Demand on public hospitals across Australia has continued to grow in recent years. While the Malinauskas Labor Government has added hundreds of hospital beds to the system, it has been offset by a substantial failure in national aged care policy. By far, this is the biggest problem currently faced by our public health system, and the pain is being felt nationally.

In October 2022, South Australian metropolitan hospitals had 60 patients medically ready for discharge and awaiting placement in an aged care facility. In August 2025, that patient cohort peaked at 291 - that’s a 385 per cent increase in less than three years. These are older South Australians who are effectively homeless. They no longer require acute hospital-level care but are too frail to be discharged without the supports of a residential aged care facility.

That is why a re-elected Malinauskas Labor Government plans to establish a $250 million no-interest Aged Care Loan scheme to incentivise the construction of an immediate pipeline of 650 new aged care beds across the state. In addition, Labor plans to transform the old Women’s and Children’s Hospital site into a dedicated Health and Aged Care Precinct. From the day services move into the new hospital, Labor will have a plan in place to guide the transformation of the North Adelaide site, supporting the delivery of 600 aged care beds and doubling the site’s existing bed capacity.

Our plan will deliver 1,300 extra aged care beds across the system. With South Australia’s population over 65 years of age projected to grow by 30 per cent by 2031, this investment ensures our health system is ready to meet the needs of our ageing community.