What We've Learned

Better ways to own

Creating more inclusive, accessible and sustainable models of home ownership in later life. Our priorities include:

• Addressing assumption of home ownership – creating awareness of the implications for care in home, using home equity to age in place and impact of ongoing mortgages for older people’s ability to age well
• Removing barriers to home ownership – working with housing authorities and state governments to address financial, planning, taxation and other barriers to entry to home ownership
• Shared equity models for older women – targeted modelling meeting needs of older women with limited capacity to purchase a home on their own
• Achieving ‘home’ in retirement villages and aged care – re-designing and shifting management models to achieve a good  “home” for later life and higher needs

Outcomes:

• Shared Equity for Older Women –  government supported low cost home ownership model tested and evolved through co-design between older women, government and mortgage lender.

• State Housing Strategy framework – systemic insights informing opportunities for an integrated housing strategy that is co-owned and lead across sectorboundaries in the housing system.

Liveable Neighbourhoods

Creating housing and neighbourhoods built and designed for liveability, connection and wellbeing as we age. Our priorities include:

• Growing community – re-engineering and articulating stronger models for “community” with local governments and community developers to deliver the benefits of diversity, neighbourliness and amenity
• Housing options with amenity and community connection – modelling different housing options that suit needs of older people which are embedded into an integrated diverse community

Outcomes:

• Walk up Flats– an insight into creating better and more integrated communities of support for lower income people in existing older social housing (South Australia).
• Liveable Communities– multi-year innovation challenge designing and testing solutions that support ageing in place
• Creating Better Neighbourhoods– once off innovation challenge and accelerator designing and testing solutions that create connected communities where older people can thrive.

Co-Living and Co-care

Creating models of co-living and care that are sustainabile and that the wider population embrace. Our priorities include:

• Shared living – finding ways to improve models that achieve greater scale and uptake for older people seeking to reduce and share living costs and build community connections
• Peer to Peer care – combining shared living with models of care, allowing individuals to live longer in the community
• Achieving ‘Home’ in Aged care – models that provide self determination and increased control around how older people live in higher care needs environments
• Community based care – increased options, particularly in regional communities, for non-related people to have more support options to be cared for “in home”

Outcomes:

• Weavers – a community based care network that provides support from peers for carers of older people and people with a disability. Read about our Weavers program here.
• Shared Lives – a highly successful model spreading in the UK that we are seeking to adapt to and demonstrate within Australian caring standards and requirements.
• Our Place – adaptation and demonstration of homesharing for older single women

Rental security

Create a rental market that emphasises security of tenure, supports self-determination and provides physical and financial sustainability. Our priorities include:

• Landlord Coalition – a proactive collective of landlords demonstrating how they translate their investment focus into also supporting “home” outcomes for their tenants and reaping the benefit.
• Property Management– re-orienting property managers on their role in creating home for their relationship with tenants and the benefit for their business
• The Role of the Rental Market – awareness of the impact of long term and permanent occupancy of renters in the housing market
• Transitioning into private rental – investigating what prevents people in social housing being able to transition into private rental to increase access to social housing

Outcomes:

• Reliable Rentals – design and testing of new rental policy with older renters, landlords and property managers that aims to increase outcomes for older tenants
• Landlord Coalition – prototype of a network of landlords demonstrating the benefits of treating their investment as a “home” for their tenants

Adaptable Social Housing

Create a social housing system that adapts to the changing needs of our ageing population, is accessible and supports people to age in place. Our priorities include:

• Integration of support services – improved responsiveness and integration of support services fundamental to ageing well in place, including an individual’s capacity to connect with their neighbours in social housing complexes
• Rightsizing –  new social housing development designed for ageing in place