In a major CEDA speech, Sen. Mitch Fifield stated he wants to speed up the transfer of control of home and residential care from operators to the consumer. And to deliver this he looks to the digital world. There will be implications for retirement villages.

He wants the My Aged Care gateway website to be the "virtual marketplace where consumers and providers – or demand and supply – meet”.

He said: “Governments can continue to try and second guess what older Australians want. We can continue to ration their beds and hand them out like taxi licenses. Or we can aim to ultimately get out of the way; let the consumer decide what they want and allow the market to supply what is needed”.

He has directed his Department to “expand My Aged Care to list all aged care services whether or not they be government funded. We want all consumers to have maximum information about all providers”.

Encompassing care services as varied as medication to grass cutting, this will roll out from July next year.

He also wants a rating system. He said “Trip Advisor style capacities on the My Aged Care will develop ratings for the quality of providers and their services, according to what matters to consumers, rather than what Departments and providers think they should be”.
What the Minister is outlining is a fundamental shift in the relationship between service providers and customers.

In effect, decades of brand value/goodwill can be significantly discounted with a click of a mouse button. Customers will be increasingly told to reconsider traditional service models such as residential aged care and retirement villages – think outside of the square and look after yourself – your government will assist you.
The size of the potential impact of CDC can be seen in America where the average residential aged care occupancy is now down to 13 months, compared to 34 months here. US operators are closing beds, not opening them. New home care service providers are booming.

So residents will enter care later, indicating more vacant beds and residents requiring greater staff engagement.

Retirement village models will be challenged; what will be the village value proposition? Will operators have to target older customers with a true low care service to keep vacancies down?

One thing is certain; marketing and a digital culture will be fundamental to prosperity.