Budget: Housing plan misses cost-effective fix - Levande CEO

The Budget by Treasurer Jim Chalmers "missed a huge part of the solution" to the housing crisis, said the leader of the retirement living operator.

Last Tuesday's Budget, which Newspoll today rated the worst for the economy since 1993, included $2 billion for states and local councils to unlock infrastructure for another 65,000 homes over 10 years: 6,500 a year. The Albanese Government’s promise is to deliver 1.2 million new homes nation wide over five years.

“We support the Government’s push to build more homes, but we’re missing a huge part of the solution,” Levande CEO, Kevin McCoy, said.

“Every time an older Australian moves into a retirement village, they typically free up a larger home that can return straight to the market for a family. That’s immediate supply - no construction required.”

Kevin said the retirement living sector is already making a meaningful contribution to housing supply, but its impact is often overlooked in policy settings.

“Operators like Levande help unlock billions of dollars’ worth of family housing every year, by enabling older Australians to downsize,” he said. “But without the right policy settings, we’re not able to scale that impact fast enough.”

Levande says planning delays remain one of the biggest barriers to delivering new retirement housing and, in turn, unlocking family homes. In many cases, approvals for retirement village developments can take longer than construction itself, significantly slowing the delivery of both new housing options for seniors and the release of existing homes back into the market, Kevin said.

“If governments are serious about increasing supply, they need to look at how quickly the system allows housing to be delivered,” he said. “Fast-tracking retirement village approvals would deliver a double benefit: more homes for older Australians and more family homes for younger buyers.”

Retirement living also delivers critical densification benefits in established suburbs, increasing housing supply without expanding the urban footprint. By delivering medium-density housing in areas already well served by infrastructure, these communities make more efficient use of existing land while supporting more vibrant, sustainable local neighbourhoods.

“If we want more homes, we need to make better use of the suburbs we already have. Retirement living does exactly that: it adds housing and frees up housing at the same time,” Kevin said.

“Retirement living is ready to play a bigger role. With the right policy support, it can be one of the fastest ways to ease Australia’s housing shortage.”

Retirement Living Council Executive Director Daniel Gannon said the Budget could drive more older Australians into an already overwhelmed public health and aged care system, creating a “perfect storm” of longer waits, higher costs and weaker financial security.

“You cannot keep squeezing older Australians financially and delaying access to support, then expect the public system to cope,” Daniel said.

“The Budget relieves one pressure point while creating others. It makes it harder to build passive income through investments and increases costs through private health changes – all while the care system is already buckling.”

He said winding back private health insurance rebates for Australians over 65 would push more people out of private cover and into the public system.

“When people can no longer afford private health insurance, they don’t stop needing care – they simply shift into the public queue,” Daniel stated.