2021-12-13 General Committee Meeting Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                  13 DECEMBER 2021


development models may become necessary to ensure an inclusive community and to meet housing
needs.
6.1. Elderly
Noosa has an aging population and the demand for age-appropriate housing is ever increasing.
Much of the attached or semi-attached housing in Noosa Shire consists or multi-level townhouses
or walk-up units. Older ground floor resort units are particularly popular with retirees downsizing or
moving to Noosa Shire. It is likely this trend will continue.
There are five dedicated aged care facilities and several retirement facilities in Noosa Shire,
generally in Cooroy, Tewantin, and Noosaville.
Palm Lakes at Cooroy has approval for 120 residential aged care places that have not been
constructed. A further two not-for-profit aged care/retirement facilities (Tewantin and Sunrise Beach)
have been approved for some time but have not yet eventuated.
Retirement villages, also known as “lifestyle resorts for the over 50’s are land intensive uses and
while meeting a market demand do not contribute to intergenerational inclusive communities or
affordability. It is not likely that additional possibilities for these uses will be found in Noosa Shire.
Aged care is undergoing considerable reform and an increasing number of elderly are receiving in-
home care. In addition to integrated communities with potential to age in place, there’s a
recommended shift to smaller, domestic scaled facilities with a familiar home-like setting. Community
residences might increase in popularity and could easily fit within the existing low-density
neighbourhoods.
Sharing a home with compatible people has not been unusual for young single people but may need
to become more common amongst older single people in the absence of affordable small dwellings.
Where it qualifies as one household it is just a dwelling house but where separate rental tenancies
are offered to the separate residents it is Rooming Accommodation.
6.2. People with a disability
At census 2016 there were 2,737 people in Noosa Shire in need of assistance with a profound or
severe disability. This includes residents of any age and is not limited to recipients of social services
payments. If the population continues to age rapidly it can be expected the number of residents with
mobility limitations will increase and current housing stock will largely be unsuitable without
expensive remodelling and retrofitting.
From September 2022 minimum accessibility provisions for residential housing and apartments will
be included in the National Construction Code (NCC) based on the Liveable Housing Design
Guidelines (LHDG) silver standards. The Gold Standard will also be included in the NCC as a
‘technical referral’ meaning states and territories can decide to upgrade to Gold voluntarily. Each
state and territory will be free to determine whether and how the new provisions will be applied in
their jurisdiction to minimise the regulatory impact on the construction sector.
Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) is a range of housing designed for NDIS participants with
extreme functional impairment or very high support needs. SDA has accessible features to help
residents live more independently and have better access to supports in their home.
Participants receive an SDA budget that is sufficient for a shared arrangement (for example with 1-
4 others) or to facilitate access to shared supports. There have been a few SDA houses constructed
in Tewantin in recent years. Other models that make use of smaller built forms (and shared on-site
or nearby supports) are also likely to increase in importance.
The land use definition of a community residence is designed for one dwelling on a site. It does not
cover multiple housing (attached or detached). Residential care covers circumstances of residents
requiring regular nursing or personal care but is less relevant for clients who can live relatively
independently. NDIS housing in units or flats is most likely going to fall into the definition of multiple
dwellings, and as such competing with other quite profitable housing products for the same land.
Therefore, review of how the planning scheme addresses SDA housing is important.

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