Every number families, providers and journalists keep asking for, drawn from the latest official releases: the 2024–25 Report on the Operation of the Aged Care Act, the Productivity Commission's 2026 Report on Government Services, AIHW GEN data, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Each figure is dated and sourced.
The headline figures for the year to 30 June 2025, the most recent full year reported, plus the first Support at Home data for 2026.
Around 1.5 million people received some form of subsidised aged care in 2024–25. Most of that care is delivered at home; residential care is the most intensive and the most expensive.
| Program | People | Per 1,000 aged 65+ |
|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth Home Support Programme | 838,694 | 165.4 |
| Home Care Packages | 352,733 | 69.8 |
| Permanent residential care | 260,772 | 51.5 |
| Residential respite care | 82,119 | 16.3 |
| CHSP respite | 41,041 | — |
| Transition Care Programme | 24,980 | 4.9 |
| Short-Term Restorative Care | 11,511 | — |
| Snapshot at 30 June 2025 | People |
|---|---|
| Permanent residential care | 196,313 |
| Residential respite | 7,311 |
| Home Care Packages | 292,911 |
| Transition care and short-term restorative care | ≈5,700 |
The sector keeps consolidating. Fewer providers run more places, and the number of places per older person has been falling for a decade.
| Measure | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Admissions to permanent care | 77,400 | 2024–25 |
| First-time admissions | 90% | 2024–25 |
| Median age at admission | 85 | 2024–25 |
| Average age at entry, women | 85.3 | 2024–25 |
| Average age at entry, men | 83.5 | 2024–25 |
| Residents who are women | 66% | 30 Jun 2025 |
| Residents aged 85+ | 59% | 30 Jun 2025 |
| Residents aged under 65 | 0.6% | 30 Jun 2025 |
| Residents assessed as not mobile (AN-ACC classes 9–13) | 42% | 30 Jun 2025 |
| Median length of stay (completed stays) | 20.1 months | 2024–25 |
| Average length of stay (completed stays) | 34.1 months | 2024–25 |
| Exits from permanent care | 68,300 | 2024–25 |
| Exits due to death | 86% | 2024–25 |
| Residents with a dementia diagnosis | 54% | 2021–22* |
Support at Home replaced Home Care Packages and Short-Term Restorative Care on 1 November 2025. The first two quarters of data are now published.
| Priority | Estimated wait |
|---|---|
| Urgent | Within 1 month |
| High | 1–2 months |
| Medium | 6–7 months |
| Standard (74.9% of those waiting) | 7–8 months |
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Approvals for Support at Home in the quarter | 60,709 |
| Places released in the quarter | 79,145 |
| Average places released per week | 6,088 |
| People on new Support at Home classifications 1–8 | 8,931 |
| People on transitioned Home Care Package levels | 355,795 |
| Applications awaiting triage at 31 March 2026 | 48,592 |
| Applications awaiting triage at 31 December 2025 | 65,576 |
Demand is driven by demographics. The over-85 group, the heaviest users of residential care, is the fastest growing.
| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total population, 31 Dec 2025 | 27.8 million | ABS |
| Aged 65+ in 2035 | 6.4m (20.6%) | ROACA / ABS |
| Aged 65+ share in 2062–63 | 23.4% | Intergenerational Report 2023 |
| Aged 65+ in 2065–66 | 9.7m (24%) | AIHW / Centre for Population |
| Aged 85+ in 2065–66 | 1.9 million | Centre for Population |
| Aged 85+ share in 2071 | 5.2–6.4% | ABS projections 2022-base |
| Growth in 85+ population, 2005–06 to 2065–66 | +506% | Population Statement 2025 |
| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| People with dementia, 2025 | ≈439,000 | AIHW |
| Of whom women | 274,000 | AIHW |
| Prevalence, all ages | 16 per 1,000 | AIHW |
| Prevalence, aged 90+ | 427 per 1,000 | AIHW |
| Projection, 2066 | ≈1.1 million | AIHW |
| Dementia Australia estimate, 2026 | 446,500 | Dementia Australia |
| Australians involved in caring for someone with dementia | 1.7 million | Dementia Australia |
| Permanent residents with dementia | 54% | AIHW (2021–22) |
Every residential home receives a Star Rating from 1 to 5. Since 1 October 2025 a home must meet both its registered nurse and total care-minute targets to score 3 stars or more for Staffing.
| January–March 2026 | Value |
|---|---|
| Total care minutes delivered (sector average) | 220.98 |
| Registered nurse minutes delivered | 45.03 |
| Homes meeting total-minutes target | 70.3% |
| Homes meeting RN target (with EN contribution) | 81.4% |
| Homes meeting both targets | 63.6% |
| Government-run homes, total minutes | 247.25 |
| Not-for-profit homes, total minutes | 221.56 |
| For-profit homes, total minutes | 218.04 |
| Indicator | Rate |
|---|---|
| Falls (any) | 31.1% |
| Falls resulting in major injury | 1.6% |
| Pressure injuries (any origin) | 4.8% |
| Restrictive practices (total) | 20.7% |
| Polypharmacy (9+ medications) | 35.3% |
| Antipsychotic medication | 17.8% |
| Significant unplanned weight loss | 7.4% |
| Emergency department presentations | 13.1% |
| Residents rating their experience good or excellent | 86.2% |
| Residents rating quality of life good or excellent | 77.1% |
Reporting to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has risen every year, partly reflecting stronger mandatory reporting rules.
