Australia’s aged care system is facing mounting pressure, with tens of thousands of older people now stuck in a growing queue for care as wait times for both home support and residential aged care continue to blow out.
New government data has revealed that thousands of older Australians are waiting not just for care, but in many cases waiting simply to be assessed for the care they need.
At the centre of the crisis is a little-known triage list, where roughly 48,000 people are currently waiting to enter the aged care assessment process. In effect, these older Australians are waiting to get onto the waiting list before they can even begin accessing support.
For families already juggling health concerns, mobility issues and caring responsibilities, the delays are creating enormous strain.
The latest figures show the average wait from first contact with My Aged Care to receiving support is now close to a full year in many parts of the country. In some cases, older Australians are waiting even longer for residential aged care placements, with average delays stretching beyond 12 months.
Across the states and territories, wait times remain consistently high. In Victoria, the average wait is about 354 days, while in Queensland and South Australia it stretches to around 374 days. The ACT recorded the longest average wait at 386 days.
Advocates say the numbers confirm what families and providers have been warning about for months: the aged care system is struggling to keep pace with demand.
The latest quarterly report is the first released since Australia’s new aged care legislation came into effect late last year, but key information remains unclear. While the triage waitlist figure has now been published, updated numbers on how many people are waiting for formal assessments or waiting for assigned home care packages after assessment were not included.
The last publicly available figures suggested more than 230,000 older Australians were somewhere in the broader aged care queue at the end of 2025.
The release of the data has also reignited criticism of the Federal Government’s handling of aged care reform, particularly after this week’s federal budget did not include additional Support at Home packages beyond previously announced funding commitments.
The government has confirmed 32,000 packages will be rolled out in 2026-27 under existing commitments, but sector leaders argue that demand is rising faster than supply.
Residential aged care is also under pressure. While the government has been funding approximately 5,000 new aged care beds annually, industry groups say that number is well below what is needed to meet Australia’s ageing population.
Consumer advocates warn the human cost of the delays cannot be ignored. Long waits for home care can lead to worsening health, avoidable hospital admissions, carer burnout and, in some cases, premature moves into residential care.
Hospitals are also feeling the impact, with thousands of older patients reportedly remaining in hospital beds while waiting for aged care services to become available.
For families trying to support ageing loved ones, the numbers are more than statistics. They represent months of uncertainty, declining health and difficult decisions, all while waiting for a system designed to provide care at the point it is needed most.
