The Retirement Living Council welcomes the Queensland Government's $350 million fund to incentivise infill development as the sunshine state continues to attract an influx of retirees.
Queensland Premier Steven Miles, speaking at a Property Council event in Brisbane last Friday, is encouraging retirement village developers and operators to utilise the new 'Incentivising Infill Development Fund'.
RLC Executive Director Daniel Gannon said he was pleased to confirm industry's involvement in this important initiative.
"Premier Miles has confirmed that the retirement living industry has an important role to play in providing more housing supply across Queensland," Mr Gannon said.
"He has also acknowledged the important role older Queenslanders can play within the housing market when they consider 'rightsizing' into homes better designed and suited to their ageing needs," he said.
"What I'd really like to see is for … retirement village developments to utilise these fast-tracked approval processes. They're a great example of how we can deliver additional supply [and] make use of existing infrastructure … If they can help us get older people out of five-bedroom houses more suitable for families and into well serviced apartments and villas, that would be great." (Premier Steven Miles, 24 May 2024)
"Across Queensland, there are more than 280,000 people over 75 living in dwellings that are oversized for their needs, which makes rightsizing an important piece of the housing puzzle," Mr Gannon said.
"Larger homes can also increase health risks as people age, with most cases of falls in older people occurring at home.
"This is an important transition because when an older person sells the family home and moves into a house that is more suitable for their ageing needs - in a retirement village, for example - it frees up housing stock for young people, couples and growing families.
"However, this needs to be enabled by older Queenslanders having access to supply of retirement dwellings in the right areas, which underscores the importance of the Queensland Government's Incentivising Infill Development Fund," he said.
The RLC's Better Housing for Better Health report reveals that retirement village residents are 20 per cent less likely to require hospitalisation after only nine months living in one of these communities, which leads to 14,000 avoided annual hospitalisations across Australia.
Compared to people not living in a retirement village, Mr Gannon said this research also found that:
- Residents are 41 per cent happier, 15 per cent more physically active, twice as likely to catch up with family and friends, and they experience reduced levels of loneliness and depression.
- Retirement villages can delay residents' entry into aged care facilities, generating $945 million every year for the Australian Government.
- There are 1.4 million Australians over 75 living in oversized dwellings.
