Dunolly District Hospital Auxiliary sets sights on housing for older rural Victorians

Order of Australia Medal awardee Fiona Lindsay said one of the longstanding needs in Dunolly and the surrounding district was housing for older people who had diminishing health and uncertain or poor quality housing. 

“They’re in a bind because they might have some assets – they might own a property, but it might be worth $100,000,” the Dunolly District Hospital Auxiliary chair said.

“They don’t have the resources to either if they sold it buy anything that would be more appropriate [or] to buy into a retirement place, but they have too many resources for public housing.

“So it’s a catch-22 for rural communities and it’s been sitting there as an issue in our community.”

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The hospital auxiliary is developing a proposal to build independent living units in Dunolly.

A feasibility study, supported by the Maryborough District Health Service, explored the viability of constructing 16 – 18 units on vacant land at the Dunolly District Hospital site. 

Ms Lindsay said the report confirmed there was a gap in housing provision for older rural low and middle income people who were not eligible for public or social housing or for residential aged care.

But it also highlighted some potential barriers to the project’s success, including the Victorian Government’s social housing policy guidelines. 

“Current state government housing policy is really targeting, and quite understandably, people who are homeless,” Ms Lindsay said.

“These people aren’t officially homeless, but their quality of life is really compromised and their health is compromised.”

The hospital auxiliary intends to advocate for the state government to adopt a more flexible approach to account for the housing needs and financial circumstances of older rural citizens.

Ms Lindsay said the issue was relevant not just to Dunolly.

“It basically has to be handled at a state level so the wide spectrum of the state can benefit,” she said.

She believed it would be politically savvy to do it, ‘particularly starting off in an electorate like Ripon.’

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While investing in independent living units might initially be considered costly, the social worker could see economic and social benefits.

“You’re sustaining your population, you’re bringing services into the community, you’ve got construction happening… and you can have a mixed model, so you can have rental, and you can have some people buying in if they’ve got the resources,” Ms Lindsay said.

The hospital auxiliary was hopeful the project might be considered a test case for creating affordable and appropriate housing for an ageing rural population.

Partnering with a registered housing provider might also prove challenging.

Ms Lindsay said the community housing organisations consulted were interested in the idea.

“They understand perfectly that this is an issue, but they're not in a position to deal with it,” she said.

The proposed 16 – 18 units would not be a viable number for them to take up the project.

“That’s the gap [in services],” Ms Lindsay said.

Almost three-quarters of the 118 people who responded to a survey conducted as part of the feasibility study said they were owner/occupiers without sufficient assets to access suitable housing as they aged. 

“I know people who would benefit from it NOW. People need it NOW,” a respondent said.

There are no purpose-built independent living accommodation options for low-income older people in Dunolly, the feasibility study found.

Furthermore, there is no accommodation for people with disabilities who do not require residential aged care.

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