Seven Productivity Commission statistics every aged care operator should know
We’ve taken a deep dive into the 242-page annual Productivity Commission Report on Government Services - here’s what you need to know.
The report provides a revealed snapshot of the home and aged care sector at a point in time, and sheds light on many of the challenges we have been reporting on for some time.
- In 2024-25, the median time older Australians waited for home care services to commence after assessment approval was 245 days, more than double the number of days the previous year – see main chart.
- In 2024-25, the median time taken from assessment approval to entry into permanent residential aged care was 71 days, up 4% from the previous year and the fifth consecutive annual rise.
- In 2024-25, the median time taken to receive an assessment in hospital was one day, but the result increased to six days at the 90th percentile.
The picture was vastly different for community-based assessments. The median time taken to get an assessment was 43 days, but at the 90th percentile, the time taken was 192 days, revealing the wide variation – and gaps – in the new aged care assessment system.
- Government spending per hour on CHSP services has been flat over the last seven years – see chart below.
The cost of domestic assistance has risen 5% between 2018-19 and 2024-25 to $67.87 on average per hour. The cost of nursing has risen 7% to $152.57 per hour over the seven-year period.
- The average Government payment for a Home Care Package in 2024-25 was $29,800, up 7% from the previous year.
- For residential aged care, the average annualised cost per occupied bed day was $120,467 in 2024-25, up 6% from the previous year.
- The attrition rate, a measure of workforce stability, for RNs working in aged care in 2024 was 25.2%, more than 10 percentage points lower than the 35.9% of the previous year. The decline coincided with the Fair Work Commission’s pay rise for all aged care workers and nurses working in aged care which began flowing to staff from mid-2023.
In December last year, the Productivity Commission released its final productivity inquiry report, including a report on ‘Delivering quality care more efficiently’ which made 37 recommendations.
In particular they recommended better aligning of services between aged care, the NDIS, and veteran’s care.
Take a look at the PC report in full here.
