“Dementia is galloping.” That was a blunt assessment from one Queensland retirement village resident at a recent meeting of the Association of Residents of Queensland Retirement Villages (ARQRV).
“Even younger people in their 70s are developing it… we can’t get volunteers to help because they’re just not capable.”
The warning, shared with permission with The Weekly SOURCE, reflects growing concern among residents that dementia is spreading rapidly through their communities, with Village Managers, operators and regulators unprepared for the scale of the challenge.
No clear process
Residents say the problem is not just the rising numbers, but the lack of clear rules for what happens when a resident with dementia refuses to leave or accept support.
Under Queensland's Retirement Villages Act 1999, operators cannot remove a resident without the consent of their enduring power of attorney (EPA) or an order from the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT).
ARQRV president Judy Mayfield said both options are slow, contested and open to challenge. Families have even challenged removal attempts through the Anti-Discrimination Commission or Human Rights Commission.
“Operators are walking between no authority at all to act, and potential legal action if they do,” she told the meeting.
Safety at stake
The risks, residents argue, extend well beyond individual care.
“If I’m walking with someone who has dementia and they push me down the stairs, what happens then?” asked one. “You’ve got a criminal situation. Safety of the person and safety of other residents both have to be considered.”
Stories raised at the meeting included:
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A man undergoing chemotherapy leaving his wife, who has advanced dementia, to wander the village at night.
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Couples where both partners have dementia and no nearby family to step in.
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Hospitals wanting to discharge village residents into residential aged care.
“My husband was refused discharge from hospital because they said I couldn’t provide 24-hour care,” one woman explained. “He could only be signed out into aged care. Now another resident is going through the same fight.”
Arriving older, unprepared
Adding to the challenge, villages are now seeing more new residents in their late 80s and 90s – often unaware of My Aged Care and how to access services.
“People come in well into their 80s and 90s and by the time they apply, it takes two years to get some service,” said one attendee.
Even when help is available, many refuse to engage with the system. “They’re fine, they’ve always been fine – that’s how they see it,” said another.
“Some people not only don’t want to move – they don’t even want the assessment.”
Few answers, rising pressure
Meanwhile, the numbers keep climbing. Dementia Australia estimates 433,000 Australians are living with dementia, a figure set to almost double by 2054. With the average village resident already over 80, prevalence is even higher in retirement communities.
“This is going to be a huge issue for villages going forward,” Judy said.
As one resident summed it up: “We’re seeing an increase, we don’t know why, and we don’t know what the answer is. But we can’t ignore it anymore.”
