Most older Australians are choosing to live at home as they age, with support from Commonwealth-funded long-term home care, rather than entering residential aged care. For the first time Australia has a larger cohort of people being cared for in their own homes than in residential aged care. These Australians are the sickest and frailest members of our society and the highest users of health services. Their care needs are complex and span the hospital, primary and aged care sectors, and are supported at the intersection of the health and aged care systems. This creates further complexity due to different governance, funding structures and economic drivers. There is a dearth of high-quality evidence to inform critical decisions about how best to optimise care for this high-need group, without overwhelming the already stretched health and aged care systems. Such evidence is even more critical in the context of recent major policy changes intended to maintain the capacity of people to remain living at home for longer.
