It could be said that from the initiation of the new Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) in March of 2008 that the aged care sector was in a ‘revenue phase’ that saw the cumulative Care Income grow to 71% at March 2017 as shown in Figure 1.

Now there will be a number of people who may see this figure and suggest that providers have done very nicely out of this growth, but while the revenue grew, so did the costs. For example Care Wages grew more than 75% in the same time period.

During this same period the Care Result (care revenue minus care expenses) grew from $4.40 per bed day in June 2007 to a sector high of $14.92 in September of 2011.

Then the first fiscal cliff appeared as the government looked to reign in the growth of their share of care revenue, so that by June 2013 the Care Result had fallen back to $6.79 per bed day. 

The StewartBrown Aged Care Financial Performance Survey incorporates detailed financial and supporting data from over 830 residential aged care facilities and 420 home care programs across Australia. The quarterly survey is the largest benchmark within the aged care sector and provides an invaluable insight into the trends and drivers of financial performance at the sector level and at the facility or program level.

The listed aged care providers Estia, Regis and Japara have recently released their results for the six months to 31 December 2017. StewartBrown has reviewed the Listed Providers Financial Reports and Investor Presentations and a summary of this analysis can be found in the Listed Providers Analysis Report (December 2017).

Our roadshow is taking an all-day forum around Australia, starting 15 October in Sydney then all the state capitals, and finishing in Launceston on 13 November.

Share Knowledge and Insights From Across the Whole Sector

The Aged Care Finance Forum is designed to inform the aged care sector. It explores the policy, operational and financial changes in the sector in 2019 and beyond, helping operators survive and prosper in an uncertain but exciting environment. The Forum is the opportunity for aged care providers and finance and operational staff across the sector to discuss challenges and share knowledge and insights.

More speakers have joined our programme at the StewartBrown 2019 Aged Care Finance Forums: Professor Mike Woods of the University of Technology, Sydney; Rachel Lane, author and aged care consultant head of Aged Care Gurus; Mike Callaghan, Chair of the Aged Care Financing Authority; and Fiona Somerville, Director of The Ideal Consultancy, will be joining us and presenting their perspectives on the Aged Care sector. Leaving no capital city out, StewartBrown is holding a forum in each of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart and Launceston. Speakers will vary slightly from venue to venue, so we will be updating booked attendees by email - and in this space - with complete lists of speakers in each city.