A simplified account of some of the factors affecting placement of elderly disabled applicants into nursing homes is presented. The placement process is described as the task of matching applicants from a waiting list to beds as these become available. Some recent data from one Victorian region is presented to illustrate the discussion. Although the number of waiting applicants at any one time (queue length) is only one measure of the overall situation, it is a convenient one to discuss. Factors affecting the length of the queue include the admission rate which is in turn related to the average length of stay. The potential for assessment-based admission controls to decrease the queue length by decreasing the number of long stay admissions is briefly discussed. Mechanisms for making the whole process more smooth and effective from the perspective of both the applicant and nursing home administration are reviewed.