The Property Council of Australia has outlined a number of funding and policy initiatives to support retirement living and home care operators in its pre-Budget submission.
The proposed measures include allowing age pensioners who receive the full rate to downsize their home and quarantine a portion of the excess sale proceeds from the pension asset test.
The Council also calls for funding to be allocated to investigate models to establish affordable rental housing solutions for key workers, which it could be strongly argued that aged care workers should be considered.
Bolstering the City Deals program as part of the Smart Cities Plan, which helps to steer funding to projects that are relevant to strategic objectives, boost productivity and increase tax revenues, are a key focus of the submission, along with
In addition to other policy changes, including driving global investment into Australian real estate, the Council wants $3 million to help older Australians and their families better understand residential and lifestyle options through a telephone support service and awareness campaign led by the consumer peak bodies.
It highlighted that retirement villages save the Government $2.16b annually by delaying village residents’ entry into residential care and reduced use of health and hospital services.
