More than 6,400 older Australians die while waiting for home care funding

By Jiali Hong- “Student journalists at the University of Melbourne”

More than 6,400 older Australians died while waiting to receive approved home care funding in 2025-26, according to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s latest aged care demographics report.

A total of 6,436 people approved for the Support at Home program died while waiting for funding, up almost 34 per cent from the 4,812 who died under the previous home care system in 2024-25. Almost 107,000 people were on the Support at Home waiting list as at 30 June. The list includes people approved for the program but still waiting for funding to be allocated, as well as some already receiving a lower level of support while they wait for a higher one. About 390,000 people had received a Support at Home package by the end of June.

The department said the mortality rate among people in the queue had remained stable, with about 325,000 people passing through the waiting system over the year. The figures are not directly comparable with the previous year’s because of the transition between systems. Support at Home replaced the Home Care Packages Program and the Short-Term Restorative Care Programme in November 2025.

The numbers were published in the department’s own report after Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care Anne Ruston asked the government for them twice in September without receiving a response. Aged and Disability Advocacy Australia chief executive Geoff Rowe, who also speaks for the Older Persons Advocacy Network, said the system remained broken.

“The system is still very broken,” Mr Rowe said. “If the general public were more aware of how broken the system is, then they would be outraged.”

Deidre de Jonge’s husband, Gerrit, died before receiving the funding needed for equipment including a lift chair.

“I hated the chair because it arrived too late,” she said.

Daryll Mulgrue also cared for a partner, Geoff Small, who died while waiting for support. The federal data shows the average wait to access a Support at Home package was about 10 months.

Aged Care Minister Sam Rae said the government had delivered an additional 83,000 home care places in 2025-26, with another 32,000 being rolled out this year. Mr Rae said the rate of people dying while waiting for Support at Home was significantly lower than the death rate among older Australians in the broader population. He said every death of someone waiting for care was a tragedy and acknowledged more work was needed. The department publishes quarterly data on Support at Home waiting times and funding.

Sources:

•  ABC News
• The Weekly SOURCE
•  Health Services Daily
•  GEN Aged Care Data