Aug 25, 2017

Government Stats on Aged Care Provision: What Do The Numbers Say?

Statistics now available from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare paint an interesting picture about aged care services. Statistics on aged care for 2016 indicate that the number of aged care places is increasing, with 1.4 times as many places over the last ten years from 2006 to 2016.

As an Aged Care Placement Consultant these stats simply prove what I have already witnessed, the number of elderly people needing aged care is noticeably increasing.

Occupancy rates tell us how close to full capacity the care system is, so it was interesting to note that residential care had the highest occupancy rate for 2015/16 financial year at 92% . Transition care at 88% was next, followed by home care at 83%. Occupancy rates are calculated by adding together the total number of days that all people spent in care during the year, then dividing that number by the total number of places that were available. The stats around occupancy rates for residential aged care is concerning but information that the highest number of builds in the building and construction industry recently has been for aged care residential facilities does give some comfort.

65% of aged care services were run by not-for-profit organisations in 2016. A trend emerged that most of the privately-owned aged care services were in cities whilst in remote areas services were predominantly government run.

Although aged care services can be delivered by any of the following:

  • government organisations,
  • not-for-profit organisations
  • private companies

the Australian Government contributes towards the costs of care for most aged care places. Around 95% of government spending in aged care comes from the Australian Government, with state and territory governments providing 5%.

So, what are the figures?

The governments spent approximately $17 billion on aged care in 2015/16.

69% of this figure was spent on residential aged care.

Expenditure on residential care was 2.7 times that spent on home care and support.

The break up was – $11.5billion on residential care, $4.3 billion on home care and support.

The government recognises that aged care provision is a growing area with an ageing population. In my role wthin the industry, helping people find suitable aged care accommodation, I hope that the required quality and quantity of residential aged care will be provided well into the future.

The content was originally published on Oasis Aged Care Solutions 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Wondering what to do with kids in lockdown school holidays? Ideas from a happiness expert

School holidays are upon us again. In pre-pandemic days, many parents and carers would be busily planning holidays interstate or overseas, booking in play dates, organising day trips or tee-ing up visits to family and friends. Instead, a significant amount of us are in lockdown (still), living with restrictions and likely working from home. Stumped for things to do? Here are some ideas. Read More

“We found more than 54,000 viruses in people’s poo – and 92% were previously unknown to science”

Everybody poos (but not all poo is the same). It’s fair to say the human gut is now the most well-studied microbial ecosystem on the planet. Yet more than 70% of the microbial species that live there have yet to be grown in the laboratory. Read More

When caring for your family comes first

Maggie, 62 was working in law enforcement when she decided that it was time to quit and take care of her mum, Vera. Not wanting her mother to live in residential aged care, she chose to care for her herself. That was over 12 years ago, and Maggie doesn’t resent having to make that decision.... Read More
Advertisement