 3), and decreased with increasing remoteness.
• Home care usage per capita was lowest for home care services in small rural towns (MM 5) and remote communities (MM 6 ) and highest in large rural towns (MM 3).
• Home support had a different usage pattern, with less variation between remoteness areas. Per capita usage was lowest for home support outlets in metropolitan areas (MM 1) and highest in remote areas (MM 6) and regional centres (MM 2).

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COVID-19 and people using aged care

COVID-19 continues to impact people using aged care.

People in residential 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 care.

In residential care, there was a total of 94,133 resident cases, 43,781 staff cases and 2,885 resident deaths in 2022–23. These numbers are an increase on the previous financial year. For the period of 1 January 2023 to 10 July 2023, COVID-19 was recorded as the cause of death in 3.5% of all deaths in permanent residents.

For further information on the impact of COVID-19 on people in residential care, 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:

• People’s care needs in aged care
• Providers, services and places in aged care

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

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