Ageing Australia CEO Tom Symondson says the peak body is expanding its retirement living capability to meet surging sector demand but admits its current 10-person team is “not enough.”
“We’ve got a huge amount of retirement living and independent living in our membership and it’s where the growth is happening,” Tom told DCM Group Editor Lauren Broomham.
“Our members say we can’t build residential beds, but we’ve got a huge growth plan in villages and independent living. There’s a lot of money going into that, and it’s being repaid very, very handsomely in response by demand.”
He said older Australians are “absolutely desperate” to move into age-appropriate housing where they can live independently with support or have care delivered into their home.
“It’s a silly retirement operator that says they have no interest in care. Whether they want to provide it or not is another question – but the number of retirement operators still saying ‘care is not our business’ is shrinking by the minute.”
Retirement living should take bigger role in ageing debate
Tom argued it was time to bring retirement living into the broader conversation about ageing, alongside residential aged care.
Ageing Australia has built its retirement living team under Mark Prosser, Director of Retirement Living and Seniors Housing.
The group now includes:
- General Manager Member Relations Geraldine Ellis-Maguire;
- Member Advisor Paul Murphy; Senior Policy Advisor Mark Berezdecky;
- Member Relations Officer Megan Hobson;
- Queensland State Manager Ian Poalses;
- Director Strategy & Representation Derek Dittrich;
- Member Advisors Jane Floyd and Tracy Buchholz (both Home and Community Care/Retirement Living); and
- Media Advisor Najma Sambul.
State Managers Anne King (NSW), Danni Campbell-Manley (VIC), Shannon Sanderson (SA) and Liz Behjat (WA/NT) also contribute to retirement living policy and member engagement.
“We’ve already got about ten people who focus on retirement living, but it’s not enough,” Tom said.
