RLC Executive Director Daniel Gannon said, "This is a budget that focuses on the housing needs of some Australians but forgets about a large cohort of older people and challenges associated with age-friendly accommodation and care."
He highlighted the projected 70 per cent increase in the number of people aged over 75 by 2040, emphasising the need for governments to prioritise housing solutions for this "silver tsunami".
Mr Gannon criticised the government's silence on the exclusion of purpose-built seniors' housing from the Prime Minister's 1.2 million new homes target and the lack of response to the Aged Care Taskforce recommendations.
"Given the government is the judge, jury and executioner of this Taskforce and having already had five months to consider their own findings, noncommunication signals one of two things: it's either bad news for consumers or it's bad news for operators. But until we hear from the government, both parties remain in the dark," he said.
Mr Gannon stressed the urgency of the situation, stating, "The unfortunate reality is that Australians aren't getting any younger, and every day that passes without a plan to appropriately and affordably house and care for older Australians is a missed opportunity."
The RLC has recommended that the government include units in retirement communities as a key delivery component of the Housing Accord target to build 1.2 million new homes nationwide by 2029.
Increasing the number of retirement communities would not only provide age-friendly and care-focused accommodation for older Australians but also inject existing homes back into the market for younger buyers and growing families.
With the government's own National Housing Supply and Affordability Council forecasting a 300,000-home shortfall against its target, the 67,000 retirement dwellings required to maintain existing market demand could close that gap by 22 per cent.
Mr Gannon called for the government to rectify the ongoing exclusion of retirement community units from the Accord target, describing it as a "very simple fix that can be addressed with a laptop and a bullet point."
