The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population has a much younger age structure than the non-Indigenous population, due to higher rates of fertility and deaths occurring at younger ages (see also Profile of Indigenous Australians). However, as with the general population, the Indigenous population is also ageing.
Access to aged care services in Australia is determined by need, rather than age. However, planning for aged care services takes into account the specific needs of the Indigenous population aged 50 and over and the non-Indigenous population aged 65 and over (Department of Health 2018). A broader age group is used for Indigenous Australians because of their greater need for care at a younger age compared with non-Indigenous Australians.
This page focuses on Indigenous Australians aged 50 and over and their use of aged care services.
At 30 June 2016, around 124,000 Indigenous Australians were aged 50 and over. This includes about:
- 90,000 aged 50–64
- 32,100 aged 65–84
- 1,900 aged 85 and over (ABS 2018).
Indigenous Australians aged 50 and over comprised:
- 16% of the Indigenous population (of all ages)
- 1.5% of the total Australian population aged 50 and over (ABS 2018).
In Australia, the aged care system offers options to meet the different care needs of individuals. To help ensure aged care services are appropriate to the needs of all clients, the Aged Care Act 1997 designates some groups of people as ‘people with special needs’. Indigenous Australians are one such group (Aged Care Act 1997: s11–3). For Indigenous Australians, challenges for the aged care system include ensuring access to culturally appropriate care, especially for those living in remote and very remote areas (Australian National Audit Office 2017). In 2019, the Australian Government published Actions to support older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, developed under the Aged Care Diversity Framework. These outline actions to support more inclusive and culturally appropriate care for Indigenous Australians (Department of Health 2019).
Data on the use of aged care by Indigenous Australians are available from the AIHW National Aged Care Data Clearinghouse. Considering the main types of government-subsidised aged care, among Indigenous Australians aged 50 and over, about:
- 20,200 received home support during 2017–18. This is entry-level support provided through the Commonwealth Home Support Programme, aimed at helping people manage independently at home for as long as possible
- 2,900 were receiving home care at 30 June 2018. This is a coordinated package of care and services, from basic through to high-level support, based on need, provided through the Home Care Packages Program
- 1,700 were receiving residential care at 30 June 2018. This means staying in a residential aged care facility, on a respite or longer-term basis.
Indigenous Australians using residential aged care tended to be older than those using home care or home support (Figure 1). For example, nearly half (49%) in residential aged care were aged 75 and over, compared with 32% of Indigenous home care clients, and 27% of Indigenous home support clients.