More than two thirds of development applications for retirement living complexes take more than a year to be determined, a new report says.
Developers feel delays could be contributing to a shortfall in seniors housing and bringing the viability of proposed projects into question.
The "Retirement Ready" report card from the Retirement Living Council - part of the Property Council of Australia - found 67 per cent of development applications for retirement villages took more than 12 months to receive a determination.
Twenty-three per cent of applications took more than two years.
Why do we need retirement living villages?
Retirement villages are dedicated complexes for people to age in place independently.
The Retirement Living Council has found the villages keep people out of aged care and lessen strain on the residential housing market.
As the demand for new apartments in Canberra grows, many developers are including assisted living modifications as an option within residential units.
But Goodwin Aged Care Services chief executive Stephen Holmes said these buildings did not provide the dedicated lifestyle needed.
"They are filling gaps of providing housing but we would definitely not say it meets the needs of older Canberrans," Mr Holmes said.
"The benefit of a retirement village is the community it creates and all the extra support it provides."
LDK Seniors' Living chief executive Byron Cannon said his company believed there was an undersupply of up to 5500 retirement living apartments in the ACT.
"What seniors want is not just somewhere to move in and maybe have access to care," Mr Cannon said.
"They want to be able to move into a place where they have the confidence that when they need care, it comes to them in their home delivered by the operator running the village."
'May not have got off the ground'
Mr Holmes said development determination times are causing providers to question the viability of further projects.
"Delays could have put our [most recent] project at huge risk or it may not have got off the ground at all," he said.
The company is building a retirement village in Downer nearly a decade after the development was first discussed.
Goodwin submitted a development application for a site on the corner of Melba and Bradfield streets in 2021.
Construction was initially due to begin in 2022.
The project stalled when the development was partially approved in 2022 and required one of the buildings to be redesigned.
Goodwin resubmitted the plans and received approval in 2023.
During this time, the cost of construction went up and Mr Holmes said his team came very close to not being able to complete the project.
"The obvious implication is that we wouldn't have been able to provide homes," he said.
More than half the homes in Goodwin Downer had sold before shovels went in the ground.
The construction began in April and is expected to take 18 months to complete.
A spokesperson for the Territory Planning Authority said general legal timeframes for determining a development are 30 to 45 working days, which is extended to 60 days for significant applications.
"However, timeframes can sometimes be exceeded when there is an influx of applications or if matters arise during the assessment process," the spokesperson said.
"Post-approval processes such as reconsideration applications, applications for amendments and third-party appeals lodged with the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal may also contribute to additional timeframes.
"Some of these processes are outside of the control of the authority."
Why delays?
The delay in determination for retirement village development applications is happening nationally.
The ACT ranks third on the Retirement Living Council's overall scorecard for 2023, beaten by South Australia and NSW.
But the council estimates the territory's over-75 population is expected to grow by 86 per cent from 2023 to 2040.
Retirement living villages often have complex structures, including multiple buildings, dedicated care spaces, pools and outdoor recreation areas.
These can make the assessment and determination of development applications more laborious than that of residential builds.
The ACT's Planning Act 2023 offers an assessment pathway for retirement living villages, but unlike NSW, there is no specific planning instrument to bolster retirement living development.
Height and floorspace bonuses are not generally made available in the territory for this kind of housing, the Property Council report card said.
Mr Cannon said it could be challenging to developers to understand approval structures within the ACT government.
"We [want] to have confidence in our ability to acquire land, go to market and construct because time can kill projects," Mr Cannon said.
LDK has Canberra projects on both Commonwealth and territory-controlled land.
The Canberra Times understands some retirement living providers have opted to forego new projects in the ACT entirely because of what one deemed "confusing" development laws.
Neither LDK nor Goodwin have submitted a development application under the new Planning Act 2023.
Goodwin will be submitting a development application at the end of 2024 for its village in Monash to demolish an existing building and build new services on the land.
The ACT government offers help online for understanding zoning and preparing a development application.
The spokesperson for the Territory Planning Authority said the government does not keep data on specific land use type in the context of development applications.
"Substantial resources would be required to review all historic applications and confirm the national report card's statement," the spokesperson said. "Most retirement living villages in the ACT take more than 365 days to receive a DA determination".
"The authority cannot make resources available for this purpose."
