Property Council joins Ageing Taskforce
The Property Council of Australia’s Queensland Executive Director, Chris Mountford, has been invited to join the Queensland Government’s Advisory Taskforce for Residential Transition for Ageing Queenslanders.
The taskforce, a pre-election commitment of the Queensland Government, has been tasked with making recommendations to remove barriers to accessing housing options and the related support needs of older Queenslanders. The overall objectives of the Taskforce will be to:
- consider how older Queenslanders are housed and whether this meets their needs both now and into the future
- guide research into, and consult the community on, barriers that prevent older Queenslanders accessing care and housing/accommodation that is affordable, and that enables them to maintain independence as they age
- consider the seniors’ housing regulatory environment, in particular overlapping or complex regulation
- examine the role that can be played by older people and their families, support service providers, industry and government agencies in developing solutions to address these barriers, and
- make specific recommendations to Government to improve the housing and related support outcomes of older Queenslanders.
Research recently commissioned by the Property Council warns of a looming shortfall in retirement housing in the face of an over-65s population that is expected to double in the next ten years. The report also outlined that retirement villages generate $2.16 billion of government budget savings annually.
With Australia facing a seniors’ housing crisis, the development of more retirement villages will need to be a key feature of government strategies to address the growing problem.
The Taskforce will provide a report with advice and recommendations to Cabinet in 2016.