Increasing Access to In-Home Aged Care
Recent data shows that more than 100,000 people are still on waitlists for in-home aged care, despite a noticeable reduction in wait times. The latest quarterly figures for the first three months of 2026 indicate that high-priority cases have seen their wait times decrease by two weeks. Previously, these cases took between 1.5 and 2.5 months, but now they fall within the range of one to two months.
For medium-priority cases, the wait time has dropped from eight to nine months to six to seven months. Similarly, standard-priority cases have improved from 10 to 11 months down to seven to eight months. These improvements reflect ongoing efforts to address the growing demand for aged care services.
The data also highlights an increase in the number of people with access to support at home places. There are now 364,723 individuals receiving such support, which is an increase of almost 18,000 compared to the previous quarter. However, despite this progress, 100,191 people remain on a waitlist for approval.
Challenges in Meeting Demand
Health Minister Mark Butler acknowledged the difficulty in reducing the waitlist as the population ages. He stated that the increasing demand is due to a particular generation entering the aged care system. “Satisfying all of that demand is going to be a very difficult job for government,” he said during an interview with ABC Radio.
Despite the challenges, Butler noted that wait times have decreased at every level. This comes as the federal government continues to expand the availability of in-home care places. During the three-month period, more than 79,000 places were released, averaging 6,088 places each week.
Government Initiatives and Future Goals
In November, the federal government announced its plan to release 83,000 support at home places by the end of the financial year. This initiative faced a four-month delay in implementation. As of the end of March, 61,500 places had been filled, with the remaining expected to be filled by the end of June.
Butler expressed confidence in the government’s ability to meet the growing demand for aged care. “We’ve put more packages into the system than has ever happened before, it’s a 25 per cent increase in package numbers in one single year,” he said.
He added that tens of thousands of more people have received packages, and wait times at every level have come down. The median wait time for an assessment remains less than one month.
Progress and Continued Efforts
Aged Care Minister Sam Rae highlighted that older Australians are entering the system faster. “While we know there’s much more to do, these numbers are encouraging signs our methodical work to secure more care for more older Australians than ever is shifting the dial,” he said.
Rae emphasized that older people want care that is trustworthy, close to home, and at a fair price. These insights guide the government’s approach to improving aged care services across the country.
