A key recommendation within the Retirement Living Council’s (RLC) latest submission to the federal government has called for a redrafting of the Commonwealth’s Aged Care Act.
Designed to plan for an ageing population, the RLC believes that a rewrite of the Act would enable individual choice, sustainable funding arrangements, and innovation in the care system.
RLC Executive Director Daniel Gannon believes funding retirement communities should be a high priority for the Albanese Government, given their benefit to wellbeing and alleviating housing stress.
“It is no longer possible to consider the future of aged care without discussing the important housing and health value proposition of privately funded retirement communities,” he says.
“The aged care system is failing to keep up with current demand, let alone the ‘silver tsunami’ we know is coming.
"Australia is experiencing a dramatic demographic shift, propelled by an ageing population. Over the course of the next decade and a half, the number of people aged over 75 is expected to increase by 70 per cent, with this cohort increasing from 2 million to 3.4 million.
“These changes will have far-reaching implications and, to meet what will be significantly increased demand for aged care services, these reforms must facilitate new and innovative models for the provision of care, not impede them.”
The other key recommendations made by the Council, featured in a document titled the Aged Care Bill 2023 Exposure draft, include an adjustment to reporting timeframes of the Aged Care Taskforce, further clarity on whether retirement villages can serve as potential residential care homes, and an explanation of the interaction between the Bill and the relevant state and territory Retirement Villages Acts as well as the National Construction Code.
Gannon says the government must be wary of over regulating the sector.
“Too many legislative barriers can dissuade good operators from entering the market, which stifles necessary innovation in the seniors’ care industry. The sector can grow to meet the increasing demands of our ageing demographics while still increasing the quality of care being provided, but only if the right regulatory framework is in place,” he says.
The Council says that retirement villages are saving taxpayers $945 million each year as they delay the elderly entering into public aged care facilities.
Image: Bowden Brae retirement village.
