This page provides the following information on current issues and action in Housing and Retirement Living:
Issue 4.1 - UPDATE 27 January 2009
The ATO has advised ACSA that it will be advising retirement village operators of a favourable new arrangement that can be adopted from 1 October for determining if their serviced apartment residents are eligible to receive GST-free services and accommodation.
They state that as well as accepting as evidence of a ‘continuing need’ for certain care services, the ATO will also accept a once-only assessment by an independent medical practitioner on completion of a Serviced Apartment Care Assessment(SACA) form,. This will remove the need for ongoing six monthly assessments.
Both existing and new serviced apartment residents can adopt this new approach, without waiting until the next six monthly assessment.
The ATO has included the new Care Assessment form, a letter for residents explaining the change in their letter to operators which should have now been received.
A Tax office fact sheet on the changes (NAT 12761) is available at www.ato.gov.au or by phoning 132866.
ACSA has released a Directions Paper Accommodating Ageing that explores the connection between housing, ageing and care. It briefly outlines Government policy, demographics and housing tenure, some innovative models; and then suggests an agenda for ACSA on these critical housing issues. This will be a focus of future ACSA work.
Accommodating Ageing - Housing and the Aged and Community Care Industry
ACSA is no longer participating in the Australian Retirement Village Accreditation Scheme (ARVA). ACSA will be considering its future options for retirement village accreditation over the coming months.
Caring for the Future: The impact of technology on aged and assisted living is a new report commissioned by the Copper Development Centre and Connections Magazines, who publish trade journals.
It covers general trends in technology, health, communications, home automation, security and safety, lifestyle, role of carers and attitudes to assisted living and recommendations for future research.
They say they plan to do further direct market research with older and near retirement groups to gauge how they view technology at home and identify the barriers to more widespread adoption.
The report is available at www.smartwiredhouse.com.au under the 'Smart Wired House News' section, and the publishers welcome feedback on the report.
Intergenerational and Intrafamilial Housing Transfers and Shifts in Later Life. This report by Diana Olsberg and Mark Winters for the Australian Housing and Research Institute (AHURI) Centre indicates that there is a significant shift in the values and priorities of older Australians which is transforming the patterns of future housing tenure, lifestyle and family relationships. Desires for independence, flexibility, consumer and lifestyle choices increasingly take precedence, challenging traditional notions of old age and family obligations. For example, the vast majority of people surveyed dismissed out of hand the idea of sharing or living in a granny flat, and only 4.2% of older Australians had lived with extended family or intended to do so. Many referred to very unpleasant experiences they had as children living with grandparents.
The research was based on a national survey of nearly 7,000 older Australians and qualitative research using focus groups and Internet chat rooms. Download from AHURI at www.ahuri.edu.au.
ACSA has produced this paper which explores the issues of accessible and adaptable housing and universal design. The paper aims to assist aged care providers make informed choices about design.
CHFA Partnership Kit
The Community Housing Federation of Australia (CHFA) has released Putting it Together: A Partnership Kit for Community Housing Providers and Potential Partners to Develop Affordable Housing. It aims to provide a reference framework for organisations seeking to develop partnerships for community housing. The report can be downloaded at: http://www.chfa.com.au/clearinghouse/browse_all_alphabetically.asp
Affordable Housing for Older People - A Literature Review
ACSA has produced a literature review scoping the issues around Affordable Housing. The paper also contains a resource guide and highlights additional reading on the topic.
