In 2019, the Federal Government set a target of having no people under the age of 65 living in residential aged care by 2025 in response to a recommendation of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
New data from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing shows that as of 31 March 2025, 959 younger people (defined as a person under 65 years of age) are still living in aged care homes across the country.
Compared with the same time the year prior, numbers are down 30%.
The rate of younger people entering aged care is also declining. Only 37 people under 65 entered aged care in the March 2025 quarter, down 18% from the year prior.
The Government also set a target of having no people under the age of 45 living in residential aged care by 2022, but there are still 15 people under 45 in aged care, a 17% decrease from the previous corresponding period.
The Final Report of the Royal Commission argued residential aged care is "inherently unsuitable" for younger people, who experience "isolation, desperation and loneliness" in that environment, and pointing to the need for more funding for social housing providers to build disability accommodation as the solution.
