The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ report on the national, state and territory population, released on 13 June, showed the age group, 75 to 79, is the fastest growing of all age groups.
It is increasing at a rate of 6.73%, whereas the national population grew by 2.5% to 26.97 million people (about the population of Texas and Arizona) in 2023.
Western Australia had the fastest growth rate (3.3%), with Tasmania the slowest growing at 0.4%.
The number of people aged 65-plus will still be rising in 50 years when the global population is falling. There will never have been as many 80-year-olds, or 100-year-olds, in human history as there will be in the year 2100.
The Retirement Living Council (RLC), an organisation of the Property Council of Australia, has issued a challenge to Australia’s three tiers of government to address and solve the challenges associated with the immediate growth of its target market.
“Over the next two decades, the number of Australians over 75 will increase from two million to 3.4 million people, which will have socio-economic impacts on the nation,” RLC Executive Director Daniel Gannon said.
“We also know that 710,000 Australians are set to retire within the next five years, which will have an impact on housing markets, hospitals, workforces and economies.
“Governments need to get creative and expand their vision for older Australians and their ageing needs,” Daniel said.
Similarly, the RLC’s Shared Care idea, if adopted in Support at Home, will again radically change the aged care landscape.