Support at Home Demand Report 2026
A look at aged care provider supply and Support at Home care demand across Australia, drawn from Carevo's provider directory and the inquiries people make when they look for help. The supply figures are our directory of vetted providers. The demand figures are based on 412 aged care and Support at Home inquiries made through Carevo, so they show what people ask for, not the whole national market.
Updated 3 June 2026. Figures refresh at every site build.
Carevo's directory lists 2,131 aged care providers across 1,568 suburbs, and this report reads care demand from 412 recent inquiries.
Aged Care Providers
2,131
In Carevo's directory
Actively Taking Inquiries
468
Of those providers
Suburbs Covered
1,568
With at least one provider
Inquiries Analysed
412
Aged care and Support at Home
Provider Supply by State
New South Wales has the deepest pool of aged care providers in the directory, followed by Victoria and Queensland, while Tasmania, the ACT, and the Northern Territory have the fewest.
| State | Providers | Count |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales (NSW) | | 726 |
| Victoria (VIC) | | 518 |
| Queensland (QLD) | | 431 |
| South Australia (SA) | | 186 |
| Western Australia (WA) | | 165 |
| Tasmania (TAS) | | 50 |
| Australian Capital Territory (ACT) | | 20 |
| Northern Territory (NT) | | 33 |
Provider Supply by Service Category
General aged care, support workers, and personal care are the best-covered service categories, while meal services and home modifications have the thinnest provider coverage in the directory.
| Service category | Providers | Count |
|---|---|---|
| General aged care | | 1,176 |
| Support workers | | 884 |
| Personal care | | 845 |
| Social support | | 728 |
| Therapy | | 727 |
| Nursing care | | 506 |
| Domestic assistance | | 503 |
| Respite care | | 470 |
| Transport | | 461 |
| Allied health | | 314 |
| Meal services | | 83 |
| Home modifications | | 69 |
Most-Requested Support at Home Services
Based on 412 aged care and Support at Home inquiries made through Carevo, personal care is by far the most requested service (named in about 57% of inquiries), followed by domestic assistance. Everyday living help leads the demand, not clinical care.
| Service requested | Inquiries | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Personal care | | 235 |
| Domestic assistance | | 173 |
| Transport | | 96 |
| Meal services | | 92 |
| Allied health | | 50 |
| Social support | | 37 |
| Therapy | | 23 |
| Nursing care | | 18 |
| Respite care | | 17 |
| Support workers | | 17 |
| Home modifications | | 13 |
A single inquiry can name more than one service, so the counts add to more than the 412 inquiries analysed.
Where Demand Is Highest and Where Supply Sits
Demand and supply both cluster in the major capitals. Melbourne and Sydney lead for inquiries, while the same big-city CBDs hold the most providers.
Where demand is highest
| Suburb | State | Inquiries |
|---|---|---|
| Melbourne | VIC | 25 |
| Sydney | NSW | 17 |
| Adelaide | SA | 10 |
| Sutherland | NSW | 7 |
| Perth | WA | 7 |
| Newcastle | NSW | 7 |
| Port Macquarie | NSW | 4 |
| Tamworth | NSW | 3 |
| Southport | QLD | 3 |
| Taree | NSW | 3 |
| Cranbourne | VIC | 3 |
| Ballina | NSW | 3 |
Where supply is concentrated
| Suburb | State | Providers |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney | NSW | 39 |
| Melbourne | VIC | 37 |
| Adelaide | SA | 23 |
| Bundall | QLD | 20 |
| Wollongong | NSW | 20 |
| West Perth | WA | 18 |
| Parramatta | NSW | 17 |
| Blacktown | NSW | 16 |
| Coffs Harbour | NSW | 15 |
| Camberwell | VIC | 14 |
| Burswood | WA | 14 |
| Bankstown | NSW | 14 |
Suburb names appear as recorded in our directory and inquiry records, so capitalisation can vary between rows.
Who Is Asking for Help, and How Urgent
Inquiries are split fairly evenly between older people reaching out for themselves and family members or carers reaching out for them, and about 77% of requests are marked high or medium urgency, so most people are looking for help soon rather than planning years ahead.
Who is asking
| Sender | Inquiries | Share |
|---|---|---|
| The older person themselves | 173 | 42% |
| Family member or carer | 173 | 42% |
| Support coordinator | 42 | 10% |
| Provider representative | 14 | 3% |
| Not stated | 6 | 1% |
| Job seeker | 2 | 0% |
| Healthcare professional | 1 | 0% |
How urgent
| Urgency | Inquiries | Share |
|---|---|---|
| High (needs help soon) | 154 | 37% |
| Medium | 163 | 40% |
| Low (planning ahead) | 90 | 22% |
| Not stated | 5 | 1% |
What This Means
The clearest pattern is that everyday, hands-on help drives Support at Home demand. Personal care and domestic assistance are the two most requested services, well ahead of clinical categories like nursing and therapy. People are largely asking for help with daily living: getting washed and dressed, keeping the house in order, getting to appointments, and meals.
Supply broadly follows population. New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland hold most of the providers and also generate most of the inquiries. The categories with the thinnest provider coverage, such as meal services and home modifications, are worth watching, because demand for everyday living help is high while the pool of providers offering some of those specific services is smaller.
For families, the practical takeaway is to start looking early and compare a few providers, especially outside the capital cities where the provider pool is smaller. Carevo is a connection platform: we help you find and compare vetted providers near you, we do not deliver the care ourselves.
Find Support at Home providers near you
Tell us what you need and your suburb, and Carevo will connect you with vetted Support at Home providers in your area. It is free and there is no obligation.
Keep Reading
Support at Home Program: Complete Guide
Eight classification levels, eligibility, fees, and the transition explained.
Support at Home Prices
What services cost and how to compare providers before you commit.
Support at Home Funding Calculator
Estimate your classification budget and your contribution by category.
Support at Home Providers
Connect with vetted Support at Home providers near you.
Methodology
This report uses two of Carevo's own data sources, refreshed automatically at each site build (last updated 3 June 2026). The supply figures come from Carevo's provider directory: 2,131 aged care providers, of which 468 are actively taking inquiries, mapped across 1,568 suburbs. The demand figures are based on 412 aged care and Support at Home inquiries made through Carevo, classified by the services people asked about, their state and suburb, who was making the inquiry, and how urgent it was.
Demand counts are not a national census. They reflect the people who used Carevo to look for help, so they show relative interest in each service rather than the total size of the market. A single inquiry can name more than one service, which is why service counts add to more than the total number of inquiries. Suburb labels appear as recorded, so capitalisation can vary between rows.
You may cite or republish these figures with a link back to this page. Carevo is a connection platform that connects people with vetted providers; it does not deliver care.