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Latest industry developments

DCM Institute participant shortlisted for LASA’s Retirement Village Manager of the Year

The DCM Institute once again shines in a national award.

DCM Institute participant Roslyn Prentice, who is Village Manager of Ryman Healthcare’s John Flynn Retirement Village in Burwood East, 17km east of the Melbourne CBD, is on the shortlist for Leading Age Services Australia’s inaugural Village Manager of the Year.

It was only in June last year that DCM Institute participant Nikki Dhawan, who manages Bethanie Warwick and Bethanie Joondanna retirement villages in WA,was named Leading Age Services Australia Retirement Manager of the Year.

Roslyn led the establishment and management of John Flynn, including welcoming more than 140 residents to the village and recruiting a team of 90 staff. Upon completion of the village, 120 staff will offer care to more than 500 residents.

The award recognises the passion and commitment of village managers who maintain high standards across their retirement community.

Join the DCM Institute now. Click here

“This role brings together every skill that I have gathered in my 30-year career,” said Roslyn, who is managing her third Ryman village.

“It’s the most demanding and rewarding role I’ve held to date”.

“I love being able to provide a great place to work for my team and a wonderful place for our residents to live.”

Roslyn is a finalist along with Vanessa McKenzie from Catholic Healthcare, and Sharon Rodgers (pictured left), the Village Manager of Bolton Clarke Bongaree, on the western side of Bribie Island, Moreton Bay, QLD.

The winner will be announced on Aged Care Employee Day on 7 August.

Leading Age Services Australia (LASA) has united with ACSA to become the  new industry body, the Aged & Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA).

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Club Communities showing the way for retirement village operators

While retirement village operators have been slowly adapting to the new consumer and their desire for home support, a new phenomena we call Club Communities, is going gang busters – in customer connection, long tail sales leads and building a secure future.

What are they doing? They are reaching out to potential customers where they live, in the local community, and appealing to their inner most emotions – I want to age on my terms, not what the deck has delt me.

We call them Club Communities because these operators are often clubs with ageing memberships and no real additional services to offer beyond cheap beers, a ‘schnitty’ and a sense of belonging.

To change the conversation they are going to ageing and how to make that good, not bad. They offer confidence (not hope) that their members can achieve a better outcome.

In the last issue of SATURDAY, published by DCM, we spoke to Dale Hunt, CEO of Mounties Group, a multi location community club operation. They established their first retirement village in 2019 (sold out, but great location with prices now up 300%). In 2020 they launched Mounties Care, a home care service with more, including respite care, Hospital In The Home and Chemo In The Home, allied health and welfare calls.

And now they are expanding into GPs and their own medical practices, allied health, nutritionists and exercise physiologists.

This is no different to what Arvida in New Zealand did last year with their ‘Good Friends’ outreach program that is drawing in the local Christchurch community, creating a long tail new customer funnel.

Keep an eye on this movement and learn why after their toe in the water they are now going hard with this strategy of wellness engagement. It is attracting the Baby Boomers who have the cash, and desire, to not age badly, but well.

Check out the full SATURDAY Mounties Group story HERE.

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Ingenia Communities’ Matt Fedrick and Sharon Manson honoured at National Retirement Living Conference

Matt Fedrick, Ingenia Lifestyle’s Development Director in Queensland, and Sharon Manson, Community Sales Manager at Ingenia Lifestyle Hervey Bay, Queensland, were honoured for their work at the National Retirement Living Summit on the Gold Coast.

“I think there is a real need for the creation of community and a commitment to transparency in the industry, which extends to advising potential residents to always consider, question and understand the options available when looking at any retirement community,” said Sharon, Salesperson of the Year.

“I approach our customers as if I was advising my own family – I believe that extra attention and openness ensures that customers and their families can feel confident in choosing the community that best suits their lifestyle needs.”

Matt, who was awarded the title of Future Retirement Living Leader, was instrumental in introducing a new, more affordable style of home at Ingenia Lifestyle’s Chambers Pines community in Chambers Flats, Logan.

“We have been able to introduce affordable housing in these areas, offering properties starting from $239,000 in the Hervey Bay region when the median house price for this area is around $420,000,” he said.

