Expenditure on aged care and support services

This page presents the total expenditure on aged care services as well as expenditure on dementia support services in 2020–21.

Total aged care expenditure

There are a range of government-funded aged care services available to provide care and assistance to those who need it, including: home-based care and support, short-term care and respite, and residential aged care services. In 2020–21, $23.6 billion was spent on aged care services and $2.8 billion of this was directly for dementia.

Aged care accounted for most (76%) of the total direct health and aged care system expenditure on dementia. Aged care expenditure for dementia included:

  • $1.8 billion for people with dementia in permanent residential aged care facilities
  • $550 million for people with dementia receiving Home Care Packages – services that provide support for people with complex care needs to live independently in their own homes. Of this, 45% was for Level 4 packages, which are designed for people with high care needs
  • $166 million for people with dementia under the Commonwealth Home Support Programme – a program that provides entry level care for people who require a low level of support to remain living independently and safely at home
  • $156 million for community-based and residential respite care services (Figure 14.2).

Figure 14.2: Estimated Australian Government expenditure on aged care programs that was attributable to dementia in 2020–21

Bar graph showing Australian Government expenditure on different aged care programs in 2020–21 that was directly attributable to dementia. The largest area of spending was residential aged care services (with spending of $1.8 billion) followed by Home Care Packages ($550 million), the Commonwealth Home Support Programme ($166 million) and community-case and residential respite care services ($156 million).

For more information on aged care services for people with dementia, refer to Aged care assessments, Community-based aged care, and Residential aged care.

Expenditure on dementia support services

There are a number of dementia support programs and initiatives funded by the Australian Government and delivered by individual organisations. These programs are designed to assist people with dementia and their carers, as well as the dementia care workforce.

In 2020–21, the Australian Government provided almost $126 million to fund dementia support programs and initiatives under the Dementia and Aged Care Services Fund. This was equivalent to 3.4% of the total direct health and aged care system expenditure on dementia and included:

For further information on the Dementia and Aged Care Services Fund and provision of dementia support services in recent years, refer to Overview of dementia support services and initiatives, National policy response to dementia and Behaviour Support Programs.