As aged care occupancy climbs to record highs, short-term respite stays are becoming close to impossible to book, leaving carers with nowhere to turn when they need to attend to their own health.
Carers in NSW, and increasingly Queensland, are hearing the same thing from aged care homes: nothing available, call back closer to the date.
Kate Montgomerie, Care Concierge at Care & Co Match, a service that helps people navigate the aged care system and secure care, says respite has become close to impossible to access.
“From my experience talking with carers and families, as well as aged care providers, it has become apparent that accessing just a respite stay in an aged care home in NSW, and increasingly in QLD, is virtually impossible,” she says.
“I get calls from carers almost every week who are desperately seeking to book a loved one into respite, often because they themselves have a medical issue that needs attending to. Most often they have already called nearly every aged care home in their area and beyond, with no luck.”
She says the problem has worsened recently. “I think it’s become a greater issue over the past 12 months.”
Providers have told Montgomerie why. “Sadly, the feedback I have received from aged care providers is that as their waitlists for permanent beds are so long, they can no longer keep aside beds for a pure respite stay,” she says. “Respite in NSW and QLD seems to only be offered at the moment when it is ‘respite with a view to permanent’.”
Booking ahead isn’t possible either. “People are being told they cannot book even as far as 6 months in advance for a respite stay, as the home cannot say if there will be availability at that time.”
What homes say publicly doesn’t always match what happens when families ring. “Lots of homes say short-term respite when you look at their website but when you call they are full, and not keeping respite beds aside,” Montgomerie says.
Carers who are told to call back later face another risk. “Carers are told to call back closer to the time of need, however they then run the risk of leaving it too late with no viable options.”
One provider has gone further. “I’ve also spoken to an aged care provider who no longer offers any respite at all, not even for their residents who are entering permanently, and want to start on a respite agreement initially,” Montgomerie says. “I think this is very telling regarding the state of respite care at the moment.”
The pressure on beds is visible in national figures. Mirus Australia’s data for August 2026 puts national occupancy at 93.44% and metropolitan occupancy at 94.07%, a series high. Permanent admissions in metropolitan areas fell 1.30% over the month, which Mirus says means the record is being held up by residents staying longer rather than by new demand. Mirus data from May had already shown occupancy at its highest in nine years.
Fewer beds turning over leaves less room for short stays. Dementia Australia and Carers Australia argue that funding arrangements, where respite generates lower and less predictable revenue than permanent residents, act as a disincentive to providing it, and that the extra work of admitting and settling short-stay residents adds to the burden. The Inspector-General of Aged Care’s 2025 progress report noted that stakeholders are concerned the AN-ACC funding model does not encourage sufficient respite, or the admission of residents with dementia and challenging behaviours.
Montgomerie recently spoke to a woman who needed to have a procedure in hospital and is the full-time carer for her husband, who has dementia. “The only option that seemed possible was to book her husband in for a hospital stay at the same time and pay privately for his stay,” she says. “Of course not all hospitals can offer this and without family to help out carers are unable to look after their own health needs.”
In another case, “one family was willing to pay privately as they had no other option to cover 4 days when they would be away and mum was living with them.”
The consequences reach beyond a single missed appointment. “The impact of limited to no short-term respite in aged care is that carers cannot attend to their own health, or perhaps go on a family holiday / attend a wedding, or just have a much needed break,” Montgomerie says.
She warns of a knock-on effect for the people being cared for. “It also means that someone living at home with care needs may end up in permanent care a lot sooner than is actually necessary if their support person and carer cannot get a break.”
Home care doesn’t solve the problem, she says. “Most of the families I’m talking to do have home care in place, it’s simply not enough to support a family member who is a full time carer when they have needs that will take them out of the home for a period.”
Dementia Australia and Carers Australia make the same point, warning that when respite is unavailable, carers are more likely to reach crisis points, with a higher risk of unplanned hospitalisation or earlier entry into permanent aged care.
Surveys suggest the difficulty is widespread. The 2025 Carer Wellbeing Survey found:
Official figures give a mixed picture. Federal data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s GEN aged care data shows Queensland recorded 13.2 respite admissions per 1,000 people aged 65 and over in 2024-25, well below the national rate of 20.1. NSW, at 21.7, sat just above it.
That data pre-dates the new Aged Care Act, which began in November 2025, and the deterioration Montgomerie describes.
Industry data also complicates the picture. Mirus reports that respite bed days rose 12.49% between July and August 2026, though those figures can’t show who used the days, or how many carers were turned away. That is a gap in itself: Dementia Australia and Carers Australia say Australia has no contemporary, nationally consistent understanding of respite demand, use or unmet need, and they are calling for an independent national review.
“Cottage respite is a good alternative that a lot of people aren’t even aware exists,” Montgomerie says, and her advice to carers is to “look at cottage respite options in your area, and if that’s an option book in advance.”
According to My Aged Care, community cottage respite can be overnight, weekend or short-term, and is provided through the Commonwealth Home Support Program, which is aimed at people who need a low level of support. Dementia Australia and Carers Australia say that because cottage and centre-based respite are no longer funded through Support at Home, they are not a viable option for many people with higher-level needs.
Montgomerie says availability is also a problem. She recently spoke to about five providers in Sydney on behalf of a client. “Most of them were booked until the end of the year, while some only catered to low care needs residents (who can attend to their own personal care and are mobile).”
Distance can be a further barrier. “Finding a respite provider might mean booking your loved one into a home that’s over an hour’s drive from where you live, which can be tricky when the carer is older and perhaps not driving, or limits their driving to the local area only.”
Montgomerie says a different approach is needed. “If aged care homes can no longer keep respite beds aside then a realistic alternative needs to be found. Perhaps extra funding for the providers who do offer real respite.”
For emergency respite, My Aged Care directs people to the Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737.
