Residential aged care providers recorded a net loss before tax of $13.81 per resident per day in the year to June 2023, according to the Department of Health and Aged Care's latest Quarterly Financial Snapshot (QFS), an improvement of $0.87 per resident per day from the year-to-date March result.
Revenue increased by $9.85 per resident per day, compared with an increase of $8.99 per resident per day in expenses. It was expected that expenses would increase, as adjustments are often made in the last quarter of the financial year. Wages accounted for about half the increase in expenses, according to the nearly 50-page report.
Nearly half or 47.6% of Australia's aged care residents were serviced by profitable aged care providers, compared with only 26.8% in the first quarter of the 2023 financial year.
Overall, the residential aged care sector returned a net loss before tax of $924 million for the 2023 financial year.
Wages data
Hourly aged care pay data for the lowest and highest rates was included in the QFS for the first time, providing comparative data for wages data from 1 July 2023, when the 15% pay increase was awarded.
In the fourth quarter, the median of the average hourly rate for the sector was:
- $44 for Registered Nurses (a $2 decrease from the third quarter),
- $32 for Enrolled Nurses (a $1 decrease from the third quarter), and
- $27 for personal care workers and assistants in nursing (steady with the third quarter).
Occupancy
Average occupancy in the fourth quarter was 86.7%, an increase of 0.7% on the third quarter. Not For Profit regional providers had the highest occupancy in the fourth quarter with 88.6%, while For Profit regional providers had average occupancy of only 83.9%, according to the Department's data.
Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells, said the results were proof that the Government's reforms were delivering.
“I am particularly pleased to see care minutes increase to 194 minutes for the last quarter of the year, showing that the sector average of 200 care minutes is well within grasp," she said in a statement.
“Looking ahead, we expect to see continued improvements in the viability of the sector, supported by additional Australian National Aged Care Classification funding."
Home care
The home care sector returned a collective net profit before tax for the 2022-23 financial year of $320.4 million.
Home care providers recorded a net profit before tax of $4.07 per resident per day for the year to June 2023, a $0.42 per resident per day improvement on the year-to-date March 2023 result.
The QFS is available here.
