Australian government accused of reducing home care waitlist by changing counting method
Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
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- An investigation reveals the true number of people waiting for full home aged care funding in Australia is nearly 154,000, not the officially reported 100,000.
- Over 53,000 individuals have been excluded from the waitlist since reforms began in November last year due to a new counting method.
- This change masks the waitlist's true length, which would be at its longest since 2018 if the old counting method were used; meanwhile, over 4,800 people died in 2024-25 while waiting.
An investigation by Four Corners has uncovered that the official waitlist for full home aged care funding in Australia significantly undercounts the number of people in need. The true figure stands at almost 154,000, a stark contrast to the government's reported 100,000.
the waiting list has always been manufactured or calculated the way that it currently is
This discrepancy arises from a new counting method implemented in November last year as part of government reforms. Under this system, individuals receiving interim funding, a portion of their approved package, are removed from the official waitlist. Previously, these individuals would remain on the list until they received their full funding. This change has excluded more than 53,000 people from the published waitlist figures.
No, once people receive the care package at the level that they have been assessed for, they no longer count [on the official waitlist].
If the waitlist were counted using the method applied for the nine years prior to the reforms, it would be the longest it has been since before the aged care royal commission was announced in 2018. The reforms stipulate that once a person receives 60% of their approved funding, they are no longer counted on the official waitlist, even though they have not yet received the full amount. On average, individuals remain on this interim package for about 10 weeks.
to have people remain in a queue when they are already receiving their allocated level of care would skew the distribution of places
Aged Care Minister Sam Rae denied any change in reporting methods, stating the waitlist is calculated as it currently is and that people receiving their allocated care level are no longer counted. However, a spokesperson for the minister later stated that keeping people on a queue while receiving care would "skew the distribution of places." The report also highlights the tragic reality that over 4,800 people died in the 2024-25 period while waiting for their approved home care funding. Former acting Inspector-General of Aged Care, Ian Yates, called the government's change in reporting "unacceptable" and urged transparency, suggesting that those on interim funding should be reported as an additional figure.
The government needs to come clean and at least report these [people on interim funding] as an additional figure in their reports so they can be monitored.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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