Ingenia Communities CEO Simon Owen said Matt is highly regarded within the Ingenia business.

“Matt runs one of the largest and most profitable business units at Ingenia – our Queensland development business. He demonstrates great leadership in his role daily and constantly coaches and supports his team to be their best,” said Simon.

“He constantly seeks to challenge the status quo and bring new ways of thinking into the business – whether it is building methodology, addressing a new segment in the seniors housing market or repurposing a 40-year-old building.

“Both Matt and Sharon are tremendous assets to the Ingenia team and we are very proud to have their achievements recognised and celebrated by their industry peers and to support their continued success into the future.”

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Village Manager Lexi Connor named RetireAustralia’s Family Award Winner

Lexi Connor, Village Manager of RetireAustralia’s Boambee Gardens Retirement Village in Toormina, on the NSW North Coast, is this year’s winner of the Queensland-based company’s Family Award.

In late October 2021, Boambee Gardens Retirement Village suffered a destructive hail storm, with the community centre and residents’ homes suffering a significant amount of damage.

“Without giving it a second thought, Lexi jumped into action, making sure residents were safe and dry while she organised emergency accommodation. While some residents stayed in the local area, some went to Glengara Care, located on the NSW Central Coast,” said RetireAustralia’s Chief Operating Officer Simon Fawssett, pictured presenting the award to Lexi.

“Moving 14 residents to Glengara Care was no small task. It involved physically packing and moving residents, including their furniture. Lexi went the extra mile by driving the bus to ensure the residents arrived safely. Of course, she could not have done it without the help of her team, in particular Senior PCA Marilyn Unterrheiner who was also recognised with an RA Family Award nomination for her efforts.

“Lexi kept the vibrancy of the village alive by modifying village activities and redeploying village staff who could not perform their usual duties until everyone could return home and the repairs were complete.”

Highly commended in the Family Award were:

Dianne Bear, Village Manager, Belrose Country Club Retirement Village, in Sydney’s Northern Suburbs,

Michael McMullen, Village Manager, Drayton Villas Retirement Village, in Toowoomba City, QLD,and

Brett Halley, Maintenance, Drayton Villas Retirement Village.

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A discussion with Stephen Lind. His first Village Manager role is leading BaptistCare’s new ACT $55M village

The Village Professional had a chat to Stephen Lind, the Village Manager of BaptistCare Yarra Rossa, its new $55 million facility in Red Hill, ACT. The first residents arrived two months ago in April.

Steven is a participant of the DCM Institute Professional Development Program.

Q: Stephen, tell me how did you find yourself as a Village Manager?

A: “I’m new to Canberra, having relocated from Sydney last year. The move prompted the opportunity for new adventures and a new career path.

“When I first saw the role advertised I was attracted to the strong community aspect, as I enjoy my days being filled with interactions and connections with people. “

“I’ve held previous management roles in other industries, which have provided me with ample knowledge and experience to deal with the varied aspects of the role. So far so good!”

Q: Is this your first Village Manager’s role?

A: “Yes, I’m new to BaptistCare and new to the retirement village industry. I see this is an exciting adventure for me that allows me to connect with community and people.”

Q: Where did you work previously?

A: “Most recently, I was working in operations management for garden maintenance companies in Sydney. I worked my way up to these roles after training as a horticulturist and spending a number of years on the tools. Prior to this, I worked in management roles in the self-storage industry.”

“BaptistCare Yarra Rossa has incredible landscaped gardens and walking tracks through the retirement community, as well as views of the Red Hill Nature Reserve, so I’m fortunate to be still surrounded by great gardens even in this role.

Q: What inspires you about the role?

A: “This role is about the variety of tasks and the opportunity to work with a range of people with different skill sets and life experiences.”

“Everybody in the team has taken a different path to get to their current positions, and I learn something new from them as we work together to build a community for the residents to enjoy and thrive in.”

“Talking with the residents provides the same – everyone has a journey they are on, and I’m privileged to be leading a retirement community where I can benefit from hearing their collective stories and wisdom.”

Q: What tips would you give to others thinking of such a position in the future?  

