Retirement living communities are uniquely positioned to help the government in the delivery of aged care services through significant efficiencies and savings to both the government and the consumer, according to the Retirement Living Council (RLC).

RLC has welcomed the Aged Care Taskforce report as a framework for government and operators for the future funding and delivery of aged care services. The Taskforce aims to create an aged care system that is sustainable, fair and innovative.

“The number of Australians aged over 75 will increase by 70 percent between now and 2040,” RLC executive director Daniel 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.”

Observing that the current aged care system was failing to meet current demand, let alone the forecast exponential increase, 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 for both government and the end user,” he said.

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 side-lining the need for government dollars – and at times, saving government significant future costs,” Gannon explained.

The retirement living sector also presents an opportunity for government to deliver home care services in retirement communities at scale, and with greater efficiency.

“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,” Gannon said.

“The sector has also provided government with a way to make the delivery of home care 20 percent more efficient and save $100 million each year in the form of its recently released Shared Care framework,” he said.

Image: https://retireaustralia.com.au/communities/the-green-tarragindi/