The Government Has Failed to Make Significant Progress On Moving Young People From Aged Care In 2022

This blog post is cited from that originally published article by Summer Foundation on 10 November 2022.

Many disabled young people still reside in aged care due to a lack of other living options. According to recent updates, the initial key target of moving them from aged care into community settings with NDIS support has not been met. 

In November 2019 in response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s interim report, Scott Morrison's Coalition Government stated there would be no people under the age of 65 in residential aged care by 2022. The Government initiated the Younger People in Residential Aged Care (YPIRAC) strategy to meet these commitments. However, according to the most recent report in June 2022, approximately 2,900 younger people still live in aged care facilities.

While this represents a 25% decrease from June 2021, the most recent figure includes 99 people under 65 admitted to aged care facilities in the previous three months.

The number of people with disabilities under the age of 45 living in nursing homes has decreased by 32% to 68 people total, but this was not enough to reach the desired target of no people under the age of 65 in residential aged care by the end of 2022.

Dr Di Winkler, CEO and Founder of the Summer Foundation, says that the declining numbers do not reflect positive outcomes.

"Unfortunately, the Federal Government has failed to make significant positive progress in changing the systems that force young people into residential nurse homes," Dr Winkler says.

“The number of YPIRAC is declining, but not for the right reasons. The drop is primarily attributed to younger people dying in aged care or ‘aging out’ when they reach the age of 65."

"Natural attrition is not an acceptable method of meeting the YPIRAC targets. Instead, younger people require the right support to live well in the community in a home that meets their needs and preferences."

According to Dr Winkler, approximately 350+ younger people with disabilities enter aged care annually, but only 39 transitioned from nursing homes to NDIS-funded Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) in 2021.

The Summer Foundation stated that their numbers indicate 652 young people with disabilities are hoping to leave aged care homes and move into SDA housing. However, more support is required to provide viable options for others who should be relocated but cannot access SDA.

Dr Winkler added, “A nursing home is not the place for NDIS participants. Our research revealed that their lives there are characterised by frustration, boredom and loneliness”.

Due to a lack of NDIS funding and timely funding decisions, many young people with disabilities are being kept in hospitals while they wait to be discharged.

"Most younger people enter the nursing home from the hospital," Dr Winkler explained, “The aged care system has made it much more difficult for hospitals to discharge younger people to aged care as part of the current Federal YPIRAC Strategy… Long hospital stays can be more harmful to people with disabilities health and well-being than admission to aged care."

Dr Winkler believes that the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), the government and health sectors must collaborate to improve outcomes for NDIS participants and the 5% of younger residents of nursing homes who are not NDIS-eligible. She believes that the Government can still prevent anyone under the age of 65 from living in an aged care facility by 2025 and keep them out of unsuitable housing, but this will require quicker housing decisions for NDIS participants in hospitals.