Putting residents front and centre

Next week’s annual National Retirement Living Summit is a great opportunity to reflect upon the year we’ve had as an industry – in particular our standing with our residents, stakeholders and the wider community. 

In this context, it would be hard to argue that this year has not been significant. 

Inquiries and regulatory reforms have facilitated changes across most states, and the forthcoming Royal Commission into Aged Care will demand our full attention. As an industry, our residents and the wider community have asked us for greater transparency around contracts, more fairness in the way we deliver them, and greater choice and reliability in the quality of services and care we can provide. 

And together we have responded, with the implementation of the 8-Point Plan and Drafting of an industry-wide Code of Conduct.

But with the wave of change before us, we cannot afford to rest, instead we need to continue to innovate and put our residents first.

As one of Australia’s largest retirement living providers, we understand the importance of this challenge and are looking to drive innovation to meet the future needs of our customers.

We believe that this begins with flexibility in ownership and contract structures. This year Stockland introduced its Aspire offering – purpose-built neighbourhoods designed for people over 55, where residents enjoy 100% ownership of the house and land.  Our Aspire communities, feature modern, low-maintenance homes surrounded by high quality community facilities and depending on the location, this product offering is structured under community or strata title, with all costs paid upfront, meaning residents retain all capital gains.

We also launched changes to our retirement living contracts, offering two new contract types that retain discounted entry into a village but provide different choices around the certainty or flexibility a resident might want in their finances.

Ultimately we want our residents to feel right at home and happy with their decision.  To give our residents added peace of mind, if they are not happy with their choice for any reason within the first six months, we’re happy to refund all payments they’ve made on their home. There is a great deal to be said for residents that buy into a retirement community having this certainty, and we are very pleased to be able to offer this added benefit of moving into a Stockland village.

To help our residents enjoy life even more in our villages, our residents also have access to a range of services and exclusive benefits. This includes facilitating access to in-home care programmes from accredited support partners, as well as to the Stockland Benefits+ Health Program, offering a range of exclusive discounts on shopping, travel, food, lifestyle, health and care services.

We’re also taking a longer term view about how our residents needs and preferences are changing into the future, and ensuring we’re providing greater flexibility to age in place. For example, all new homes in our retirement villages are designed to be adaptable and to suit the changing needs of retirees, with features like wide corridors and hallways to accommodate wheelchairs and walking frames as well as sensibly located light switches and power points.  We are continuing to work closely with our residents as well as our design teams to better suit the needs of customers well into the future.

This is just the beginning though, and we have a great opportunity ahead of us to work together to continue to build the confidence of the wider Australian community in our Sector, and we very much look forward to doing so.

See you all at the Summit next week.

This article was written by Kirrily Lord, General Manager, Retirement Living Operations at Stockland, principal sponsor of the National Retirement Living Summit 2018.