Fewer patients stranded in hospital waiting for aged care
The number of Australians in hospital waiting on residential aged care eased 2% from 2,806 in October 2025 to 2,743 in January 2026, according to figures that The Weekly SOURCE has gathered from State health departments.
The decline could reflect, at least in part, increased State investment in transitional care measures.
The total number of South Australians waiting on residential aged care is 377 – a record high.
However, the number in hospital waiting on aged care fell 6% to 279 over the 2.5 month period from 30 October 2025 to 12 February 2026.
Nearly 100 older South Australians waiting on aged care are in transitional care, such as Care Awaiting Placement and Mental Health programs.
There are similar transitional programs in operation in other states, such as Western Australia’s Time to Think program.
The number of patients in Western Australian hospitals waiting on aged care fell 3% to 304 in the 2.5 month period.
In NSW, the number dropped 6% to 829.
However, ‘bed block’ in Tasmania (+5%) and the ACT (+14%) continued to accelerate over the period.
The price of aged care waiting lists
The decline in the number of hospital patients waiting on aged care comes as States and the Federal Government remain locked in a stalemate over Commonwealth funding of State-run hospitals, with State Premiers and Health Ministers claiming the current offer on the table does not sufficiently cover costs.
States joined forces last year, commissioning research showing the high number of long-stay patients in hospitals waiting on Federally funded residential aged care is ballooning costs, and demanded increased Commonwealth funding.
Hopes of an agreement were dashed in a meeting on 20 December 2025, when State Premiers and Health Ministers rejected the Federal Government’s latest offer.
An interim agreement reached in early 2025, which runs from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, provides approximately $32.2 billion plus an additional $1.7 billion one-off payment.
However, the States say an extra $8 billion-$10 billion is needed.
Fed Govt's hospital funding at decade low
In 2023, State and Federal Governments agreed to gradually lift the Commonwealth’s contribution share to 42.5 % by 2030 and 45 % by 2035. The current Contribution Rate is 37.6% , the lowest since 2015-16, according to NSW Budget Papers.
Though the numbers in hospital waiting on aged care are easing in some states, aged care bed shortages are still leaving more than 2,700 older Australians stranded in hospital.
With the Government forecasting 9,000 aged care beds will be needed annually over the next decade but only 800 built last year, the situation is unlikely to improve significantly in the short or medium term.
Transitional care arrangements can ease some of the pressure, but it won’t solve the problem.
