Developing age-friendly homes in age-friendly communities

The United Nations states that everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living, which includes the right to adequate housing (United Nations, 1966). Accessible and appropriate housing is necessary for physical and mental health and connection to community. Ensuring older Australians have suitable, age friendly housing is challenging as it requires communication between, and integration of, the housing, health, and aged care sectors. Each sector is undergoing constant change and has finite resources. Despite these challenges, investment of time and energy and reform is necessary as Australia experiences an ageing population and growing budget expenditure on health and aged care.

The nature of housing for older Australians is changing over time. Older people prefer to remain in their own homes for as long as possible and indeed most older people live in private dwellings (Productivity Commission, 2015). In the last decade, the number of people receiving homecare increased threefold (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2022b) signifying a change in which people are staying at home for longer with support from family and friends and aged care services...