| Year | Complaints | Residential | Home | SIRS notifications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022–23 | 9,074 | 5,077 | 3,997 | 51,602 |
| 2023–24 | 9,314 | 5,314 | 4,000 | 61,960 |
| 2024–25 | 10,658 | 6,302 | 4,356 | 65,897 |
| Action (residential unless stated) | Count |
|---|---|
| Banning orders (all services) | 144 |
| Non-compliance notices, residential | 49 |
| Non-compliance notices, home services | 41 |
| Enforceable undertakings | 28 |
| Sanctions | 4 |
| Residential serious incidents by type | Notifications |
|---|---|
| Unreasonable use of force | 6,061 |
| Neglect | 4,201 |
| Psychological or emotional abuse | 1,490 |
| Unlawful sexual contact | 528 |
| Unexplained absence | 361 |
| Unexpected death | 283 |
| Stealing or financial coercion | 217 |
| Inappropriate restrictive practices | 193 |
| Total residential | 13,334 |
More than half a million people work in aged care. The Fair Work Commission's Work Value Case, completed on 1 August 2026, delivered the largest pay rises in the sector's history.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Interim Work Value increase for direct care workers, 30 June 2023 | 15% |
| Total Work Value increase for personal care workers (incl. 15%) | ≈23% |
| Final nurse tranche paid | 1 Aug 2026 |
| Workers who benefited | ≈400,000 |
| Government funding for the Work Value increases | $17.7bn |
| Annual Wage Review increase from 1 July 2026 | 4.75% |
| Median hourly rate paid, registered nurse | $53.58 |
| Median hourly rate paid, enrolled nurse | $40.36 |
| Median hourly rate paid, personal care worker | $35.27 |
| Wages as a share of residential revenue (median) | 73.7% |
| Agency staff share of direct care hours | 4.5% |
Residential fees are set by the government schedule and indexed on 20 March and 20 September. The figures below are from the schedule effective 1 July 2026; a new schedule for 20 September 2026 had not been published at the time of writing.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Basic daily fee | $66.80 / day |
| Hotelling contribution (means-tested), maximum | $22.15 / day |
| Non-clinical care contribution (means-tested), maximum | $107.32 / day |
| Non-clinical care contribution lifetime cap | $137,917.01 |
| Maximum accommodation supplement | $72.30 / day |
| Income free area | $35,521.20 / yr |
| Asset free area | $64,500 |
| Home value cap for the assets test | $214,884 |
| Provider RAD retention (new residents) | 2% a year, up to 5 years |
| Service type | Full pensioner | Part pensioner / CSHC | Self-funded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical care | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Independence | 5% | 5–50% | 50% |
| Everyday living | 17.5% | 17.5–80% | 80% |
Aged care is one of the fastest-growing lines in the federal Budget, yet a majority of residential homes report an operating loss.
| Measure | Funding |
|---|---|
| Total new aged care package | $3.7bn |
| Incentives for up to 5,000 new residential beds a year | $1.7bn |
| Personal care reclassified as clinical (no co-contribution) from 1 Oct 2026 | $1.0bn |
| Support at Home refinements and 24,000 places brought forward | $389.8m |
| Dementia care, including 20 more specialist dementia care units | $224.3m |
| Measure | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Sector net profit before tax | $891.5m | 2024–25 |
| Net profit per resident per day | $12.21 | 2024–25 |
| Providers with a positive net result | 61.8% | 2024–25 |
| Providers with positive EBITDA | 79.6% | 2024–25 |
| Net profit per resident per day | $10.60 | Jul 2025–Mar 2026 |
| Providers profitable on net result | 60.9% | Jul 2025–Mar 2026 |
| Revenue per resident per day | $481.75 | Jul 2025–Mar 2026 |
| Occupancy | 91.4% | Jul 2025–Mar 2026 |
| Measure (1,173 homes, about 45% of the sector) | Value |
|---|---|
| Homes with an operating loss | 62% |
| Homes with an operating loss, a year earlier | 49% |
| Operating result per bed per day | −$9.16 |
| Operating result per bed per day, a year earlier | +$0.91 |
| Direct care revenue growth vs cost growth | +6.6% vs +11.7% |
| Occupancy in surveyed homes | 95.2% |
Five years after the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, the sector is part-way through the largest restructure in its history.
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 1 Jul 2023 | 24/7 registered nurse requirement begins |
| 1 Oct 2024 | Care minutes target lifted to 215 total / 44 RN minutes |
| 9 Dec 2024 | Single Assessment System replaces ACATs and RAS |
| 1 Jan 2025 | Maximum RAD without approval rises to $750,000 |
| 1 Nov 2025 | Aged Care Act 2024 commences; Support at Home replaces Home Care Packages; new contribution rules |
| 1 Aug 2026 | Final Work Value Case pay tranche for nurses |
| 1 Oct 2026 | Personal care in Support at Home becomes fully government-funded |
All figures are taken from the primary documents listed here, as published at 13 September 2026. Where two official sources differ we name both. We do not derive or estimate figures that are not published.
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