Older Australians are waiting an average of nine months to access home support services, as growing demand from an ageing population continues to strain the sector.
The median wait time for a home care package was 272 days in the last financial year, according to a Productivity Commission report.
This includes an average of 27 days for the initial aged care assessment, up from 22 days in the previous financial year.
The biggest delays occurred after assessments were approved, with wait times for services to begin more than doubling. For home care, the gap increased from 118 days to 245 days.
Wait times for residential aged care also rose, with older Australians waiting an average of 162 days to enter a nursing home, up from 136 days in 2023/24.
The figures are detailed in the Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services, which assesses the performance and equity of federal, state and territory programs.
Since the reporting period, the federal government has announced measures aimed at reducing delays in the system, including the release of 20,000 additional home care packages in late 2025 and a further 63,000 by mid-2026.
A spokesman for Aged Care Minister Sam Rae said there were signs of progress.
“We know there’s always more work to do, and we’ll continue to focus on bringing down wait times further so that every older Australian can access the care they need, as soon as they need it,” the spokesman said.
The government says wait times highlighted in the report are beginning to ease.
Spending on aged care reached nearly $40 billion in the 2024/25 financial year, up from $38 billion the year before. Over the past decade, the cost of aged care has almost doubled.
The report also points to some improvement across the sector, with the proportion of aged care services meeting care-minute targets rising from 34 per cent to almost 46 per cent.
It found 93.5 per cent of services met the requirement to have a registered nurse on duty around the clock.
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