“Legislate to stop older people entering the village,” was a call from a resident at the QLD residents’ association AGM, attended by 83 ARQRV members, 19 guests and four officers from Queensland’s Department of Housing.
At the meeting Judy Mayfield was re-elected President of the Association of Residents of Queensland Retirement Villages (ARQRV) for the 10th time.
Judy echoed the message from the caller in the audience. She said some village operators are taking it upon themselves to raise the age of entry into villages up to 75 and the change in demographics, and the fact people are entering at an older age with more health issues, is making it increasingly difficult to have the same social lifestyle and activities as was the case five years ago.
“Retirement villages are becoming places for low care and the bicycles and trikes are being left to rust outside the manager’s office,” she added.
Judy says the residents are seeing more elderly people entering the villages.
“Increasing the minimum age of people entering a retirement village is going to be a trend.”
In our video discussion Judy laments that the incidence of dementia among village residents is increasing with the complication that Village Managers go home at 5 o’clock and on weekends, leaving it to the residents to support residents in need.
The 2022 PwC/Property Council Retirement Census, of 537 villages, states the average age of a person entering a village is 75 years, which has been the constant figure since 2017. The length of stay is eight to nine years.
The SOURCE: The ageing population will put great pressure on retirement living operators unless the development supply chain is improved.
