Ageing Australia CEO Tom Symondson today joined crisis talks called by the State’s Premier and Minister for Health and Wellbeing, as hundreds of older people remain stranded in hospitals, unable to go home or to access aged care.

“Nearly 500 older South Australians are stuck in hospital, not because they want to be there, but because the care they need is not available anywhere else,” Mr Symondson said.

The number of older South Australians in the state’s public hospital system has increased from 60 just four years ago to almost 500 today.

“This is what happens when we fail to get serious about the gaps in our system and the needs of older Australians. It means an older person waiting in a hospital bed, a family desperately searching for care, and mounting pressure on hospitals already struggling to keep up with demand.

“Keeping someone in hospital because they can’t access homecare or residential care is terrible for the older person, devastating for their family and an incredibly expensive way to manage a problem we know how to solve.

“Aged care funding decisions have consequences well beyond the aged care system. The Federal Government’s decision to increase residential care funding by a mere 2.55 per cent was simply a cut by another name. Inflation is at 4.3 per cent and wages increased by 4.75 per cent in our sector this year. You don’t need to be a maths genius to see the problem with those numbers. You don’t even need a calculator,” Mr Symondson said.

Australia needs over 10,000 additional residential beds annually, yet only around 2,500 beds in total have been added since 2024. Worse still, more than 4,000 have been put on hold or abandoned since the recent funding decision.

“The Australian Government has an opportunity to restore the confidence it has ripped away from aged care. The solutions are obvious – fund care properly, clear the huge Support at Home waiting list and work with states and territories to get older people out of hospitals as soon as humanly possible.

“At the same time, everyone needs to put their shoulder to this task. And I am extremely encouraged by the willingness of state and territory leaders to put their own money on the table and to push for better outcomes for older people,” Mr Symondson said.

The South Australian Government has called for a shared strategy to increase aged care capacity across the state, enabling older people to move out of hospital but still receive appropriate care and support.

“We welcome the South Australian Government bringing health and aged care leaders together to identify practical solutions and I was delighted to be able to participate in these critical discussions on behalf of the aged care sector.

“But states and territories cannot solve a Commonwealth aged care problem on their own. The Australian Government must restore the sector’s ability to build new beds and remove the risk that existing beds will close. It must clear the Support at Home waiting list and it must work with the older people, providers and states to resolve this crisis.

“Our reforms put the rights of older people front and centre, following a Royal Commission report which required us to be better. But what is the point of rights in care if you can’t even get through the front door. We must do better.” Mr Symondson concluded.

Background note for News editors

Ageing Australia is calling on the Australian Government to:

• Address immediate funding pressures on residential aged care providers, following a 2.55% indexation increase that fell well short of both CPI and the independently modelled 5.17% required.
• Establish a national aged care investment plan to support the development of around 10,000 additional residential aged care places each year.
• End the rationing of home care by clearing Support at Home waitlists and ensuring older Australians can access the care they have been assessed as needing.

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About Ageing Australia: 

Ageing Australia is the national organisation representing all providers of aged care to older Australians, delivering retirement living, seniors housing, residential care, home care, community care and related services.