A: “Be prepared to be both busy and surprised. You will see people at their best, and sometimes, having a difficult day.”

“The role is varied in ways that you won’t expect, but for me that is one of the highlights. You need to be prepared to learn.”

“Coming from outside the industry, while it is a steep learning curve in terms of regulation and compliance, I feel incredibly supported by BaptistCare’s leadership to succeed in this area.”

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‘Age friendly communities’ to the fore as Retirement Living Council bids to influence Canberra

The retirement Living Council wishes to change the language of retirement villages, channelling the new label ‘age friendly communities’.

M-L MacDonald, President of the Retirement Living Council, and Ben Myers (main picture), the Council’s Executive Director, both used the term “age friendly communities” at its national conference on the Gold Coast last week.

“The term “age friendly communities” helps us better communicate what a retirement village, land lease community or rental village actually does,” Ben told us. 

“When we are in Canberra and use one of those terms, the mindset of the politician or public servant immediately goes to it’s a state or territory responsibility. Using the term “age friendly communities” changes that mind set.

“It takes us out of the consumer protection debate.”

Villages are regulated by state and territory legislation and the Retirement Living Council finds this is the mindset of politicians and public servants in Canberra.

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Arcadia Group’s Steven Daly named Retirement Living Council’s Village Manager of Year

Arcadia Group Communities Maddington Village (Perth) Manager Steven Daly was named the Retirement Living Council’s Village Manager of the Year at its annual function on the Gold Coast last week. His Perth-based owner, Roger Kwok was on hand to celebrate his win. 

The award is hotly challenged and carefully judged by a panel of eight industry experts, including Jodie Prosser.

Residents nominate their village manager and operator support with a detailed proposal. Selected candidates are then also interviewed by judging panel.

Steven, who has been employed at Arcadia Group since August 2020, also finds the time to serve as a volunteer firefighter. He is Vice-President of the Roleystone Volunteer Fire Brigade and also gives his time to All Hands Volunteers.

Before joining Arcadia Group, Steven was employed by MercyCare as Service Manager East Metro. Before then, the Scotsman was Operations Manager at Roshana Care Group and a Facility Manager at BaptistCare.

Our congratulations to Steven and all the nominees put forward by their own residents. A great compliment.

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Changes at the DCM Institute: Jodie Prosser pulls back

After 4.5 years, our great friend and inspiration, Jodie Prosser, has decided to pull back from her deep engagement in the DCM Institute to focus on her close and extended family.

Jodie will remain as our ‘Adjunct Professor’, providing a regular eye on content development and occasional PD Day attendance, not to mention the VILLAGE SUMMIT.

Satisfaction and professional development

It has been quite a journey. Jodie, Jill Donaldson and I (later joined by Judy Martin) read the market research report from our 2018 DCM Resident Research project, where nearly 20,000 residents reported their village manager was either the greatest source of satisfaction for living in a village or, when skills were lacking, the greatest source of dissatisfaction (pictured below).

Jodie, with all of her adult life engaged in managing villages, said we could shape not a training program, but rather an ongoing professional development program to support village managers to deliver the best outcomes for residents.

And that is what Jodie did.

Along the way we travelled together for three weeks in America to learn about other models. We were joined by Judy Martin in Boston and Washington after Judy was elected Chairperson of the world peak body, the Global Ageing Network, in Toronto. The experience and talent across the two of them is quite remarkable. (Jodie photographed below with the designer of the original Apple Macintosh in San Francisco on a Village Summit fact finding trip).

Then last year, despite COVID-19, we travelled to New Zealand and established the Te Ara Institute, a joint venture with the Retirement Villages Association of New Zealand, providing tailored professional development programs there.

We have had great support from Sally Middleton as liaison with DCMI participants and Tania Kelly making the operations side hum.

New expertise

We are now pleased to announce the appointment of Tiffany Follbigg as National DCMI Administrator, who brings a wealth in Learning and Development experience from the home care sector.

Connie Comber also joins us as Regional Manager to provide participant support. Connie has been a Village Manager in a large regional centre, plus she is a highly qualified dispute mediator.

