The Business of Ageing is a podcast for seniors living professionals

Host Shaun Alexander sits down with the industry’s brightest and bravest business leaders for an honest, thought provoking conversation on how to improve the lives of older Australians, whilst building successful, sustainable businesses.

Latest Episode: MaryAnn de Mestre

Money can bring out the worst in people. This is especially true when it comes to family estate planning where financial entitlement from adult children can put pressure on ageing parents and in some cases even tear families apart.

In this episode of The Business of Ageing podcast, we discuss how rising house prices and cost of living pressures have fueled the growing phenomenon of “inheritance impatience”.

Estate planning solicitor and succession law academic, MaryAnn de Mestre offers valuable advice on how professional planning, family alignment and the right documentation can safeguard older people who might be vulnerable to this all-too-common occurrence.

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MaryAnn de Mestra is the Principal at M de Mestre Lawyers

Previous Episodes: Daniel Gannon

As the Executive Director of the industry’s peak body, The Retirement Living Council, Daniel Gannon has been a highly visible advocate for the sector. This advocacy has Daniel crisscrossing the country, talking with retirement village operators and residents, lobbying governments and assuming the position of industry spokesperson to a sometimes hostile media.

In this episode of the Business of Ageing, I sit down with Daniel to gauge the success of the Council’s recent initiatives, and whether or not these are having a material impact on government policy as well as public perception of the retirement living sector.

We also discuss the positive role that retirement villages can play in addressing the challenges of an aged care industry that is struggling to meet the growing demands of a rapidly ageing population.

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Daniel Gannon is the Executive Director at The Retirement Living Council

Previous Episodes: Sarah Wright

Change is hard. Most people are fairly set in their ways and naturally reluctant to alter their behaviours and ingrained habits. When it comes to organisational change within the seniors living industry, these challenges are amplified 100 fold.

Luckily, there are Change Managers like Sarah Wright who have spent a career in helping organisations navigate these major transformations of their businesses.

In this episode of The Business of Ageing, Shaun sits down with Sarah to understand what makes a successful change manager and learns what practical steps every company can take to ensure that long term change will be embraced by the entire organisation and its residents.

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Sarah Wright is the principle at Wright Change Consultants

Previous Episodes: Nick Donnelly

How much is your lifestyle worth as you age and what is the financial opportunity cost of these decisions?

Nick Donnelly from Plenary Wealth, a financial advisor who specialises in retirement living and aged care, believes that the lifestyle benefits of seniors living communities can often trump the financial cost, but alignment between family members is critical when planning for this life stage.

In this episode of The Business of Ageing, we will be discussing the best ways for people to educate themselves on the options available to them and why getting organised early can save a lot of heartbreak down the track.

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Nick Donnelly is a Financial Advisor at Plenary Wealth

Previous Episodes: Rachel Lane

One of the hardest parts about ageing is knowing when it’s time to leave the family home. If that decision making process isn’t hard enough, the financial minefield of contracts and payment options can end up trapping even the most savvy consumers.

Luckily Rachel Lane from Aged Care Gurus simplifies this process by breaking down these complex concepts into easy to understand, practical information.

In this episode of The Business of Ageing, Rachel shares some of the trends she is seeing from consumers when it comes to retirement living and aged care, and how there can often be a disconnect between these expectations with the reality of what providers can deliver.

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Rachel Lane is the Principle of Aged Care Gurus

Previous Episodes: Natasha & Justin Chadwick

Natasha and Justin Chadwick from NewDirection Care are a mother and son team who have turned the traditional aged care model on its head. But like any revolution, change is hard and takes a certain type of visionary with an unflinching drive and an even thicker skin to navigate the regulatory hurdles and cynical naysayers who said it could never be done.

In this episode of The Business of Ageing, we learn what it takes to instigate real change in the aged care industry and the implications for not only residents, but also staff who are used to highly repetitive, task-based work.

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Natasha Chadwick is the Founder and CEO of NewDirection Care

Justin Chadwick is the Director at NewDirection Care

Previous Episodes: Mike Jeffrey

What do you do if 20 years into your career you feel that you need to make a major change to your status quo, but don’t want to compromise your core values? Mike Jeffrey did just that, taking a major leap of faith by leaving a stable 20 year career in a church-based aged care organisation, for the uncertainty of a tech startup.

In this episode of The Business of Ageing, Mike talks us through this experience and how his early days as a youth worker showed him the importance of “community” in developing and maintaining people’s sense of purpose. We have all heard about “transferrable skills” but Mike Jeffrey’s experience is a story about “transferable values.”

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Mike Jeffrey is the CEO of Pluss Communities

Learn more about Mike Jeffrey and Pluss Communities

Previous Episodes: Merlin Kong

Innovation has traditionally been seen by many organisations as something that happens by senior people within a board room, but Merlin Kong, the former Director of InnovAgeing believes that anyone can become an innovator if given the opportunity to think, and a platform to share their ideas.

In this episode of The Business of Ageing, we discuss how innovation should be viewed as a cultural mindset within every organisation, and that aged care providers and government regulators need to build more “slack” into the sector’s workforce to give employees the opportunity to stop and think, rather than just running around, putting out fires.

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Merlin Kong is the Founder of Youtopient

Learn more about Merlin Kong and Youtopient

Previous Episodes: Lara Calder

When most people think of aged care homes, they picture tired, old buildings that feel more like hospitals. Architect Lara Calder is determined to change that perception, believing that the last place you call home can also be one of the best. In this episode of The Business of Ageing we discuss sensory-enhancing design, co-generational living and other models of seniors housing that are transforming the concept of what “home” can mean as we age.

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Lara Calder is the Managing Director of Calder Flower Architects.

Learn more about Lara Calder and Calder Flower Architects