Access to care and support services

Metrics

• Unmet needs: proportion of people (aged 0-64 years) living in households who receive disability support who felt their needs were not being met
• Unmet needs: proportion of people (aged 65 years and over) living in households who receive aged care services and who felt their needs were not being met
• Quality: proportion of people with disability (aged 15–64 years) who were satisfied with the quality of assistance
• Quality: proportion of people (aged 65 years or over) living in households, who were satisfied with the quality of assistance

Why does this matter  

While there are many forms of care and support services in Australia, disability and aged care are two that many Australians will engage with at some time in their lives. Early childhood education and care is another important care and support service.¹

Measuring levels of unmet need, as well as client and carer satisfaction is a key source of insight into the extent to which Australians have access to these services.

Has there been progress   

In 2018, 37.5 per cent of people (aged 0-64) who received formal disability assistance reported a need for more assistance than they were receiving — an increase from 31.9 per cent in 2009. The proportion of carers for people with disability who reported a need for further assistance in their caring roles also increased over this period — from 22.8 per cent to 32.0 per cent.² 

76.6 per cent of people (aged 15-64 years) who received formal disability support and 84.4 per cent of people (aged 65 years and over) living in households that received formal aged care services were satisfied with the quality in 2018.

However, between 2012 and 2018 there has been a decline in the proportion of people (aged 65 years and over) living in households who were satisfied with the quality of aged care assistance received.

These metrics do not cover all factors which go towards access to and quality of care services. Others include the wellbeing outcomes generated by the significant amount of unpaid care activity in Australia.

As the most recent data point for these metrics is 2018, they do not capture the impact of investment in disability assistance and aged care services that has taken place since that time.

How does this differ across cohorts  

Client satisfaction with the quality of care and support services varies, in some instances, by remoteness.

In 2018, the proportion of people with disability (aged 15–64 years) who were satisfied with the quality of assistance was higher for those in major cities than those in regional and remote areas, 77.9 per cent and 72.0 per cent respectively. While the proportion of people (aged 65 years or over) living in households, who were satisfied with the quality of aged care assistance was broadly similar across major cities and regional and remote areas.

1 Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (2023) Draft National Strategy for the Care and Support Economy,  accessed 4 July 2023.

2 The Productivity Commission (2023) Report on Government Services, accessed 14 July 2023.