More retirement villages offering ‘care’ – will this become the new norm?

The latest is RetireAustralia which has announced plans for its first major development in Queensland, an eight-storey retirement village at Lutwyche in Brisbane that will combine 183 independent living apartments with 35 ‘care apartments’ for residents who need a higher level of support in their homes.

RetireAustralia was purchased by two New Zealand companies in 2014 and has since moved its 27 villages towards a more integrated care path similar to the model there where most retirement villages are co-located with aged care facilities.

This development, named Fancutts Retirement Living, will offer all the amenities you’d expect at a luxury retirement village – wellness centre, sports bar, private dining room, wine cellar, exercise circuit and rooftop sky deck.

Integrating ‘care’ into villages

But residents in the care apartments will also have care staff on hand 24 hours a day plus services such as meals, cleaning and laundry.

All residents will also be able to access private and government-funded home care services if they need them.

CEO Alison Quinn says the model will now become standard across all their new villages – and they aren’t the only operator looking to offer more ‘care’ to residents.

In Newcastle and Tuncurry, Sunrise Supported Living provides a combination of retirement living, assisted living and aged care at its villages.

Village operator Aveo also has its Freedom Aged Care model which gives its village residents access to 24/7 nursing care without moving into an aged care facility.

We think it’s a trend that will continue to grow. We know from the research that most Australians want to ‘age in place’ – and this provides an attractive option.