Today in Australia, 1,470 younger people with disability under 65 years of age are forced to live in aged care.
The issue is complex and crosses multiple settings and sectors, including hospitals, housing, disability and primary health.
*1 January – 31 December 2023. www.gen-agedcaredata.gov.au
Young people end up in aged care when disability and health services don’t work together in a timely way. Some of these people are aged in their 30s and 40s, living with people in their 80s. They rarely see family or friends and it is common for young people living in aged care to lose skills and independence.
Connecting to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in a timely way is an important early step for young people with disability. When the NDIS, health and aged care systems work well together more young people with disability will be able to choose where they live and who they live with.
How can this issue be resolved?
The Australian Government committed to stopping younger people going into aged care by 2022, and to ensuring that all younger people leave aged care by 2025.
We need to keep building on recent successes. Accessible housing is being created, but not fast enough. The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), health and aged care systems are working more effectively together, but still not hand-in-hand to stop this group falling between the cracks.
