Arabic version: ارتفاع وفيات المنتظرين لخدمات الرعاية المنزلية في أستراليا

According to ABC News, 6,436 older Australians approved for Support at Home but waiting for funding died in 2025-26, an average of 17 people a day. The health department data showed the toll was almost 34 per cent higher than the 4,812 people who died while waiting under the former National Priority System in the previous year.

The figures are not directly comparable because the system changed from the former home care package arrangement to Support at Home. More than 106,000 Australians were on the official Support at Home priority list as of June 30. The list includes people awaiting a higher level of funding while already receiving lower-level care.

Council on the Ageing Australia chief executive Patricia Sparrow called the figures “an absolute tragedy” and said there were not enough packages in the system. She said people should receive the package they need within about 30 days of being assessed. Without help for basic needs such as showering or eating, she said, older people could end up in hospital or move into residential aged care earlier.

Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston said people on the waiting list were not statistics or numbers. The Opposition said the data emerged after the federal government failed to comply with two Senate orders to produce the figures, and accused the government of avoiding scrutiny. Independent Senator David Pocock described the data as “shocking but sadly not surprising” and said families deserved transparency.

Aged Care Minister Sam Rae said the death rate for people waiting for Support at Home was “significantly lower than the rate of death for older Australians in the broader population”. He said every death while waiting for care was a tragedy, and said the government delivered an additional 83,000 home care places in 2025-26, with another 32,000 rolling out this year.