This review provides an in-depth investigation into the difficulties facing older Australians when accessing health care services.

A literature search of forty-one papers, published between 1999 and 2016, examined the availability, accessibility, accommodation, affordability and acceptability of health care services for older people.

The study found that the contribution of factors to health service accessibility varies according to an older person’s geographical local and their accessibility to transport, as well as their level of multi-morbidity and cultural background. Improving access to health services could be improved by matching services to the population that they serve.