Retirement Living Council calls for age-friendly housing in Budget

The Retirement Living Council (RLC) has renewed its push for the government to include more age-friendly housing in this week’s Budget, as Australia grapples with a rapidly ageing population and associated accommodation challenges.

RLC Executive Director Daniel Gannon said, “Australian Governments past and present have known about our nation’s rapidly changing demographic landscape for years, alongside the associated challenges with accommodation and care.”

In its pre-budget submission earlier this year, the RLC made five key recommendations, including the addition of retirement units to the Prime Minister’s target of building 1.2 million new homes by 2029.

Mr Gannon criticised the government’s current approach, stating, “Every day that passes without seniors’ housing accommodation being recognised in these targets is a big ‘swing and miss’ for the Australian Government when they should be looking for a home run.”

He added, “Targets are an important way out of this supply mess – but only if they’re complete.”

The National Housing Supply and Affordability Council (NHSAC) recently forecast that the government will fall short of its housing target by nearly 300,000 homes.

Mr Gannon pointed to the NHSAC’s State of the Housing System report as a valuable resource, noting that it “sings the virtues of rightsizing, highlights the housing risks associated with an ageing population, outlines the benefits of retirement communities, and flags that an older population will require more in-home care and support services – typically found in retirement villages.”

Despite the NHSAC’s endorsement of retirement communities, units in these developments are not currently recognised in the government’s housing targets.

The RLC estimates that 67,000 retirement living units need to be built by 2030 to meet existing market demand, which would account for 22 per cent of the housing shortfall identified by the NHSAC.

Mr Gannon emphasised that retirement community units are 48 per cent more affordable than comparable homes, making them a viable solution to Australia’s housing supply problem.