The Retirement Living Council (RLC) welcomes the Aged Care Taskforce report as a framework for government and operators for the future funding and delivery of aged care services.
RLC Executive Director Daniel Gannon said impending demographic changes mean these issues are only going to become more pronounced in the coming two decades.
“The number of Australians aged over 75 will increase by 70 per cent between now and 2040,” Mr Gannon said.
“This ‘silver tsunami’ will have far-reaching implications for the nation’s socio-economic outlook, including increased demand for healthcare, social services and aged care services,” he said.
Mr Gannon said the RLC supports the Taskforce’s ambition to create an aged care system that is sustainable, fair and innovative.
“The current aged care system is failing to meet current demand yet alone the forecast exponential increase in demand we know is coming,” Mr Gannon said.
“This means it’s no longer possible to talk about the future of aged care without considering the important health and housing value proposition of privately funded retirement communities.
“Older Australians deserve access to quality care and wellbeing services and the retirement living sector is uniquely equipped to deliver them more efficiently and effectively, therefore reducing costs and for both government and the end user,” he said.
Mr Gannon said that retirement communities are one of the first user-pays housing solutions for older Australians.
"Under the right conditions, the private sector can take the lead in breathing life into fresh and upgraded facilities, often sidelining the need for government dollars – and at times, saving government significant future costs,” Mr Gannon said.
“If the market is free to innovate and grow, we’ll be able to showcase the potential of self-fuelled innovation and growth,” he said.
The retirement living sector presents an opportunity for government to deliver home care services in retirement communities at scale, and with greater efficiency.
Industry is already consumer-focussed and has been evolving over recent years to meet the needs and expectations of older Australians who choose to live in a retirement community.
“The RLC’s Better Housing for Better Health report found that retirement villages across the country save the government $945 million every year by delaying the entry of older Australians into aged care,” Mr Gannon said.
“The sector has also provided government with a way to make the delivery of home care 20 per cent more efficient and save $100 million each year in the form of its recently released Shared Care framework,” he said.
