Sector — Aged Care
Marketing Strategy for Aged Care Organisations
Most aged care marketing gets sold as a set of deliverables: a website, a content calendar, a paid social budget. I work one level up from that. Aged care digital marketing only works when it sits on a clear strategic foundation, who you're actually trying to reach, what's genuinely different about your organisation, and what's changing in the sector that affects how you compete. That's the work I do across residential aged care, Support at Home and retirement living.
I've spent more than 20 years working in and alongside health, aged care and related complex sectors, most of it helping organisations translate genuine quality of care into marketing that actually reflects it. I understand the regulatory environment, the funding mechanics and the emotional weight behind every enquiry, because aged care decisions are rarely made lightly, and they're almost never made by one person alone.
Current pressures
What's shaping aged care marketing right now
Reform environment. The Aged Care Act 2024 commenced on 1 November 2025, replacing the Act that had governed the sector since 1997. Whichever part of aged care you operate in, you're communicating inside a genuinely new regulatory identity, and your marketing needs to show you understand it.
Occupancy. Residential occupancy sits in the low to mid 90s nationally, yet StewartBrown's most recent survey found more than 60% of residential aged care homes operating at a loss. Occupancy and pricing confidence are now the same conversation, not two separate ones.
Customer acquisition. Across every part of aged care, the acquisition journey starts earlier and more privately than it used to, often with an AI search or a Google review, well before anyone picks up the phone or fills in an enquiry form.
Trust. Trust in the sector has been hard won since the Royal Commission, and retirement living in particular is under public scrutiny right now over exit fees and contracts. Generic reassurance doesn't rebuild trust. Specific, plain language communication does.
Family decision-making. The person making the enquiry is rarely the person who will receive the care. Most decisions are made by an adult child or family member, often under time pressure and comparing several options at once.
Sector engagement. GPs, hospital discharge planners, aged care assessors and local community networks all influence where people end up. Organisations that engage these audiences deliberately, not just consumers directly, tend to grow more sustainably.
Sources: Aged Care Act 2024 (Cth); Productivity Commission, Report on Government Services, Aged Care Services; StewartBrown Aged Care Financial Performance Survey, December 2025.
Explore by segment
Three services, three different markets
Aged care isn't one market. Residential aged care, Support at Home and retirement living are funded differently, regulated differently and chosen differently, and marketing all three the same way is a common and costly mistake. I work across all three, with strategy built around the specific pressures of each.
Residential Aged Care
Occupancy, enquiries, family decision-making, reputation, referrer relationships and workforce attraction.
Read moreSupport at Home
Consumer acquisition, assessments, conversion, package uptake, competition and private care.
Read moreRetirement Living
Lead generation, village occupancy, lifestyle positioning, downsizer audiences and community engagement.
Read moreWhether you run one service or three, your marketing strategy should be one conversation, not three.
If your organisation spans residential care, Support at Home or retirement living, or you're not yet sure which pressures matter most for you, a Marketing and Growth Diagnostic is the fastest way to find out.