WA retirement living raising the bar
The WA Retirement living industry has committed to delivering on an eight-point plan to improve clarity and consistency between villages and residents.
The Property Council surveyed village residents to assess their overall satisfaction. Of those surveyed 98 per cent agreed they were satisfied with their village and given the opportunity to move into a retirement village again, they would.
Retirement villages offer a positive choice to many thousands of older Australians by providing community style living that cater to your needs, services and lifestyle choices. However, as the demand for retirement dwellings is expected to grow significantly over the coming years it is critical that we address the issues inhibiting industry from meeting future demand.
“There are currently 184,000 Australian’s living in retirement villages across the country. With this number set to rise significantly to more than 380,000 by 2025,” Property Council WA Executive Director said.
“As a result, the industry is committed to continuous improvement and has joined village operators across the country to commit to the 8-point plan.
“The implementation of the 8-point improvement plan will better equip operators to continue to improve, and help correct misconceptions that have occurred recently.
“If successfully implemented these changes will ensure both village operators and residents benefit from increased transparency, communication and will ensure a high standard of information sharing between operator and resident.
“This will be achieved by supporting mandatory accreditation for retirement village operators, ensuring contracts are consistently clearer and more understandable and providing better dispute resolution mechanisms.
“The industry is laying the foundation for giving residents more opportunities to have their say, and ensuring residents have greater confidence in their decision to enter into a retirement village,” Mr Iacomella said.