Tony Randello, President of the Retirement Living Council and CEO of Aveo Group, the largest retirement village provider in Australia, said a lack of supply is the largest hurdle currently facing the sector.
“The development pipeline across the industry is not going to be sufficient for the ageing population,” Tony told the Property Council.
“This is largely due to the difficulty industry faces in accessing suitable sites for development in urban areas, where we find ourselves unable to compete on price with residential developers who can sell to a much broader market, not limited by age.
“Add to that the challenging construction environment, and it’s very difficult to make the inner urban development of retirement villages viable.
“The government also needs to review its downsizing incentives, which right now actually disincentivise retirement living.”
RetireAustralia Chief Executive Dr Brett Robinson (pictured) said planning authorities and aged care reform as two further barriers that he sees for the sector.
“Governments in Australia are not enabling the retirement living sector to move at the speed required to deliver the supply of seniors housing that the country needs,” he said.
“They need to reduce red tape and fast track the development of retirement villages in communities where older Australians already live.
“These villages are fertile ground for innovative solutions that enable residents to age-in-place by accessing care that changes as their needs change so that they can continue to live in their home and their community until end of life.”
In addition, Tony said the retirement living operators’ focus needs to be on switching its mindset from property to a sector that provides hospitality and support services.
“That’s how we can increase our market share, with the current generation of older Australians looking for more than just bricks and mortar,” he said.
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