Aged Care Wait Times - February Newsletter
- Kate Helmore
- Feb 27
- 3 min read
Before I dive into this month's newsletter I do have to share that our darling Sammy boy decided to make his appearance into the world on Wednesday 21st January (a whole 13 days after his due date!). He is an absolute peach and we have been loving soaking in this time together. Cece is adjusting to her role as big sister and we’re slowly finding our new rhythm. One of the highlights of his birth at home was having champagne and cake on the couch to celebrate his birthday - a total dream come true!
The first Report on Government Services (RoGS) since the new Aged Care Act came into effect was released on the 29th January 2026. This report has confirmed that wait times for assessment and time to access in home support continue to increase. Older Australians who are eligible for support are waiting longer than before and often unnecessarily ending up in hospital or residential care.
For this reason, the theme I’ve chosen for February is
“Aged Care Wait Times”.
I have previous written about home care wait times - it’s certainly not a new challenge in the world of aged care. However, I think it’s one that is certainly worth continuing to review and critique as it greatly impacts the health and welfare of our ageing population.
The recent ROGS showed the median wait time for an aged care assessment was up 22.7 per cent from a 22 day wait in 2023/2024 to a 27 day wait in 2024/2025. Back in 2022/2023 the median wait time was just 17 days…
Once approved for a package, individuals then join the ‘National Priority System’ whilst they wait for their package. The report showed that this wait time was up to 245 days in the 2024/2025 financial year, a 127 day increase from 2023/2024.
This is further supported by the Home Care Packages Program Data Report Quarter 2 which showed that as of 31 October 2025 there were 107,281 people awaiting a package at their approved level with an overall average wait time of 273.5 days. As of 31 October 2025 there were 299,016 individuals across Australia accessing a package.
In many ways this data is rather depressing. It’s the same old story that there are over a hundred thousand ageing Australians eligible and waiting to access services that will have to wait an average of nine months to access. The assessment times and wait times for a package continue to blow out further, meaning individuals who arguably could’ve remained in the home are being put at risk or ending up in hospitals or residential care.
The only potential saving grace is that whilst the Productivity Report has only just been released, it reflects data for the 2024/2025 financial year. This means it does not yet capture the changes made from 1 November 2025 with the Support at Home program. This is also not captured in the Home Care Packages Program Data Report that I referenced. I remain cautiously optimistic that after some time settling into the new system, we begin to see an decrease in assessment wait times and more rapid access to services.
As always, please feel free to pass this newsletter on to friends or family. If they want to subscribe, they can do so via my website.
If you want to have a look through some old podcast episodes, you can search for ‘The Truth About Ageing’. I release episodes sporadically which are available through your favourite podcast app (Apple Podcasts, Spotify) or at
Occasionally I also post updates on socials, which you can find at:
Facebook - @navigateagedcareau
Instagram - @thetruthaboutageing
Thank you again for being part of the Navigate gang.
Big love,
Kate.
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