We are seeking to employ a second Regional Manager to work with Connie. You can see our announcement below.

Roxy D’Silva is on maternity leave for the next three months.

And Judy Martin continues in her leadership role as Director – Industry Engagement.

550 participants

Today we have over 550 DCMI participants, a number we could have only dreamt of four years ago. So thanks to you for your faith and thanks again to Jodie for her vision and professional execution, while not forgetting Judy as our early partner.

And more is to come.

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Key things to help you everyday Latest industry developments

10 years of golden growth ahead for the retirement living sector

If you read our sister newsletter The SOURCE each Tuesday you would be aware that new retirement village and similar community developments are coming thick and fast!

In fact the elder statesman of the retirement village sector, Jim Hazel, says we are entering a 10 year golden period where demand will be increasing each year. This is largely due to Covid spurring people to reconsider their safety, security and independence living alone in a family home.

To give you an idea of the exciting developments, we just pulled out the announcements of the last week:

Living Choice Flagstaff Hill (pictured above), which is 16km from Adelaide’s CBD, is South Australia’s first fully integrated golf course/retirement community.

Seven properties already have been bought off the plan with construction well underway on Stages 1 and 2, comprising 42 villas and 17 apartments.

Retirement Your Way is expected to open its second retirement village, Oasis Peakhurst, 21km south of Sydney’s CBD, in October/November.

65% of the 41 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments have been sold off the plan.

Palm Lake Group Managing Director Scott Elliott calls what will be known at The Springs by Palm Lake Resort as “arguably, the most iconic over-50s community Australia has ever seen.”

The first of 321 homes, with either water frontage or direct golf course access, at Palm Lake Resort Pelican Waters, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast will be opened early next year, weather permitting.

VMCH (Villa Maria Catholic Homes) is “writing a bold new narrative” for a 1.6ha village in Kew, Melbourne. “Everything from the precinct’s design through to the way we take it to market and the facilities and services we’ll deliver to residents will push the envelope for retirement living in Australia,” said VMCH CEO Sonya Smart.

The latest acquisition by Ryman Healthcare, which has more than $2 billion of retirement villages under development in Victoria, is its biggest project in Australia – a 2.56ha former industrial site in Coburg North.

We expect that approximately 2500 new village homes will be built this year, representing approximately 250 villages or five new villages every week. The value? $1.7 billion.

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Legislation reviews – A heightened focus on resident rights will require more and better communication by operators

Retirement Village Act legislative reviews are underway in four states, so it was great to get updates from DCMI Industry Legal Partners:

  • Minter Ellison (NSW 7 QLD)
  • Russell Kennedy (VIC)
  • Jackson McDonald (WA)
  • O’Loughlins Lawyers (SA)

There was absolutely a common theme that there is a heightened focus by regulators and Ministers toward increasing residents’ rights.

Rosemary Southgate Partner, Russell Kennedy, succinctly shared her belief governments are clearly focused on creating rights-based frameworks that promotes:

  • resident independence
  • the ability to make their own decisions
  • a clear right to privacy
  • and a right to have security in their tenure

If this is not a big indicator that as operators we are likely to be compelled to review our operational practices and more specifically how we communicate and consult with residents, then I am not sure what is.

Information, governance, exit entitlements

The team from Minter Ellison went on to highlight the 3 key regulatory reform themes they believe are the focus for many of the reviews:

  • Information – disclosure, transparency and clarity
  • Governance – residents rights, standards of operations and training and qualification
  • Exit entitlements – buybacks, caps on recurrent charges, and reinstatement Vs renovation clarity

Disputes, training

In Victoria there is discussion on the need for a review of dispute resolution procedures and even discussion of the appointment of an independent body to guide disputes.

In Victoria and South Australia there is significant focus on training and qualifications and the operator’s responsibility to ensure staff have the adequate skills and maintain them, with both states keen to investigate the need for a qualification.

With a new Labor Minister in South Australia, and a pending election in Victoria, I am sure any new government will be keen to reinforce policies to uphold the rights of the consumer ie. residents in Retirement Villages, highly influenced by the well-coordinated resident associations.

Dialogue and communication remain key to respectful relations.