Robots at heart of ambitious aged care plan for Olympic village

High profile investor Mark Carnegie has an ambitious – but practical – plan for the long-term use of the athletes’ village for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Brisbane.

Carnegie plans to fund, build and operate the temporary athletes’ village for the Olympic Games, and then convert the accommodation into aged care.

At the heart of the aged care project will be a focus on automation, including use of robots, which would perform tasks such as cleaning toilets, moving residents between rooms, and providing companionship, Carnegie said.

Carnegie said Australia is behind other nations, such as Japan, where robots already play a significant role in aged care.

Aged care investor

Carnegie owns the Carnegie Catalyst Healthcare Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), which includes investments in Oryx Communities and Odyssey Private Aged Care.

Carnegie was also co-founder of For Purpose Investment Partners, which funds For Purpose Aged Care Australia (FPACA) in 2018, along with Michael Traill.

Aged care first

Carnegie would plan to build for aged care residents first, and athletes second, rather than retrofitting the buildings post-Olympics.

Matthew Beach, partner at M.H. Carnegie & Co, told The Australian Financial Review that this is a long-term institutional investment proposition.

“By designing the villages from day one with post-Games use in mind, we can reduce waste, lower whole-of-life costs and deliver stable, high-quality care assets suited to patient capital.”

The main athletes’ village will be at Bowen Hills, 3km northeast of Brisbane’s city centre, and will accommodate more than 10,000 athletes.

The proposal will be put to the Queensland Government to consider.