Older South Australians are languishing on waiting lists for suitable retirement accommodation, with new data revealing almost one in five Australians looking to make their final move are located in the festival state.
The Retirement Living Council has warned the pipeline of new accommodation for the aged has hit a brick wall, as the recently released 2025 PwC-RLC Retirement Census shows 26,825 Australians are currently on waitlists.
South Australia accounts for 17.8 per cent (about 5000) of these.
According to the report’s forecast, the number of residents aged over 75 by 2040 is set to surge by 64 per cent, with that number expected to exceed 282,000.
It has highlighted the lack of suitable housing now, and raised concern that the current investment in infrastructure will be insufficient to house the state’s aged in the future.
RLC executive director Daniel Gannon said almost 27,000 waitlist registrations was illuminating.
“Older Australians want retirement communities, but the pipeline has hit a brick wall,” he said.
“The queue keeps getting longer while too many retirement living projects disappear into a maze of planning delays, regulation and red tape.
![Property Council](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 768 1024"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Daniel Gannon, executive director of the Retirement Living Council
“Australia is staring down a housing crisis, an ageing population, overflowing hospitals and an aged care system stretched to breaking point, yet we’re still putting hurdles in front of one of the solutions.
“We’re trying to put out the fire while turning off the hose.”
He said every older Australian who moved into a retirement village frees up a home for another family.
“It creates a chain reaction that helps ease pressure right across the housing market, and offers connection, security and access to care and support when residents need it,” he said.
“But when retirement villages get stuck in the approvals process, that chain reaction stalls.”
According to the report, of the 4036 older South Australians on a waiting list in metropolitan Adelaide, 9 per cent are waiting for a single-bedder, 60 per cent are looking for a two-bedroom home and the remaining 31 per cent are waiting for a three-bedroom home.
The breakdown for those on a waitlist in regional SA (739) was proportionally similar.
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Older South Australians are finding it hard to find suitable retirement living.
It also showed 73 per cent of retirement villages provide support at home services – 59 per cent directly and 14 per cent through external providers – a key figure as retirement villages help prevent bed block in hospitals and ramping, which is often for aged care patients.
The Census – which is in its 12th year – paints the most comprehensive picture of Australia’s retirement sector and uses data from 100 operators covering 1,123 retirement villages and around 100,000 retirement living units.
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PwC Australia valuations partner Meredith Chester said buyers wanted greater choice, stronger community connection, access to care and wellbeing services, and homes that can support their changing needs over time.
“This is an opportunity for the industry to respond through a combination of new service models, stronger care partnerships, continued investment in existing villages, and a broader range of housing and contract options.
“The challenge will be to meet evolving resident demands while continuing to balance affordability, service quality, and long-term sustainability.”
Ian and Jillian Dall at their unit Retirement Village at Ridgehaven. Picture Mark Brake
Ian and Jillian Dall, aged 75 and 70 respectively, moved into Ridgehaven Rise 15 months ago from Athelstone and said the process took them about eight months.
“We really wanted a three-bedroom home with two carports and this one suited us really well and we really liked the community here,” Mr Dall said.
“The moment we moved in we knew we had made the right decision.
“We really liked that this was all on a single level, which was going to be more and more difficult as we got older at our home in Athelstone.”
