Hong Kong plans to boost community care vouchers to 18,000 by 2027 as population ages
Hong Kong's labour and welfare deputy secretary outlined government plans to expand community care vouchers to 18,000 by 2027, promote elderly-friendly housing design, and invest in smart detection technology, as the city's elderly population is projected to reach 2.74 million by 2046.
The Hong Kong government is stepping up efforts to support elderly residents in their own homes as the city faces rapid population ageing, the deputy secretary for labour and welfare told the Legislative Council on 5 November 2026. Speaking on a motion about building an age-friendly community, he said the number of residents aged 65 or above is expected to rise from about 1.8 million today to 2.74 million by 2046, when one in three Hongkongers will be elderly.
A key plank of the strategy is the Community Care Voucher Scheme, which allows eligible frail elderly people to choose their own service providers. The government has increased vouchers from 8,000 in the 2022-23 financial year to 16,000 in 2026-27. As of end-September 2026, about 12,300 people were using vouchers for community care services, up 5,900 from two years earlier, a 90 per cent rise. The 2026 policy address announced a further 2,000 vouchers for the next financial year, bringing the total to 18,000.
Since September 2023, vouchers can also be used to rent assistive technology products such as medical beds and patient lifts. From 2027, hearing aids will be added, bringing the list of rentable products to 13 categories.
The government is strengthening medical-social collaboration. The Hospital Authority's Discharge Elderly Comprehensive Support Scheme now serves about 45,000 people annually, with some 11,000 referred to home care. A pilot at two hospitals since January 2026 has identified 78 discharged elderly patients not previously receiving social services and linked them to district elderly centres. The government plans to expand this trial to other hospital clusters.
To promote ageing in place through technology, the Labour and Welfare Bureau launched a two-year pilot in March 2026 to install smart accident-detection systems in homes of high-risk elderly and disabled people living alone or with elderly carers. The Housing Authority will also launch a pilot in 2027-28 to install fall detectors in homes of elderly-only households. The government has allocated about HK$1 billion to the Eldery and Rehabilitation Innovation and Technology Application Fund, which has supported over 30,800 tech products across some 2,200 facilities.
On housing, about 40 per cent of Hong Kong's elderly live in public housing estates. The Housing Authority's 'Happy Design' guidelines, launched in 2024, include features such as seating in lifts and lobbies, handrails in corridors, and clear signage. Since 1 August 2026, 16 mandatory building design requirements have taken effect, including automatic doors and wider corridors and unit doors. The Buildings Department has also updated guidelines for 28 voluntary elderly-friendly design measures.
