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Home Care Help Independent guide to Support at Home

Home care wait times in Queensland

Last updated 21 August 2026 · Reviewed when new wait-time data is released

The short version

  • Queensland has the longest home care waits of any state - a median of 322 days from application to services starting, against a national median of 294.
  • That’s roughly seven weeks longer than Victoria (273 days), the best-performing state.
  • The queue itself is national - your priority category and approval date decide your place, not your postcode. The gap sits in everything around the queue.
  • Nationally 106,977 people were waiting at 30 June 2026. CHSP interim services can start in the meantime.

How long are Queenslanders waiting?

Figures current as at 21 August 2026. The state median is from the Aged Care Act 2024 Wait Times Report (covering 1 November 2025 - 31 March 2026), corroborated by Aged Care Decisions’ July 2026 analysis; the national queue figure is My Aged Care data to 30 June 2026.

The government’s first Wait Times Report confirmed what many Queensland families already suspected: at a median of 322 days from application to services commencing, Queensland waits longer than any other state or territory. The figure - one of only two state medians independently confirmed by later analysis - measures the whole journey: registering, being assessed, queuing, then signing with a provider and starting services. A typical Queenslander waits about seven weeks longer than a typical Victorian.

Geography is a big part of the story the data supports. Queensland is the third-largest market (71,602 people receiving Support at Home at 31 March 2026), but it has Australia’s most decentralised population - a large share of demand sits outside Brisbane, across the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Townsville, Cairns, Toowoomba and Wide Bay. Further out, outback Queensland, the Gulf, Cape York and the Torres Strait are genuinely thin markets, where remote communities often rely on flexible aged care programs rather than mainstream providers. Distance slows every step that happens in person.

Updated 21 August 2026

Nationally, 106,977 people were waiting at 30 June 2026 - up 13% since December - and on 18 August five peak bodies, including COTA and OPAN, publicly demanded action on wait times. The 2026-27 Federal Budget funds 24,000 additional budgets this financial year, with a commitment to an average three-month wait by July 2027. Today’s waits remain far longer.

One national queue - Queensland isn’t at the back of it

Approval for Support at Home places you in the National Priority System, one queue for the whole country. Your position depends on your priority category - urgent waits about a month, high 1.5-3 months, medium and standard 8-11 months - and your approval date within it. A Queenslander and a Victorian with the same category and approval date hold the same place. Queensland’s longer median reflects the steps around the queue - assessment timeliness and how quickly services start once funded - taking longer here on average. Our national waitlist guide explains the full mechanism.

What you can do while you wait in Queensland

  • Ask about CHSP interim services. The Commonwealth Home Support Programme provides entry-level help - cleaning, meals, transport - while you wait, and it’s continuing as its own program until at least 30 June 2029. Ask My Aged Care (1800 200 422) for a CHSP referral. See how CHSP works and CHSP in Queensland.
  • Request a priority review if circumstances change. With waits this long, changes matter: a hospital stay, a fall, a new diagnosis or a carer who can no longer cope can all justify a higher priority category. Put it in writing with a GP letter if you can.
  • Plan early if you’re outside the south-east. The further from Brisbane, the thinner the market - and with providers setting their own prices, travel charges are a live issue in regional Queensland. Our guide to regional Queensland providers covers what to expect, including who operates statewide.
  • Know who’s in your corner. ADA Australia (Aged and Disability Advocacy Australia) is Queensland’s free, independent aged care advocacy body, reachable through OPAN on 1800 700 600.

Facing a long wait?

Tell us your situation and we’ll point you to interim services in your part of Queensland - no cost, no obligation.

Get matched with a provider Read: while you wait

Finding a provider in Queensland

With the country’s longest waits, using the time to compare providers makes even more sense - you’ll have 56 days to sign once your budget arrives. Queensland-based providers punch above their weight nationally, and choice is real in the south-east and major regional cities. See providers in Queensland.

Common questions

Why is Queensland the longest - and does applying here push me back?

Applying in Queensland doesn’t change your queue position - the queue is national. The 322-day median reflects the whole journey taking longer locally, and Queensland’s decentralised population is a large part of that: much of the demand is a long way from the biggest provider bases, which slows assessments and service start-up.

I’m in North Queensland or the outback - what should I expect?

The same national queue, but a thinner market once funding arrives - fewer providers, and travel charges over long distances. In remote communities, flexible aged care programs often fill gaps mainstream providers can’t. Start with regional Queensland providers well before your budget is released.

Can I get any help during the wait?

Yes. CHSP interim services can often start within weeks, priority reviews exist for genuinely changed circumstances, and short-term pathways such as restorative care bypass the queue for those who qualify. Start with CHSP in Queensland.

Sources

  1. Department of Health, Disability and Ageing - Aged Care Act 2024 Wait Times Report (System Governor, May 2026), covering 1 November 2025 - 31 March 2026.
  2. Aged Care Decisions - Support at Home wait times analysis, July 2026 (corroborating the Queensland and Victorian medians).
  3. My Aged Care / Department of Health, Disability and Ageing - Support at Home data to 30 June 2026 (106,977 in the National Priority System).
  4. Support at Home Program Data Report, Q3 2025-26 (GEN Aged Care Data) - state recipient numbers at 31 March 2026.
  5. Support at Home Program Manual - National Priority System and priority categories.
  6. Australian Government 2026-27 Budget - $389.8 million to release 24,000 additional Support at Home places.
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