The Retirement Living Council (RLC) has responded to the Australian government’s FY25 Budget. RLC Executive Director Daniel Gannon said:
“This is a budget that focuses on the housing needs of some Australians but forgets about a large cohort of older people and challenges associated with age-friendly accommodation and care,” he said.
“The number of people aged over 75 around the country will increase by 70 per cent by 2040, which should lead to governments prioritising what is required to house this ‘silver tsunami’.
“Instead, it’s radio silence on why purpose-built seniors’ housing still hasn’t been included in the Prime Minister’s 1.2 million new homes target and what the government’s response is to the Aged Care Taskforce recommendations.
“The unfortunate reality is that Australians aren’t getting any younger, and every day that passes without a plan to appropriately and affordably house and care for older Australians is a missed opportunity."
RLC policy recommendations:
- The Australian government should include units in retirement communities as a key delivery component of the Housing Accord target to build 1.2 million new homes nationwide by 2029.
- Increasing the number of retirement communities across the country is a no-brainer for the government, as the benefits to the housing market are two-fold: retirement communities provide age-friendly and care-focused accommodation for older Australians while also injecting existing homes back into the market for younger buyers and growing families.
- With the government’s own National Housing Supply and Affordability Council forecasting a 300,000-home shortfall against its target, the 67,000 retirement dwellings required to maintain existing market demand would close that gap by 22 per cent.
