The hospital says Mum or Dad can't go home. What now?

The first 48 hours

1. Find the social worker or discharge planner. Ask the nurse in charge for their name and when they are on the ward. They are your main contact.
2. Check the assessment. Ask whether an aged care assessment has been requested or done. In Victoria, assessments for hospital patients are arranged through the hospital and are usually fast.
3. Work out who decides. If your parent can make decisions, it is their choice. If they can't, find out whether there is an enduring power of attorney for personal matters, or whether a guardian is needed.
4. Write down the care needs. Mobility, memory, nursing needs, diet, and what matters to them (being near family, faith, language, a garden). It shapes every home you look at.
5. Ask what the hospital is proposing. If they suggest a particular home, ask why, look it up (every home has a profile here) and ask whether there are alternatives.
6. Ask for time if you need it. It is reasonable to ask for transition care or a respite stay while you find the right permanent home.

The in-between options

Transition care

Short-term care after a hospital stay to help someone recover and decide what comes next, at home or in a care setting. It lasts up to 12 weeks and can be extended by up to 6 weeks. It must be arranged while the person is still in hospital, after an aged care assessment there. Fees are capped at $14.19 a day at home and $68.93 a day in a care setting (as at 20 September 2026). My Aged Care: transition care.

Residential respite

A short stay in an aged care home. Up to 63 subsidised days a financial year, extendable 21 days at a time with approval. You pay only the basic daily fee ($68.93 a day as at 20 September 2026), with no means test and no room payment. Respite is also a gentle way to try a home before committing. More about respite.

An interim home

Some families accept a suitable room now and move later to a preferred home when one becomes free. It is a real option, but moving twice is hard on an older person, so weigh it carefully. Changing homes later.

Your rights, briefly

• Adults are presumed able to make their own decisions. Where to live is their decision unless they lack capacity for it.
• If they can't decide, an enduring power of attorney for personal matters or a guardian appointed by VCAT makes the decision.
• Under the aged care rights, older people have the right to make decisions about their care and to be supported to do so.
• You can get free, independent advocacy from OPAN on 1800 700 600.

General information, not legal advice. If there is a dispute about capacity or decision-making, seek legal advice or contact the Office of the Public Advocate.

Why it feels so pressured right now

Hospitals have more people waiting for aged care than they used to: 302 Victorians were in hospital waiting for an aged care place in mid 2026, up from 226 a year earlier, and metropolitan homes are close to full. That pressure is real, but it doesn't change who gets to choose. Source.

How we help with a hospital discharge (when we open)

• Everything in the full placement
• We start within one business day, including weekend and after-hours work while it is urgent
• We work with the hospital social worker or discharge planner
• A shortlist of homes with vacancies, aimed for within 48 hours
• A back-up plan using respite or transition care if the right permanent room is not free yet

Price: $2,450 in Melbourne, $1,750 outside Melbourne, in place of the standard placement fee. Melbourne: $850 to start, $1,600 when an offer is accepted. Outside Melbourne: $550 to start, $1,200 when an offer is accepted.

If you need emergency respite for someone being cared for at home, Carer Gateway can help on 1800 422 737.

Hospital discharge questions

Can the hospital make Mum go to a particular aged care home?

The decision about where to live belongs to the person, or to whoever has legal authority if they cannot decide (such as an enduring power of attorney for personal matters, or a guardian appointed by VCAT). Hospitals can and do push for a quick decision, and may suggest a home with a vacancy, but you can ask for time, ask about transition care or respite, and ask for the social worker to explain the options. Free advocacy is available from OPAN on 1800 700 600.

Does the aged care assessment have to be done before discharge?

A permanent aged care room needs an assessment that approves residential care. In Victoria, assessments for people in hospital are arranged through the hospital, and they are usually quick: the national median for hospital assessments was 1 day in April to June 2026. Ask the ward whether it has been requested.

What if no suitable home has a room yet?

There are in-between options. Transition care gives up to 12 weeks of short-term restorative care after hospital, at home or in a care setting. Residential respite gives a short stay in an aged care home, up to 63 subsidised days a year. Both buy time to find the right permanent home.

Will we be charged for staying in hospital while we look?

Victorian public hospitals can charge a daily contribution to patients who no longer need hospital care and are waiting for a residential aged care place (the "nursing home type patient" contribution). Ask the hospital if and when it would apply. See Victorian Department of Health.

How fast can you start?

Our service is not open yet, so please use the free help on this page today: the hospital social worker, My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 and OPAN on 1800 700 600. When we open, urgent placements will start within one business day.