2021-12-13 GC Agenda - Item 8 -Attachment 1 - Housing Needs Assessment

13. Housing Needs for Older Residents
13.1        National Trends
According to the ABS, in 2016, almost all Australians (98%) lived in a private dwelling. This proportion
decreased with age, from 99% of people aged 65 to 74 years to only 75% of those aged 85 years
and over.59
For the 75 to 84 years and 85 years and over age groups, women were less likely than men to live
in a private dwelling. This difference was most noticeable for the 85 years and over group (71% of
women and 82% of men). Older women are more likely than older men to be widowed (33%
compared to 10%), and women over the age of 85 are more likely to have a core activity need for
assistance (57% compared to 44%). These factors could contribute to women over 85 being more
likely to move from a private dwelling into cared accommodation (nursing homes or accommodation
for the aged with common living and eating facilities).
In 2016, more than half (58%) of all older people lived with a spouse or partner in a private dwelling.
The group who lived with a spouse or partner included older people who: had no children in the
dwelling (48% of all older people), lived with children (7.7%), or lived in a multi-family household
(2.6%). A quarter of older people lived alone.
The 65 to 74 years age group were most likely to live with a spouse or partner (68% of people in this
age group), while those aged 85 years and older were more likely than the other age groups to live
alone (35%).
For all Australians, the likelihood of a person living alone increases with age. However, the increase
is much sharper for older women than older men. Older women were more likely than other age
groups to be in a lone person household, 31% of older women compared to 18% of older men. The
difference between women and men was greatest for the 85 years and over age group (41%
compared to 25%).
Older people who lived in a private dwelling with a spouse or partner were more likely to live in a
dwelling that was owned outright or had a mortgage than those who lived alone.
In the 65-74 year old age group the proportion of women and men renting was quite similar (13.46%
and 13.25% respectively). However in the 75-84 year old age group 12.71% of women and 11.33%
of men were renting and in the 85 years and over age group 11.40% of women and 9.88% of men
were renting.
While some older people like having spare bedrooms for guests, some live in a dwelling bigger than
their needs or even bigger than they would prefer. They may wish to downsize but be discouraged
by financial or other disincentives. A large proportion of older people who were a spouse or partner
(76%) or in a lone person household (65%), lived in a dwelling with two or more spare bedrooms.
Non-private dwellings provide communal or temporary accommodation. In 2016, a small proportion
of older people (5.7%) lived in a non-private dwelling. Of the older people who lived in these
dwellings, the majority (91%) were in cared accommodation (nursing homes or accommodation for
the aged with common living and eating facilities). The likelihood of living in cared accommodation
increased sharply with age from 1.0% of people aged 65 to 74 years to 24% of those aged 85 years
and over. In the 85 years and over age group, women were more likely than men to live in cared
accommodation (28% compared with 17%). This may be because women in this age group are more
likely than men to have a need for assistance (57% compared with 44%).
The aged care system in Australia offers care under three main types of service:




59 Australian Bureau of Statistics (October 2017) Census of Population and Housing: Reflecting Australia -

Stories from the Census, 2016 – Ageing Population


Noosa Housing Needs Assessment 2021                                                             Page 103