By Anne-Marie Elias, COTA NSW Policy & Communications Manager

COTA NSW was pleased to attend the Ageing Landscapes, Australian Association of Gerontology Conference in Perth. The conference covered the gamut of issues affecting our ageing population from abuse of older people, health and early intervention as well as the planning and design of our built environments and public spaces. One common theme across all issue was that early intervention and prevention was better than retrospective or reactive policies and programs.

One issue that dawned on me as a policy maker is the importance of working with researchers to develop sound policies that reflect the changing needs of older people, policies that respond to emerging trends that can avert future problems.

What we know now – What we can do

By 2050 7.9 million Australians will be aged over 65 this is an opportunity to plan now for the ageing population in a meaningful way, through a whole of government and community approach.

Physical Activity declines as we get older Physical activity provides many health and social benefits to all people. For older people it is important to stay mentally and physically active – this has many health benefits. Exercise in the home is not enough – it is important to use local facilities and programs and that these facilities and programs are accessible.

COTA NSW is committed to developing strong policies around the application of the Universal Design Standard to all building and design in Australia. Accessible design for homes, public spaces and buildings encourage people to be physically active and provide health benefits that prolong health and well being amongst older people. To better understand Universal Design please visit the Australian Network for Universal Housing Design http://www.anuhd.org/content/housing-features

Just as we went to press, the Local Government Services Association launched a new tool to allow councils  to plan for their ageing populations – the Resource for Ageing Population Planning (RAPP).

The computer based Resource for Ageing Population Planning (RAPP) shows the change in a community’s characteristics from 1996 until today, as well as the projected populations from 2006 to 2021 by age and sex. The projected populations available through the RAPP will help local councils strategically plan future services and infrastructure because they’ll have a better understanding of the make up of their population.

The RAPP is available at www.lgsa.org.au/RAPP

We would love to hear your views.