Seniors forced to city edges

A new report finds that senior Australians are being forced out of inner and middle ring suburbs they have lived in for their whole lives, due to inadequate planning for retirement villages.

An analysis of changes from the 2006 to 2011 ABS Census by property experts MacroPlan Dimasi has identified those areas in our biggest capital cities where the population of seniors (65 and over) is increasing fastest.

The report finds a consistent trend of over 65s moving further away from the CBD to urban fringe locations where they have never lived and where aged services are lowest.

The move outwards is most likely to be caused by an increasingly dire under provision of age-appropriate housing, and a shortage of retirement villages in particular.

City planning that takes into account the interests of elderly Australians is needed to ensure seniors can choose to downsize locally, the report concludes.

MacroPlan Dimasi analysed the concentration and growth of the 65+ population in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra, and found there is a big and increasing gap between where seniors live and where age-appropriate housing is built.

This is usually because retirement living options cannot be developed in middle and inner suburbs, because there is not enough affordable land earmarked for seniors housing.

Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide have witnessed the most dramatic decline, with “high numbers of seniors remaining in housing which may not be age appropriate…With a rapidly ageing population, retirement villages should be a key part of future planning for all capital cities,” MacroPlan Dimasi concluded.

Including retirement villages in capital city planning allows seniors to stay living in their existing communities and be close to families, friends and support services, making for much happier lives for all generations as our population ages.

Retirement villages also reduce the incidence of falls and preventable illness, reducing hospital and aged care costs borne by the taxpayer.

Downsizing should be encouraged, as the Productivity Commission says. But it won’t happen unless proper planning solutions enable people to stay in their community. The Executive Director for the Retirement Living Council made this point in radio interviews and newspaper articles over summer.

Download: Demand Analysis of Housing for Older Australians – 2011 Census Review