Aged Care: Australia and Hong Kong Compared
Both Australia and Hong Kong (HK) face aging populations, with the percentage of persons aged 65+ expected to increase from 14.3% (2023) to 33.3% (2064) in HK and 16.6% to 20.4% in Australia over the same period according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Accordingly, this article will compare the similarities and differences between HK and Australia’s aged care systems.
Types of Care
In Australia, four types of care are provided to elderly persons:
Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP): Elderly persons reside in and access entry-level care within the community;
Home Care Packages: Elderly persons reside in the community and receive a more comprehensive care package;
Respite Care: Short-term care for older persons, allowing the person and/or carers (such as relatives) to receive respite from standard care programs;
Residential Aged Care (also known as nursing homes): Support and accommodation to dependent older persons.
Similar to Australia’s CHSP and Home Care packages, HK also provides Community Care to elderly persons by allowing them to reside in the community and providing additional support through government-funded community centres run by the Social Welfare Department. HK also provides Emergency Placement Services and Residential Respite Services, allowing elderly persons to access temporary accommodation and care, reflecting significant similarities to Australia’s Respite Care.
However, HK has three types of Residential Care. Care and Attention homes provide accommodation to limited nursing care to its residents, whilst Nursing Homes provide accommodation and basic medical care.
Access to Services
Australia’s My Aged Care (MAC) includes elderly persons engaging in a phone discussion and in-person assessment with an assessor to understand individual needs. These assessments are used to develop an individually-tailored support plan identifying whether the older person is eligible for the CHSP, Residential Care etc. MAC also assists elderly persons in finding corresponding service providers in their community.
HK’s Community Care Service Voucher (CCSV) is a pilot program similar to MAC, as both programs allow elderly persons to reside in their community and purchase health services of their choice, as expressed by PwC HK. However, the CCSV provides elderly persons with a monthly voucher to purchase relevant services, whereas MAC users directly purchase services from service providers at a subsidised rate. Nevertheless, both the CCSV and MAC users are expected to make co-payments to their services proportionate to their income.
However, unlike MAC, the CCSV does not currently provide Case Managers. Further, subsidised aged care services under MAC are available to Australians aged 65+ (Indigenous Australians may access MAC upon turning 50). Contrastingly, the CCSV is a pilot program expanding from 8,000 users (2023) to 12,000 (2025-26) according to the 2023-24 National Budget.
Conclusion
HK and Australia’s aged care systems encourage independent older persons to reside in the community and provide residential care to those requiring greater care. The CCSV and MAC allow elderly persons to select health services according to individual needs. However, HK’s CCSV is merely a pilot program, whereas Australia’s MAC is already widely used.