Report on Government Services 2025

As people age, they may need care and support to maintain health, social connectedness, wellbeing and independence to remain in their homes and communities. In 2022, 39.8% of people aged 65 years and older reported needing assistance as they aged (1.7 million people) (ABS 2024). Family members, friends and neighbours provide much of the care and support for older people (ABS 2024). However, not everyone’s care needs can be met through informal care and support. Around 80% of older people will access some form of government funded aged care service before death (AIHW 2018).

Government funded aged care services are provided to older people (all people aged 65 years and over and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50–64 years) who have been assessed as eligible for subsidised care through an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) application process. Aged care services assist people who can no longer live without support to access appropriate care in their homes, in the community or in residential care facilities. Approved aged care service providers receive government funding to provide services and are required to meet minimum standards of care.

Regulation and policy oversight of aged care services are predominantly the role of the Australian Government. The Aged Care Act 1997 (Cth) and the accompanying Aged Care Principles are the main regulatory instruments establishing the framework for aged care services in Australia.

The Australian Government funds residential aged care, home care and home support, with state, territory and local governments also funding and/or delivering some of these services directly – for example, a small proportion of residential aged care facilities are owned by state and territory governments. However, most services are delivered by non-government providers (tables 14A.11 −12), such as private-for-profit, religious and charitable organisations.

While the Australian Government subsidises a significant portion of the cost of providing aged care, clients and residents are expected to contribute where they can and may be charged fees by service providers.

In 2023-24, government recurrent expenditure on aged care services was $36.4 billion or $7,452 per older person (table 14A.5 and figure 14.1). Residential and flexible care services accounted for the largest proportion of expenditure in 2023-24 ($22.6 billion, or 62.2%). Home care and home support services accounted for much of the remainder ($11.5 billion) (table 14A.4).

The Australian Government provided 98.9% of government funding for aged care services in 2023-24. State and territory governments provided the remainder (table 14A.4). Detailed expenditure data by program is contained in tables 14A.4-9.

In 2023-24, operating expenses for the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) were $268.6 million (table 14A.4).

Aged care target population

The size and health of the older population drive demand for aged care services. The Australian population is ageing rapidly, with the share of the population aged 65 or over expected to increase by 6.1 percentage points to reach 23.4% between 2022-23 and 2062-63 (Australian Government 2023). Although the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is also ageing, life expectancy at birth for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is lower than that of the non-Indigenous population (ABS 2023).

The aged care target population is defined as all people aged 65 years and over and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50–64 years (this aligns with funding arrangements specified under the National Health Reform Agreement). The aged care target population differs from the Australian Government’s aged care ‘planning population’, which is used to allocate places under the Aged Care Act. Refer to the 'Explanatory material' tab for a definition of the aged care planning population and table 14A.1 for the populations.

Types of care and support

Home care and support

Governments provide services to help older people remain in their homes or return to their homes from hospital or respite care. Carers can also access respite care through home care and home support programs:

• the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) provides entry-level support services to help older people live independently and safely at home and in their community. Table 14A.20 provides a full list of CHSP services. Nationally, in 2023-24, there were 829,043 older CHSP clients, equivalent to around 169.9 older clients per 1,000 older people (table 14A.2).
• the Home Care Packages Program provides more complex in home care tailored to assessed levels of need (level 1 Home Care Packages assist older people with low-care needs, while level 4 packages support high-care needs).  Nationally, in 2023-24, there were 333,852 older clients of Home Care Packages, equivalent to around 68.4 older clients per 1,000 older people (table 14A.2-3).
• the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) provides community care for eligible veterans through the Veteran Home Care (VHC) service. Nationally, in 2023-24, 32,472 veterans aged 65 years and over were approved for VHC services (tables 14A.8-9).

Residential aged care services

Residential aged care is provided in aged care homes on a permanent or respite (temporary) basis. Residents receive accommodation, support (cleaning, laundry and meals) and personal care services (assistance with showering and toileting), as well as more complex nursing care when required. Nationally, in 2023-24, 252,379 older people were in permanent residential care (equivalent to 51.7 per 1,000 older people) and 82,238 older people were in respite care (equivalent to 16.9 per 1,000 older people) (table 14A.2-3).

The occupancy rate of residential aged care services at 30 June 2024 was 88.0%, the highest occupancy rate since 2020. The occupancy rate has been trending downwards over the past 10 years (92.5% in 2015), while the number of operational residential aged care places increased slightly over the same period (192,370 in 2015 to 223,691 in 2024) (table 14A.14). There were 63,639 admissions to residential aged care in 2023-24 (table 14A.36). Information on the classification of residential aged care residents is in table 14A.13. Rates of operational aged care places by selected characteristics are in tables 14A.15-18.

Flexible care services

Where mainstream residential or home care services are unable to cater for an older person’s specific needs, flexible care options are available:

• Transition Care provides time-limited care to older people after a hospital stay to help maximise their independence and minimise functional decline, thereby avoiding premature entry into residential aged care. Nationally, in 2023-24, 16,717 older people received support from Transition Care services (table 14A.2).
• Short term restorative care (STRC) is similar to transition care. It provides time-limited care to improve the physical functioning, wellbeing and independence of older people, but without the need to have been in hospital. Nationally, in 2023-24, 10,207 older people received STRC services (Department of Health and Aged Care 2024).
• Multi-Purpose Services (MPS) provide flexible and integrated health and aged care services in small communities in regional and remote areas that cannot support both a hospital and a separate aged care home. At 30 June 2024 there were 3,741 operational MPS program places (Department of Health and Aged Care 2024).
• National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program provides culturally appropriate aged care to older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people close to their home or community. Services funded under this program can deliver a mix of residential and home care services. At 30 June 2024, there were 1,659 operational flexible allocated places under this program, with 472 in Flexible Residential Aged Care (Department of Health and Aged Care 2024).

Care providers

Nationally, at 30 June 2024, private for-profit organisations provided the largest proportion of operational home care packages (38.8%) and residential aged care places (40.5%) (tables 14A.11-12).