Council announces a staged approach to increasing rates for retirement villages

Cairns Regional Council have announced a change to their proposal to increase rates levied on retirement villages, but residents are objecting again, claiming the scheme is still unfair.

Oak Tree resident Judy Holzheimer, pictured with husband Alan Holzheimer, has objected to council’s updated proposal. Picture: Brendan Radke

Cairns Regional Council has announced a change to their proposal to increase rates levied on retirement homes, but residents are still frustrated at the updated proposal.

In March, the council announced a change to the way it calculated general rates for retirement villages in Cairns, resulting in significant rate increases for the upcoming 2025/26 financial year.

The proposal, which is yet to be voted on, drew frustration from a number of retirement village residents, who labelled the proposal unfair and accused council of targeting a vulnerable population.

The council has now announced the increase will be staged over a two-year period, halving the proposed rate increases for the 2025/26 financial year, and then charging the full proposed rates for the 2026/27 financial year.

“We recognise the change, while fairer overall, will impact hip pockets at a time where every dollar counts,” a council spokesman said.

“We’re aiming to assist people absorb the change by phasing it in over two years.”

The spokesman said the staged approach would aim to “reduce the short-term impact and allow greater time for property owners and residents to budget, while still achieving a more equitable outcome for ratepayers”.

Eligible pensioners are also entitled to a $320 annual rebate on rates, and council said they estimate the total increase for pensioners would be “at most” an extra $6 per week, based on current rates.

“Retirement villages offer strong safety, both in terms of health and physical security,” Ms Holzheimer said. Picture: Molly Frew

The spokesman also said that more than 97 per cent of pensioner ratepayers in Cairns, living in other “ownership structures”, were already being charged “at least” the minimum rate of $1072 per year for their dwelling.

Oak Tree retirement village in White Rock were originally dealt an 800% rate increase, from $9063 to $82,613.

Under the new proposal, they would be charged $41,306 in the upcoming financial year and then $82,613 in 2026/27.

Resident Judy Holzheimer sent an objection to council’s updated proposal, arguing the rate increase is still unfair because of the unique purpose retirement villages serve in the community.

“This latest proposal by council is indicative of council’s ignorance of the role of retirement villages in the broader community,” Ms Holzheimer said.

“Retirement villages provide a sense of belonging and community among those who live there.

“Consequently, physical, social and emotional isolation that is so common in suburbia and so detrimental to the health and wellbeing of the elderly, doesn’t exist in a retirement village.”

Ms Holzheimer also argued the updated proposal would still impose a significant financial burden on pensioners, many of which are widowers.

“90 per cent of the ratepayers in the village receive the aged pension … and 68 per cent of the village units are occupied by elderly widows or widowers,” she said.

“A resident living at Oak Tree Retirement Village surviving on the aged pension has been budgeting all of their life and yet council states that phasing this increase in over two years will ‘allow greater time for residents to budget’.

“It is not possible to budget for an increase of this magnitude when your income is fixed.”

The Parks Retirement Living has 157 units. Picture: Molly Frew

“Please understand that retirement villages serve a unique purpose in the community. They are definitely not the same as other multi-unit developments and should not be categorised in the same way.

“To do this is not in the interests of fairness nor equality.”

The Parks Retirement Living resident Kevin McRae also objected to the updated proposal on the grounds that any rate increase would unfairly burden residents.

Under the new proposal, the Earlville facility would be charged $84,222 in the upcoming financial year and $168,455 the following year, after paying $27,189 in 2024/25.

“I’m not sure what makes council think that people who are financially stressed now will be in a better financial position if they spread it out over two years,” Mr McRae said.

“Their income is still the same. We have so many particularly older women who are single pensioners with no super … and they’ve got very limited savings,” he said.

“It’s sort of an ill-considered very simplistic and wrong premise to say that retirement villages are the same as a block of flats in Cairns North,” Mr McRae said.

“We have 157 units here. That is potentially 157 houses in Cairns which became available on the market, so retirement villages actually free up accommodation in the general community,” he said.

Council’s proposal will be voted on at the ordinary meeting on Wednesday, June 25.

Originally published as Council announces a staged approach to increasing rates for retirement villages