STATES must abolish stamp duty to help older Australians buy smaller homes and free up the housing market, a report says.

A panel set up by Treasurer Wayne Swan to look at the economic potential of older Australians will release its report today, claiming that stamp duty is a major barrier to older people moving into accommodation better suited to their needs.

“Government regulations are inhibiting senior Australians from obtaining housing that suits their needs,” the report says. “State and territory government stamp duties discourage relocation to more appropriate housing.

“These taxes act as a financial disincentive to moving, often doubling the cost of moving house.

“This can result in individuals not relocating to their preferred housing type but continuing to reside in housing that is no longer suited to their lifestyle or physical capacity.” 

The report is also critical of state planning laws that allow “the development of large, detached houses at the edge of towns and cities”.

“This type of housing is often unsuitable for older people as it requires relocation away from family, friends and other support networks.”

The Government will respond to the report once it has reviewed its findings but Mr Swan will tell a conference today that housing supply will be a major issue into the future with the ageing of the population.

“By 2020 there will be twice as many 65-year-olds here as there were in 2009, and five times as many 85-year-olds,” he will tell the conference.

“Issues like affordability and appropriateness of housing will only become more important in the years ahead and we need a comprehensive approach to meet this challenge.”

Mr Swan will say the report showed “that older Australians, for their own benefit as well as our country’s, have immense potential to lift and shape our economy in the interesting times ahead”.

Currently there are about two million senior Australians who want to rejoin the workforce.

“Last year, over-55s were around 16 per cent of the labour force, compared with 10 per cent in 1980,” Mr Swan will say.

“By 2050 nearly 20 per cent of the labour force will be aged over 55.

“To put a dollar figure to this, not using the skills and experience of older Australians costs the Australian economy $10.8 billion a year.”

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