Villages Acts are the domain of the States and Territories yet Retirement Living Council (RLC) Executive Director Daniel Gannon, President Tony Randello, CEO of Aveo, and Vice-Presidents Kim Teudt, Executive General Manager Retirement Living for Bolton Clarke, and Brett Robinson, CEO of RetireAustralia, want to be in Federal thinking.
“We can’t address the aged care crisis by simply throwing more and more tax dollars at it without considering and strengthening the value proposition of privately funded retirement communities,” said Daniel, who made a pre-Budget submission.
“We want the Australian Government to implement our Shared Care framework, starting with a pilot program, so they can better understand the efficiencies and advantages for consumers. It’s a care solution whose time has come and something we’re proud to promote.”
The concept of Shared Care, a 48-page policy argument for the government and the Federal Department of Health and Aged Care, is to take a small portion of a large number of village residents’ Community and Home Care support packages and apply those funds to the full village, which would deliver economies of scale and investments in wellness supports for all residents. Ryman Healthcare CEO Cam Holland has been in direct talks with aged care bureaucrats.
Daniel also wants to have retirement units included as part of the Australian Government’s target of 1.2 million new homes by 2030.
“The National Housing Supply and Affordability Council last week forecast that the Australian Government will fall short of its target by nearly 300,000 homes, but there’s a silver lining to this scenario. In order to maintain existing market demand, the retirement living industry requires 67,000 units to be built by 2030,” Mr Gannon said.
“This would represent 22 per cent of the gap identified by the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, meaning age-friendly communities can help the government solve Australia’s housing supply problem. It’s a no brainer."
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