The Australian residential aged care sector lost an average of $12.38 per resident per day in 2020-21, according to the Financial Report released by the Federal Department of Aged Care.

The report is available online, along with an infographic breaking down key findings.

While home care did well, generating $248 million in total profit and seeing 74% of providers end the year in the black, only 46% of residential care providers made a profit in FY21, with the sector as a whole losing $854 million.

Grant Corderoy (pictured), Senior Partner at StewartBrown, says the results are largely in line with StewartBrown’s own surveys, with greater losses expected in coming years, and highlight the need for greater consumer co-contributions to aged care such as in Plan B.

“I
think this year’s losses will be over $1.3 billion, and that’s a continuation of losses over a number of years. Clearly that can’t be funded by taxpayers – the AN-ACC funding is for direct care,” he told The Weekly SOURCE.

“There’s a very strong view from the Royal Commission into the department that there shouldn’t be a significant surplus or major surplus in direct care, so the only way that we can get financial sustainability is through increased consumer co-contribution for those who have the means to pay.”