Family care and the Intergenerational Report: an alternative way of thinking for villages

The second largest growth expense in the Intergenerational Report is Aged Care, stating it will double as a percentage of GDP by 2063. With the number of taxpayers halving at the same time, we can’t afford it. Enter ‘family care’ in the retirement village sector. Family care is an expression that veteran village operator Bill McClurg used for his value proposition for two villages he owned in Adelaide – being the quality of care that he offered his village residents – very successfully.

Over the weekend, while preparing for our Masterclass tomorrow, I looked up a video we did with Bill in 2014, before he sold his villages to Jim Hazel. Check it out HERE. In essence Bill says his village staff, while not trained in aged care, can provide the majority of the care support residents require, just like a family can provide an ageing parent in their own home – and that is the style of support most people want. It is a valid point when you consider that less than 20% of Home Care Package services are actually medical; the rest is assistance in the home. If villages can establish that they will provide this level of support, they can expand their value proposition without a regulatory framework, while saving the Government significant care expenditure, short and long term.