Challenges and Opportunities for Ageing in

Place in Western Australia

By Phil Airey

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1999 : 39 percent lived in Aged Care or related facilities

2011 : 26 percent lived in Aged Care or related facilities [ABS]

91% of Seniors would prefer to stay at home with access to

appropriate care services [AHURI 2010]

The Shift

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Australian Institute of Health and Welfare : “…allows low care

residents to stay in a low care service (formerly hostels) when

their dependency increases, whereas under the previous two-tier

system they were required to move to a nursing home.”

Extension : living as independently as possible in self-managed

accommodation.

Defining Ageing in Place

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Future Proofing

Making one’s residence as appropriate as possible for all foreseeable future ageing in place needs.

1. Planning

2. Assessment

3. Home modification or relocation

4. Financial aspects

5. External care services

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Planning (realisation + preparation)

40% of people who are aged 65 and over in WA will live to be

over 90 [ABS Australian Life Tables 2009-2011]

88% of those aged 90 and over have some form of disability

[ABS Disability, Ageing and Carers Australia 2009]

Disability : Any limitation, restriction or impairment which

restricts everyday activities and has lasted or is likely to last for

at least six months.

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Planning (core areas)

Removal of risks : WA Department of Health’s Stay on your

Feet programme and Home Safety checklist

Accessibility : both residence and neighbourhood

Sustainability : longevity of property, reducing maintenance

needs, reducing environmental/financial costs

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Planning (challenges)

Challenges :

Cultural : apprehension/denial of concept of ageing,

particularly amongst baby boomers

Awareness : promotion of planning concept to Seniors

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Assessment (residence and neighbourhood)

Residence : Age Friendly Homes checklist

Neighbourhood : Availability + accessibility of essential services

(transport, medical, social and other needs)

Age Friendly Neighbourhoods, Seniors’ Strategic Planning

Framework (high level only)

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Assessment (challenges)

Awareness of residence assessment tools

Availability of standardised neighbourhood assessments

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Modification (residence)

AHURI 2009 report

34% already made home modifications

40% likely to modify more

Reduce carers through technology and efficiency

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Modification (process)

Identify core accessibility needs

Schedule modifications by impact, cost + sustainability

Implement technology [ILCWA] and smart home concepts

Implement energy efficiency

Internet connectivity (essential)

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Modification (challenges)

Knowledge of modification options

Knowledge of sources of assistance

Technological literacy within Seniors’ community… some

advances (i.e. Siri, Google Voice) will help over time

Prioritising home modification > future care… cost savings

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Modification (finances)

54% felt unable and 35% uncertain to afford vital home

modifications [2009 AHURI]

Challenges :

Awareness of cost-effective options (e.g. low cost providers :

TADWA, small mod finance [WA NILS, HACC], large mod

finance [Equity Release options])

Structured financial planning – Centrelink FIS, NICRI

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Relocation (Local Adapters)

Local Adapters

Downsizers/pricers for maintenance or cost advantage in similar

neighbourhoods

Private homes, strata titles, retirement villages, residential parks

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Relocation (Local Adapters - challenges)

Challenges [AHURI 2011] :

Availability of appropriate housing stock… particularly in

desired/current locations

Impact of increased liquidity on benefits/entitlements

Tariffs/charges/stamp duty

Conception of some properties as age appropriate

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Relocation (forced relocations)

Due to divorce or other life events, want to stay in same area to

limit lifestyle impact

Challenges :

With property boom, finding affordable and accessible

housing in selected areas

Finance for Seniors when only part capital held

Availability of appropriate equity release products i.e. POPI

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Relocation (scene changers)

Like “Tree/sea change” for lifestyle reasons

Moving to regional areas as “High amenity/cost effective”

Rural (26% of over 65’s) and major metro (39%) involved

78% growth in Albany, Esperance, and Bunbury 2006/2011

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Relocation (scene changers)

Key challenges :

Loss of routine/lifestyle

Loss of family and social links/isolation

Reintegrating into new communities

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Relocation (older renters)

One in eight Seniors in WA pay rent

Since June 2003, average rent increased from $150 to $475/week 25.2% of tenants in Social Housing are already age pensioners

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Relocation (older renters)

Demand for assisted housing to spike due to retiring baby

boomers unable to meet cost of private rentals

More movement to “high amenity/cost effective” areas

(regional centres) expected/needed

Alternative, affordable rental housing (pragmatism)

Some affordable rentals not appropriate for ageing in place

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Relocation suggestions

“Home for Life” rating for all residences prior to sale with

incentives for builders to improve

Scorecard rating of neighbourhoods for ageing in place

(transport, medical, accessibility, etc)

Free up zoning for redevelopment of appropriate higher

density accommodation in neighbourhoods

Turnkey finance/project management for redevelopments

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Relocation suggestions

Expansion of shared equity and appropriate equity access

products for Seniors suffering life events

Neighbourhood relocation kits

Expanded ancilliary accommodation (Dept Housing)

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Living Longer, Living Better

• $955.4 million to Home Care over five years… increasing

from 40,000 to 100,000 packages

• Currently HACC/ACAT assessments split services and self-

funded retirees cannot access subsidised home services

• 4 levels of care, plus supplement for dementia, Gateway

• Allows all people to access ($10k cap for fully self-funded)

• Consumer Directed (CD) care enables Seniors to allocate

their own packages as they see fit

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Living Longer, Living Better

Implementation of home care assessment/CD… quality

Depth of available services

Access to volunteering services

Availability of any care services in remote areas (pragmatic

shift in service delivery)

Cultural : fear of loss of entitlement (additional $660.3 million

for residential aged care)

