In the years ahead, the demand for aged care will polarise between community-based care and high-care facilities. The deregulation of current restrictions on the number of residential aged-care places, accompanied by the use of competitively neutral and fully portable vouchers for users of aged care, would help the sector adjust to these changes. Price regulation should be gradually reduced, contingent on the development of increased competition in the sector.

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Providing_Aged_Care.pdf

This article surveys the provision and financing of aged care in Australia. Demand for aged care will increase substantially as a result of population aging, with the number of Australians aged 85 and over projected to increase from 330,000 in 2006 to 580,000 in 2021 and to over 1.6 million in 2051. Meeting this demand will greatly strain the current system, and makes it important to exploit opportunities for increased efficiency. A move to greater beneficiary co-payments is also likely, though its extent may depend on whether aged care insurance and other forms of pre-payment can develop.

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Providing_and_Financing_Aged_Care_in_an_Aging_Society_final.pdf