In Australia, numerous reviews and inquiries have documented concerns about inadequate access to, and the quality of, aged care. Despite those concerns, research is yet to appraise fully how care needs are assessed, prioritised, and met or left unmet. This paper asks two interrelated questions: (1) How should we conceptualise and measure unmet care need and care inequalities among older people? (2) What are the policy parameters for assessing needs, prioritising access to support and monitoring quality in aged care in Australia? Key insights from academic literature are used to critically review Australian policy documents describing rights, assessments, prioritisation, quality standards and performance indicators for the aged care sector. Using the concepts of care inequalities and care poverty, the paper develops a framework for understanding and measuring needs and unmet needs in aged care, and for encompassing fundamental and valued aspects of life for older people, their carers and their care network. The paper argues that the concept of care poverty opens the space to discuss what level of unmet need and inequality in access to aged care in any society may be considered intolerable.

在澳大利亚，许多评论和查询都记录了对老年护理获取不足和质量的担忧。尽管存在这些顾虑，但研究尚未完全评估如何评估，确定优先次序，满足或不满足护理需求。本文提出了两个相互关联的问题：（1）我们应该如何概念化和衡量老年人中未满足的护理需求和护理不平等？（2）在澳大利亚，用于评估需求，优先获得支持和监测老年护理质量的政策参数是什么？学术文献的主要见解被用来严谨地审查描述老年人护理部门的权利，评估，优先次序，质量标准和绩效指标的澳大利亚政策文件。利用护理不平等和护理贫困的概念，本文建立了一个框架，用于理解和衡量老年人护理中的需求和未满足的需求，并涵盖老年人，其护理人员和他们的护理网络的生活的基本和有价值的方面。该论文认为，护理贫困的概念为讨论任何社会中未满足的需求水平和获得老年护理的不平等程度提供了讨论的空间。难以忍受的。