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References (1 of 5)

• “Where and how do Australia’s Older People live? Reflecting a Nation: Stories

from the 2011 Census” (2013) from Australian Bureau of Statistic available at

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2071.0main+features60201

2-2013

• “Dwelling, land and neighbourhood use by older owners” (2010) by Bruce

Judd, Diana Olsberg, Joanne Quinn, Lucy Groenhart and Oya Demirbilek,

Australian Housing Urban Research Institute Final Report No. 144 available at

http://www.ahuri.edu.au/publications/download/70392_pp

• “Australia to 2050: future challenges – the 2010 intergenerational report

(overview)” (2010) published by the Australian Government, available at

http://archive.treasury.gov.au/igr/igr2010/Overview/pdf/IGR_2010_Overview.p

df

• “Ageing in place : Before and after the 1997 aged care reforms” in AIHW

(Australian Institute of Health & Welfare) bulletin Issue 1, June 2002, p.1

available at http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=6442467355

• ABS Life Tables, States, Territories and Australia, 2009-2011 available at

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3302.0.55.0012009-

2011?OpenDocument

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References (2 of 6)

• ABS Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2009

available at

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4430.0History%20of

%20Changes02009?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4430.0&iss

ue=2009&num=&view=

• Details of WA Department of Health Stay on your Feet programme (2012),

available at http://www.health.wa.gov.au/stayonyourfeet/home/aboutus.cfm

• “Ageism in Advertising“, Age of Persuasion, Season Five, CBC Radio (first

broadcast 28/5/2011) – stream available at

http://www.cbc.ca/ageofpersuasion/episode/season-5/2011/05/28/season-five-

ageism-in-advertising-1/

• WA Department of Communities’ Age Friendly Homes checklist kit, (2012),

available from

http://www.communities.wa.gov.au/serviceareas/seniors/afh/Pages/default.asp

x

• “Global Age-friendly Cities : A Guide” (2007), World Health Organization

available at

http://www.who.int/ageing/publications/Global_age_friendly_cities_Guide_Engl

ish.pdf

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References (3 of 5)

• “Age-friendly built environments – opportunities for local government” (2006),

Australian Local Government Association, available at

http://alga.asn.au/site/misc/alga/downloads/publications/Agefriendly_built_envi

ronment_paper.pdf

• “An Age-friendly WA: The Seniors Strategic Planning Framework 2012 – 2017”

(2012), WA Department of Communities, available at

http://www.communities.wa.gov.au/serviceareas/seniors/Policy/Documents/SO

68%20Seniors%20Strategic%20Framework%20V3.pdf

• “Watch Siri Turn Into a Home Automation Master With the Help of Raspberry

Pi” by Ashley Feinberg, Gizmodo online, 2 June 2013 available at

http://gizmodo.com/5982171/watch-siri-turn-into-a-home-automation-master-

with-the-help-of-raspberry-pi

• “Understanding housing and location choices of retiring Australians in the

‘baby boom’ generation” (2013), Simon Pinnegar and Ryan van den

Nouwelant with Bruce Judd and Bill Randolph, City Futures Research Centre,

Canberra available at

http://nhsc.org.au/files/2013/02/housing_in_the_baby_boom_generation.pdf

• “Downsizing amongst older Australians” positioning paper” (2012), Bruce

Judd, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute available at

http://www.ahuri.edu.au/publications/projects/p70687

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References (4 of 5)

• “Affordability debate hits higher level” by Simon Barnard, Courier Mail, 31 May

2013, available at

http://www.ahuri.edu.au/downloads/media/2013/Affordability_debate_hits_high

er_level.pdf

• Albany, Bunbury and Esperance Census statistics available at ABS Census

Quickstats website :

http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/q

uickstat/LGA51190

• Seniors’ Own Real Estate, “Demographics” at

http://www.seniorsown.com.au/Demographics/demographics/menu-id-85.html

accessed on 12 February 2013

• Real Estate Institute of WA research cited in ‘Building the housing system we

need : Housing Priorities for the 2013 WA State Election’ (Figure 1, p. 12) by

the Community Housing Coalition of Western Australia, available at

http://www.communityhousing.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/CHCWA-

2013-WA-State-Election-Building-the-housing-system-we-need-FINAL.pdf

• Western Australian Department of Housing, Housing Authority Annual Report

2011/2012, p.157, available at

http://www.housing.wa.gov.au/HousingDocuments/Housing%20Authority_AR_

201112_Complete%20version.pdf

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References (5 of 5)

• “Town of Cambridge Housing Options” (2013), Town of Cambridge, available

at

http://www.cambridge.wa.gov.au/Council/Publications/Housing_Options_Broch

ure

• “Policy 3.11 : Aged and Dependant Person’s Dwellings” (2013), Town of

Cambridge, available at

http://www.cambridge.wa.gov.au/Services/Planning_and_Design/Planning_Sc

heme_and_Policies

• “Fact Sheet 3 : Living longer. Living Better. The Reforms at a Glance”, (2012)

COTA Australia, available at http://cotaqld.org.au/wp-

content/uploads/2012/06/FACT-SHEET-3-The-Reforms-at-a-Glance1.pdf

• “Living Longer. Living Better. Aged Care Reform in Action - Staying at home”

from Federal Department of Health and Ageing (2013), available at

http://www.livinglongerlivingbetter.gov.au/internet/living/publishing.nsf/Content/

staying-at-home

• “Living Longer. Living Better. Aged Care Reform in Action – Residential Care”

from Federal Department of Health and Ageing (2013), available at

http://www.livinglongerlivingbetter.gov.au/internet/living/publishing.nsf/Content/

Residential-care