Recently Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a royal commission into Australia’s aged care system.

Since then, there has been some speculation that the terms of reference may also extend to the include retirement villages.

Retirement villages are a very different form of accommodation to residential aged care (often referred to as nursing homes).

Unlike nursing homes, where people move in on a needs basis, those who move into retirement living make an active choice to live in a community of retirees and enjoy the best of both worlds; their own private maintenance free accommodation and a great range of communal facilities, with a busy social calendar.

Tim Russell, Director of retirement living developer and operator Aura Holdings, believes retirement villages strike a unique balance between independence and support, when needed.

“When you move into a retirement community, you’re joining a supportive community of like-minded people where there is freedom to live the life you want to enjoy,” Mr Russell said.

Mr Russell, added “Most retirees make the move to retirement villages in their 70s and it is this forward planning that often means many never have to move into a nursing home.”

In fact, research conducted by Grant Thornton found that living in a retirement community can delay entry into a nursing home by over 5 years – the average age of those who move in to an Aged Care facility from home is 79, but from a retirement village this age is 84 (Grant Thornton, National Overview of the Retirement Living Sector, 2014).

Living in a retirement community also reduces social isolation which is estimated to affect 1 in 5 senior Australians and is a leading cause of depression.

Grant Thornton reported that 93% of residents surveyed stated that their ‘overall happiness and life satisfaction’ had increased significant since moving into a retirement village.

At Aura Holdings’ retirement communities, the apartments have been designed to enable retirees to age in place as they incorporate discreet features such as the elimination of stairs, reduced trip hazards, wall ovens, easy to grip handles and many more.

They also feature a fantastic range of shared areas including heated pools, cafés, wine rooms and much more.

In addition to this, residents will have access to flexible in-home services through partners like Five Good Friends, if or when they need them.