Politicians given plenty to think about from Seniors’ forum

Veteran broadcaster Peter Couchman was the MC at last month’s Senior’s Forum in Melbourne to spell out a senior’s wish list for the coming federal election.

Organised by The Senior and attended by representatives of six major senior’s interest and industry groups, the forum saw Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities, Bill Shorten and shadow spokesperson for seniors, Bronwyn Bishop, do their utmost to woo seniors – without releasing details of policy that will be taken into the upcoming election.

The overriding message from the speakers was that while there have been gains for seniors in recent years, much still needs to be done.

RVA CEO Andrew Giles was in attendance and highlighted the need for seniors to access accommodation options and government assistance.

“More purpose built environments, with appropriate levels of service, are needed, as are government incentives for people who choose to move from the family home,” said Mr Giles.

Mr Giles also proposed a supplement to increase affordability for residents and a revamped rental village model to encourage more developers to offer this type of accommodation.

The RVA hopes the forum was a platform that the two parties could walk away armed with a list of suggestions as diverse as a rise in the age pension, a dedicated age discrimination commissioner and workable rental retirement village models.

ENDS

The RVA welcomes your feedback on this story and encourages you to leave a comment. You can submit your comment at the bottom of this post.

Labor pledges regional cities housing boost

Australia will boost housing in regional cities, such as Townsville, Newcastle and Mandurah, under a sustainable housing initiative aimed at taking pressure off our capital cities. A re-elected Gillard Labor Government will make $200 million available to local councils in regional cities to help deliver more affordable homes.

Councils will be able to use this funding to invest in local infrastructure projects that will support new housing developments in the region. This infrastructure could include connecting roads, extensions to drains and sewerage pipes or community facilities such as parks and community centres. It is estimated that up to 15,000 new homes for working families will be built in Australia’s regional cities over the next three years under this initiative.

Across Australia there are more than 40 non-capital cities with populations of 30,000 people or more. Housing Minister Tanya Plibersek and Sustainable Population Minister Tony Burke will write to the mayors of 46 cities to say that if Labor is elected, they will be formally invited to apply for the program if they wish.

To secure Federal Government funding, participating councils will need to put forward proposals, potentially in partnership with the private sector, for infrastructure projects that will help to deliver affordable housing.

The boost could provide new opportunities for retirement village developers to consider investing in regional areas they might not have previously looked at.

There is also the potential for developments to provide further affordable housing for retirees.

RVA CEO Andrew Giles says that would be the perfect target market for future retirees as well as affordable living in areas that would be well designed, planned and developed.

The RVA will continue to work with the Productivity Committee to develop initiatives that will support this type of government announcement. 

“Regional councils would need to put in a lot of work into assisting retirement village developments to make sure they work as well developed sites, particularly in prominent locations,” said Mr Giles.

(Credit: CPR Communications)

ENDS

The RVA welcomes your feedback on this story and encourages you to leave a comment. You can submit your comment at the bottom of this post.

RV industry leading the way forward in affordable housing

The James Brown Memorial Trust recently scooped the pool at the Aged and Community Services (SA&NT) Inc 2010 Awards for Excellence in Design.

Following on from the last edition of the RVA News Monitor, the RVA is showcasing examples where our industry is already providing solutions to fill the existing gaps identified by the government. The James and Jessie Brown Affordable Housing redevelopment at Mansfield Park is such an example, which built the project, directly aimed at housing disadvantaged South Australians.

Chairman Brian Waite accepted the inaugural Design Award on behalf of the Board of Trustees, James Brown Memorial Trust, and paid tribute to the efforts of Flightpath Architects and Pascale Construction.

“This housing project is a great example of how the Trust approaches its commitment to quality and yet affordable housing; it’s truly amazing what can be achieved when the community all works together in partnership,” Mr Waite said.

“The twenty new units have become home to people who don’t yet have stable and secure housing and will give them a solid foundation to go on and achieve other things including education and employment.”

