Growing older and living longer

The latest analysis of census figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), shows the number of over 65s continues to grow, and the growth in the East Fremantle area is higher than the State average.

It’s good news for our older people, but it continues to put pressure on the aged care sector.
The ABS figures show that back in 2011 the number of people over 65 years of age in East Fremantle made up 14 per cent of the population. By the time the 2016 census was carried out that had grown to 16 percent. Then came the 2021 census, which revealed that the number of over-65s had grown to 20.5 per cent of East Fremantle’s population.

That picture is repeated in the neighbouring areas of Fremantle and Bicton/Palmyra, where the figure is also 20 per cent.

Right now, more than 36 per cent of people over 65 in the area who need residential aged care can’t access it locally. That’s more than 230 people who will have to move away from their family, friends, and familiar places as they grow older and need more support.

And that number is growing year by year.

The increasing growth in the proportion of over-65s in East Fremantle, combined with the already dire shortage of aged care places, makes the Woodside Care Precinct all the more important for the local community.