If you’ve ever wondered whether where you live genuinely affects the quality of healthcare and aged care you can expect in your later years, a new national study has put some real numbers behind the question, and the results might surprise you.
Compare the Market built a Senior Healthcare Quality Index, ranking every Australian state and territory using publicly available data across three areas: health status, care quality, and access and experience. The index draws on official Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data covering unplanned hospital readmission rates, elective surgery and emergency department waiting times, potentially preventable hospitalisations, and national aged care star ratings, alongside residents’ own reported experience of their care. Each factor was scored and combined into a single index out of 100.
1. New South Wales — 67.9. NSW takes the top spot overall, with 65.3 per cent of care home residents rating their experience at 4 stars or above, backed by consistently strong performance across hospital and aged care measures.
2. Australian Capital Territory — 66.1. The ACT comes in a close second, helped by the nation’s highest life expectancy at 84.1 years and strong health workforce growth, alongside 78.6 per cent of its care homes rated 4 stars or higher.
3. Victoria — 60.7. Victoria takes third, aided by strong net growth in its health workforce (496.1 additional workers per 100,000 people) and stable results across both hospital performance and nursing home standards. The state records an average emergency department wait of 114 minutes.
4. Queensland — 57.1. Queensland stands out specifically for hospital access, recording the highest rate of elective surgery completed within clinically recommended timeframes (77.7 per cent) and the shortest average emergency department wait of any state or territory, at just 91 minutes.
5. Western Australia — 55.3. WA rounds out the top five, supported by a strong life expectancy of 83.7 years and generally balanced results across both healthcare quality and aged care ratings.
At the other end of the index, three regions recorded notably lower scores, each for different reasons.
South Australia — 25.0, the lowest overall score, driven largely by the longest average emergency department wait time in the country at 212 minutes, and the lowest resident experience rating for care homes, with just 20.6 per cent rated 4 stars or above.
Tasmania — 33.9, held back primarily by the lowest health workforce growth of any state, a factor with real flow-on effects for the availability and accessibility of care for older residents.
Northern Territory — 35.7, recording the lowest life expectancy in the country at 78.4 years, the only state or territory under 80, alongside broader challenges around hospitalisation rates and healthcare access more generally.
Steven Spicer, Executive General Manager of Health, Life and Energy at Compare the Market, said the findings reflect just how important genuine planning becomes as we age. He noted that with populations continuing to age and Australians living longer, reviewing healthcare options, including private health insurance, can offer real certainty around access to care as personal needs change over time.
It’s worth saying clearly: a lower ranking doesn’t mean a state or territory offers poor care, and a top ranking doesn’t guarantee an individual’s personal experience will match the average. These are broad, region-level averages, not a guarantee of what you’ll personally encounter at your own local hospital or aged care facility. But for anyone weighing up a possible move in retirement, considering where ageing parents might be best supported, or simply curious how their own state stacks up, this kind of comparative data offers a genuinely useful starting point for a bigger conversation, ideally one that includes your own GP, aged care provider and financial adviser, rather than a decision made on rankings alone.
This article reports on research conducted by Compare the Market and is general in nature. It isn’t personalised financial or health advice — for guidance specific to your situation, consider speaking with a licensed financial adviser or your GP.
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