The site, which used to consist of 15 single-room flats built in 1964, has been redeveloped to become 20 purpose-designed units for people at risk of homelessness.  Each unit is environmentally efficient with innovative design including rain water tanks, storm water retention, drought tolerant landscaping, solar hot water, solar-voltaic cells for electric power generation, solar powered night lights, polished concrete floors and wide eaves and reverse brick veneer to keep units cool in summer and warm in winter. Recycled products have also been used for fencing.

RVA CEO Andrew Giles said the redevelopment demonstrated the dedication and commitment essential for designing affordable housing for older and disadvantaged people. 

“I am extremely proud this project has been duly recognised and rewarded for its innovation and proactive approach to addressing some of the issues identified by government. It reinforces the impact and creativity that the retirement village industry can have on our community,” said Mr Giles.

The project was built on the Trust’s own land and constructed using funds from Trust resources assisted by Housing SA’ Affordable Housing Innovations Grant, while soft furniture and white goods were also purchased with assistance from Community Connect.  The project will also attract incentive payments from the Commonwealth’s National Rental Affordability Scheme.

James Brown Memorial Trust Chief Executive Officer, Dennis Chamberlain, said the project had excellent outcomes.

“The most exciting thing about this project is that, with clever use of the available land, we have been able to increase the number of units from 15 to 20, which is a 33 per cent increase in affordable housing for high needs individuals,” Mr Chamberlain said.

“Receiving this Award from our peak body in the first year of the award’s operation is a great thrill.   We have designed and created a home for at-risk people, which has been affordable to build, very affordable to rent out, and affordable for the Trust to maintain in the longer term. A great success story!”

ENDS

The RVA welcomes your feedback on this story and encourages you to leave a comment. You can submit your comment at the bottom of this post.

Draft ATO Ruling on GST is a real concern for RV industry

The ATO has recently handed down its Draft Ruling in regards to the treatment of GST during the construction phase of a retirement village and also on the sale of a village. This ruling has seen a back-flip on the stance that the ATO has held on the treatment of GST in regards to retirement villages for over a decade.

The draft Ruling sets out the preliminary ATO view as to the impact ingoing contributions have on:

• the consideration for the supply by sale of a retirement village
• apportionment methodologies used by developers to determine ITC entitlements

The draft ruling applies to arrangements that have the following features:

• the developer acquires land on which it develops a retirement village
• the developer enters into a loan/licence contract with incoming residents in relation to an ILU in the RV
• the ILU is, or is intended to be, occupied as a residence or for residential accommodation
• an ‘ingoing contribution’ is paid by the incoming resident to the developer to secure the right to reside in the village. The right to reside takes the form of a lease or licence of extended duration
• the ingoing contribution is in the form of an interest-free loan. The developer is contractually obliged to repay the amount of the loan in full when the lease terminates;
• the village is then sold as a taxable supply as ‘new residential premises’ (or as a GST-free going concern); and
• the sale arrangement contemplates, either expressly or by implication, that the purchaser will be responsible for repayment of the outstanding ingoing contributions.

RVA CEO Andrew Giles says that while the draft ruling contains some transitional relief, it does not go as far as the RVA wants.

“The RVA has held meetings in Sydney and Perth with key industry leaders to assist in establishing an industry stance that the RVA can go back to the ATO and Government with to advise on the adverse effect the ruling will have on the industry should the Draft Ruling become Final,” said Mr Giles.

The RVA has already received feedback from industry leaders in regards to the concerns they have with the Draft Ruling and the implications it may have on the businesses and the wider industry.

“We are putting in our submission to the ATO in regards to the transitional provisions which is what the RVA will be concentrating on in the short term,” said Mr Giles.

An information series of breakfast seminars, concerning interest free loans received by the developer of a retirement village for members, has been held in Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane and will be held in Adelaide on 13 July and Sydney on 15 July at KPMG venues. This series has been developed to provide members with up to date expert advice from our industry’s leading advisors on the status of the draft ruling, how it will affect construction and sales of villages in regards to the treatment of GST if finalised, possible flow on effects in regards to Stamp Duty and Income Tax and how you can assist in ensuring there is a final ruling that assists in maintaining the viability of constructing retirement villages.

