Over the past fortnight, it’s been a privilege to help crown our Village Managers and Salespeople of the Year right across Australia.
Despite working for different operators in different metropolitan and regional locations, one common denominator emerged – like the RLC’s ambitions for industry, they all want to enhance their village’s reputation as the best place for residents and staff.
And this is important because our industry’s reputation is vital.
When governments look to reform legislative frameworks and when residents make inquiries about retirement communities, they look at who we are and what we do.
Because reputation is everything.
The RLC has been the nation’s peak industry body for almost 10 years. In that time, we have delivered important wins and secured great outcomes for operators. We have shaped and led industry strategy across all states and territories. In turn, we have delivered better experiences and a better quality of life for our residents.
We’ve been able to do this because of your investment in us. And we do it all because our industry’s significance to the nation’s broader social and economic systems is fundamental.
We know that our membership coverage is vast, but we need to do better. The same scrutiny must also be applied to industry’s Code of Conduct uptake, which sits below 30 per cent of all communities across Australia.
It’s simply not good enough, because the Code is our collective commitment to higher standards to ensure that residents have the experience they deserve.
The role we play as a powerful advocate armed with people-centred public policy solutions and research is an important one, but we are only as strong as the community within which we operate.
When you empower the RLC, you empower all states and territories. Collectively, as leaders of this great industry, our membership powers us forward.
The trusted, reliable source of information we deliver to Australia’s retirement living industry and the network we have fostered for our members has never been more important, especially as we transition to a new leadership team and a refreshed strategic direction in a post-pandemic environment.
When you look around the country now, there are legislative reviews taking place in Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland and Victoria. This comes at a time when Australia is under new management, with a near-new federal government that is confronting and responding to a national housing supply and affordability crisis.
And the reality is simple – the retirement living industry can and should play an important role in providing more stock to a housing market currently under duress, resulting in superior outcomes for residents and taxpayers.
But this will take leadership, collaboration and a compelling evidence base – and we need you to help us grow our membership community and Code signatories to ensure that industry’s reputation and solution-focused research grows.
If we fail to take this action, governments will approach our industry with a stick instead of a carrot at the very same time that we are duty bound to inject more purpose-built age-friendly communities into Australia’s diverse housing markets.
Together, we can help lift the standards of this important industry and in turn, our market share – but we need every operator across the country to be part of this positive change and join the Retirement Living Council.
Like our recently crowned State Village Managers and Salespeople of the Year declared over the past fortnight – reputation is everything.