The StewartBrown December 2017 Aged Care Financial Performance Survey (ACFPS) incorporates detailed financial and supporting data from over 915 residential aged care facilities and over 21,400 home care packages (401 home care programs) across Australia. The quarterly survey is the largest financial benchmark within the aged care sector and provides invaluable insight into the trends and drivers of financial performance at the sector level and at the facility or program level.

We recently conducted the 2017 Corporate Administration Survey and had a response from a large number of aged care providers covering 457 residential care facilities with 35,164 operational places, 12,972 home care clients and 15,395 occupied independent living units. Across the 58 organisations that submitted data, revenues totalled $4.8 billion and aggregated total assets were a total of $15.8 billion.

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. 

On 17 December 2018 the Government provided its Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook update for the 2018/19 year. In making the announcement it also included several measures that impacts directly on the aged care sector.

The StewartBrown Aged Care Financial Performance Survey incorporates detailed financial and supporting data from over 950 residential aged care facilities and 500 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 StewartBrown June 2018 Aged Care Financial Performance Survey (ACFPS) incorporates detailed financial and supporting data from over 974 residential aged care facilities and over 24,952 home care packages 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).

The StewartBrown March 2018 Aged Care Financial Performance Survey (ACFPS) incorporates detailed financial and supporting data from over 911 residential aged care facilities and over 21,700 home care packages (412 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.

On 16 September the Prime Minister announced the establishment of a Royal Commission into the aged care sector. Consultation is underway until 25 September to develop the Terms of Reference, which the Government anticipates will include:

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.