Govt fails commitment to younger people in aged care homes

The Albanese Government has again missed its own target to keep younger people out of residential aged care.

In November 2019, the Government announced strengthened targets for Younger People in Residential Aged Care (YPIRAC) and a new strategy aimed at meeting the goals, in response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s interim report, ‘Neglect’.

The Government made three commitments:

• no people under the age of 65 living in residential aged care by 1 January 2025;
• no people under the age of 65 entering residential aged care by 1 January 2022; and
• no people under the age of 45 living in residential aged care by 1 January 2022.

GEN, the Government’s aged care data portal, states between July and September 2025, 50 people younger than 65 (excluding First Nations people aged 50-64) entered residential aged care.

As of 30 September 2025, there were still 829 people under 65 (excluding First Nations people aged 50-64) living in residential aged care.

New Act tightens requirements

Until 1 November 2025, some younger people were eligible to access residential aged care, including First Nations people aged 50-64 and people who were homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless, aged 50-64.

As a result, as of 30 September 2025, there were 204 First Nations people aged 50-64 living in residential aged care and 164 aged 50-64 who described themselves as having ‘inadequate housing’, an indicator of homelessness. Of the latter, 53 were First Nations people.

From 1 November 2025, the new Aged Care Act prevents younger people’s entry into residential aged care, except under “very limited circumstances”, according to Government documents.

How the new Aged Care Act impacts the YPIRAC numbers will be reflected in the next data release for the December 2025 quarter.