the Aged Care Today magazine featured articles

Introduced at the Ageing Australia National Conference 2025, the vision and roadmap are about shifting the policy narrative towards long-term sustainable solutions that will meet increasing demand for services. They focus on identifying and resolving gaps in the system and positioning the sector as a key focus area for government and the community.

Our evidence-based approach focuses on a person-centred aged care system that places older people and autonomy at the heart. While progress has been made with the Aged Care Act 2024, our ageing population creates a critical need for a well-rounded, evidence-based framework to guide efforts over the coming decades.

The supply gap is real. In retirement living, Australia will need 67,000 additional units by 2030. In residential aged care, we will need 10,000 beds every year for the next two decades. Support at Home allocations will need to rise by around 60,000 – 80,000 per year, over the next three to four years – to meet demand. In the 12 years from 2013 to 2025, home care packages increased from 57,000 recipients to 300,000 – an increase of more than 500 per cent.

But we can only meet increasing demand with a viable and investable sector. Currently, around half of all aged care homes and nearly a third of home care providers operate at a loss. Broader economic pressures are also mounting. An ageing population will further increase government spending on pensions and health care, while reducing economic growth by shrinking the labour force and consequently the number of taxpayers.

This will have system-wide consequences, as economic growth slows and private sector investment declines, making it increasingly difficult for providers to secure funding for new developments and for the government to sustain service funding. The combined impact will further limit the supply of aged care at a time when demand is rising.

This kind of critical data will be used as part of the Continuum of Ageing 2050 strategy, to test scenario planning and modelling as Australia moves from 4.3 million people aged over 65 today, to as many as 10 million people by 2056.

The strategy will examine cutting-edge approaches, including integrated precincts where retirement living, aged care, primary health and community services are co-located. Supporting independence at home will also be an important consideration, particularly the role of smart-home technology.

To date, we have engaged with Ageing Australia members and commenced research projects. Developed in conjunction with social and market research experts, SEC Newgate, our inaugural survey into community attitudes around ageing and expectations of an aged care system has already proved very insightful. Preliminary findings confirm that most people want to remain at home as they age, and there is also a strong interest in retirement living and seniors housing.

Our workshops with members have explored their perspectives on drivers of change and co-created ideas for a robust, fit-for-purpose aged care system in 2050. We are also working with the University of Technology Sydney to identify megatrends and system disruptors leading up to 2050.

We will continue this work through broad member and sector consultation, together with engagement across federal and state governments. Our initial phase will culminate a white paper in 2026 that brings together a clear vision, roadmap and set of recommendations to inform our advocacy. The white paper is a vehicle rather than the endpoint.

The ultimate aim is long-term system change that is fit for the future. This includes creating an integrated and ageing-well future that can adapt to factors such as rising demand, new technologies and shifting community expectations.

“Our aim is to shift the policy dialogue to long-term solutions, with strategic reforms across all levels of government,” said Roald Versteeg, Ageing Australia General Manager Policy and Advocacy. “We’re keen to explore person directed, innovative models, that support choice and quality. This will involve integrated aged care, health care, seniors housing, community services and more.

“The input from our members and the wider sector will be invaluable, to help us build a vision and roadmap for the next era of ageing and aged care in Australia, and we encourage everyone to get involved.”

The Continuum of Ageing 2050 strategy is an initiative arising from the Ageing Australia Board’s strategic priorities to undertake purposeful advocacy, informed by evidence.