Older people are particularly vulnerable to hospital re-presentation following discharge. Ideal discharge planning processes facilitate the transition from hospital to home and prevent subsequent re-presentations to hospital. The objective of this study was to examine discharge planning processes in two Australian hospitals, compare them between sites and to best-practice recommendations. An ethnographic observational study of discharge planning processes was conducted at two general medical inpatient wards at a large tertiary hospital and a smaller regional hospital in Brisbane, Australia. Participants were patients and ward staff involved in discharge planning during a hospital admission. A literature review was conducted to elicit best-practice recommendations for discharge planning. Data for this study (duration: 112 h) were collected directly using field notes by a research assistant embedded in the ward. A directed qualitative content analysis approach was used for data analysis. Results were compared to best-practice recommendations. Findings indicate that both hospitals implemented various best-practice interventions to enhance communication, collaboration, coordination and patient/family engagement for optimal discharge planning. Strategies used were context specific and effective to varying degrees. Clear responsibilities and goals within the multidisciplinary team helped to create cohesive, well-functioning teams. More work is needed to engage patients and families in discharge planning, and to encourage health professionals to consider patients and family as active team members in the discharge planning process.