Aged Care Minister Anika Wells has warned that demand on Australia’s aged care system could increase by almost 10% per year from ageing baby boomers.

With the first boomers turning 80 within the next few years, Ms Wells (pictured) told the Economic and Social Outlook Conference last week that despite the “inevitable increase in home care”, the number of aged care residents will rise from 200,000 to 350,000 by 2040.

According to the Minister, the boomer generation will be “the next great test of our aged care system”, and will have “the greatest impact on aged care this century”.

“The baby boomer period spans 20 years, this is not a rogue wave. It will be a rising tide that swells for a decade or more before it peaks.

“Some estimates suggest demand for high levels of care, including residential care, will surge by five to nine percent every single year, as the boomers age,” she said.

The Minister pushed for more innovation in the aged care sector, pointing to Ryman Healthcare’s continuum-of-care model and Korongee Dementia Village in Tasmania as examples.

Plan B – a model where older Australians co-contribute to their care if they have the means to pay – is one proposed solution by DCM for helping to cover rising aged care costs.