Almost seven in ten people don’t feel confident navigating the aged care system, according to Juniper’s pulse check at this year’s Ageing Well Expo. Attended by almost 5000 people, the expo gave Juniper a chance to understand how older West Australians and their families experience the aged care system.
We asked: how do you feel navigating the aged care system? Attendees responded with an emoji sticker, selecting from “I’ve got it covered,” “mostly confident,” “somewhat unsure,” “confused” and “completely overwhelmed.”
Across the two days, 155 people took part in the navigating aged care poll. The results found:
-
2% of participants feel they have the system covered
-
20% feel mostly confident
-
29% feel somewhat unsure
-
3% felt confused
-
3% felt completely overwhelmed
Taken together, the results suggest that 68% of participants do not feel confident navigating the aged care system, closely matching findings from Juniper’s Voice of Older Western Australians research, built in partnership with independent market research consultancy CoreData WA, which similarly found that almost seven in ten older West Australians (67%) don’t understand the aged care system, struggle to understand what they are entitled to, and are unsure whether they will be able to access support if and when they need it.
Read the voice of older West Australians Whitepaper here.
Juniper believes every older Western Australian should be able to access the information they need and understand the options available to them. Closing this confidence gap is an outcome Juniper actively works towards.
Being well informed empowers older people to make decisions that allow them to live life on their own terms, whether that means remaining in their own home or moving into residential care. It also helps them make those choices with greater confidence, supporting their health, independence and sense of agency over where and how they live.
Juniper Care Partner Yvonne Venner observed that attendees already receiving aged care were more likely to describe themselves as confident or say they had it covered. In contrast, those not yet engaged with the aged care system were more likely to feel unsure or completely overwhelmed. The difference suggests that confidence often develops through experience and direct contact with the system, rather than being something people have before they need it.
“Some of the people I spoke to at the expo even asked for an extra category because they are that distressed about finding out. They don’t know where to get the help, how to get the help, and what the steps are. So today, we’ve been trying to help them get their head around the idea of aged care and the steps involved.”
Juniper has addressed this gap in confidence and knowledge in several ways. Our Navigating guides set out the system in clear, sequential steps:
At the expo, Juniper’s Customer Support and Sales Lead Tracey Izard took to the stage twice across the two days to present on Navigating Support at Home, explaining government funded services and the recent changes to aged care funding in an easy to understand way.
In the community, Juniper’s Customer Engagement team runs Support at Home Unpacked sessions, delivered face to face and guiding attendees through the process of securing funding with My Aged Care through to the start of services.
The team’s next Support at Home Unpacked sessions are open to the public:
Mandurah Support at Home Presentation
Location: Mandurah Seniors Centre, Centre 41 Ormsby Terrace, Mandurah
Date/Time: Tuesday 15 September 2026, 1:00pm–2:30pm
North Beach Support at Home Presentation
Location: North Beach Bowling Club, 7 Kitchener Street, North Beach
Date/Time: Tuesday 22 September 2026, 10:00am–11:00am
Anyone interested in attending either session is welcome to email welcome@juniper.org.au.
Contact 
1300 313 000