The RVA has been discussing with the ATO the GST implications of the sale and construction of retirement villages for some time. The ATO has now issued a draft GST ruling in relation to this issue. 

The ATO’s views, which appear to be a reversal on long held views by the ATO, could have significant consequences in relation to past and existing projects for operators. The ATO’s views will also require RVA members to carefully consider future projects. 

A submission to the ATO must be completed by 23 July, which the RVA through its tax and finance committee, is currently preparing.

The RVA would like to thank Lucille and the team at Blake Dawson for all the work they put in to making the lunch a successful event and KPMG for hosting the breakfast seminars. 
 
Thank you also to Geoff Mann, Edgar Baltins, Brad Miller and the Tax and Finance Sub Committee headed by Mark Bird from Australian Unity for their tireless work for the industry to date. This group certainly brings enormous value to our membership through representation and industry leadership.

ENDS

The RVA welcomes your feedback on this story and encourages you to leave a comment. You can submit your comment at the bottom of this post.

 

2010 Awards for Excellence

 

Call for Entries Now Open

The Urban Development Institute of Australia (Victoria) (UDIA) will again recognise excellence in the field of urban development. RVA members may wish to nominate retirement villages in categories such as residential development, environmental excellence and special purpose living.

Of particular interest to RVA members is the national award for Senior Living. Projects entered in this category must provide particular attention to the needs of residents who have retired or are approaching retirement age, and present high standard of overall design, crate a sense of place and have regard for an energy and water efficient lifestyle.

As in previous years, entrants will be able to compete for state and national awards. Full details of the categories in which UDIA (Victoria) may give awards, plus information about eligibility, the nature of submissions and judging criteria are contained in the brochure.  Entries are now open and will be received up to 4.00 pm, Friday 17 September 2010. 

Judging will begin in October 2010 and the awards will be presented at a special UDIA luncheon event to be held at the Crown Entertainment Complex on Friday 3 December 2010.

Entering the state awards is an essential precursor to entering the UDIA National Awards. The winners of the UDIA National Awards will be announced at the National Congress in March 2011 in Adelaide.

Go to: 2010 Awards for Excellence Application Brochure

 The RVA welcomes your feedback on this story and encourages you to leave a comment. You can submit your comment at the bottom of this post.

 

THE GRAND PLAN: A new vision for older Australians

The Campaign for Care of Older Australians (CCOA) has launched its ‘Grand Plan’ using John Safran and his radio partner Father Bob Maguire as its frontmen. The Grand Plan’s website is a portal that offers real time participation in CCOA’s campaign to improve Australia’s aged care industry. The website displays the same social networking savvy employed so effectively by Aged and Community Services (ACSA) in their kevin87 campaign.

The RVA fully supports this initiative as it believes that older Australians should be able to choose how and where they want to live and be well supported by affordable care delivered as it is needed. With chronic under-funding of community and residential aged care, much needs to be done to ensure that Australians can look forward to senior care services being there when they need them.

The Grand Plan is a way for everybody to lend their support to help ensure the call from government for an increase in support and funding that Australia’s rapidly ageing population needs.

The RVA is fully supportive of the Grand Plan as our industry plays a significant role in housing and caring for older Australians. As you may have read in our last news monitor, the RVA are currently working with the Productivity Commission and running an industry leaders’ ‘think tank’ to develop a framework of how our industry can be supported by government to supply housing and care for the ageing population.

The RVA believes we need to work more closely with the aged care industry to ensure that we support and provide relief as it becomes more and more under pressure to supply the beds and level of care that will be required for older Australians in the future. 

“Local governments around the country have been busy approving a large number of retirement and aged care developments, which has been much needed,” said RVA CEO Andrew Giles.  

Over the next few news monitors, the RVA will run a rolling series of examples where our industry is already providing solutions to fill the existing gaps identified by the government. 

For further information and to help support the cause, please visit the ‘Grand Plan’ website.

ENDS

The RVA welcomes your feedback on this story and encourages you to leave a comment. You can submit your comment at the bottom of this post.