A new report ‘Older Australians’ by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has highlighted the need for more retirement housing options for the ageing population.
One in six people in Australia is now aged over 65, with around one in three born overseas, according to the report.
The proportion of people aged 85 and over is also increasing (2.1 per cent at 30 June 2020) and is expected to be between 3.6 per cent and 4.4 per cent in 2066. By 2066, it is projected that older Australians will make up between 21 per cent and 23 per cent of the total population.
The scales are also tipping in favour of women – at 30 June 2020, 53 per cent of Australians aged 65 and over were women. There were an estimated 2.2 million women and almost 2.0 million men aged 65 and over.
Historically, women have tended to live longer than men, but this trend is gradually disappearing as men’s health outcomes improve.
Tasmania has most over-65s
The geographic spread of older Australians is also shifting.
At 30 June 2020, Tasmania (20%) had the highest proportion of its population aged 65 and over, followed by South Australia (19%) and New South Wales (17%).
What does this mean?
More investment in age-appropriate housing will be required to ensure that older Australians can stay in their communities – and have access to supports and services.
If you want to check out options for retirement living that are available now, head to villages.com.au.
