The 2022 PwC Property Council Retirement Census showed that 26% of surveyed retirement villages nationally said they had co-located aged care facilities onsite.

Other operators, like the nation’s leading operator Aveo Group, partner with nearby aged care operators.

Taking a look back five years, nationally 28% of surveyed retirement villages had an aged care home nearby in 2018 (see graphs).

The SOURCE asked Carinity, formerly known as Queensland Baptist Care, which has four co-located seniors’ communities, where the retirement village and aged care home are situated within walking distance of each other.

“Carinity recognises the benefits of strategically co-located retirement villages and residential aged care communities. Our vision is to increase the number of co-located retirement and aged care sites for older people around Queensland,” said a spokesperson.

“Residents find comfort knowing a new home in a co-located residential aged care community awaits in their later years. Having retirement villages and residential aged care centres co-located also enables couples to remain connected if one partner requires a higher level of care.”

More than 5% of current Carinity aged care residents have transitioned from a co-located Carinity retirement village. More than 10% of residents at Carinity Brownesholme aged care community in Highfields, near Toowoomba, previously lived at their adjacent retirement village.

“An advantage of living in a co-located seniors’ community is residents can remain connected with friends who have moved from retirement to aged care. Another benefit is our grounds, maintenance and support staff can interchange between the retirement and aged care sites to provide essential services,” added the spokesperson.

The SOURCE: Co-locating retirement living and aged care facilities is the trend – but clearly many residents are coming from further afield.