Key Points
-
TAFE NSW aiming to divest under-utilised portfolio to assist aged care sector.
-
TAFE NSW looking for innovative ways to combine aged care and training.
-
Market sounding occurring now and EOI for trial proposed for Feb 2017.
A significant development opportunity has emerged for the retirement and aged care sector, as TAFE NSW opens its property portfolio up for aged care development.
Please contact [email protected] if you would like to be connected to the relevant personnel in TAFE NSW to participate in the market sounding this month, and gain further information about the forthcoming EOI process.
The opportunity: what’s it all about?
TAFE NSW has announced it will be seeking expressions of interest from the aged care sector for the development of TAFE NSW properties in both regional and metropolitan areas.
It is looking for operators to lease or buy surplus TAFE NSW lands for aged care development, while utilising the training facilities of TAFE NSW campuses to service the demand for skilled workers in the industry.
TAFE NSW sees the proposal as a major innovation in its training offering, providing a new opportunity for the industry to meet the demands of an aging population. Many of TAFE NSW’s 136 campuses contain under-utilised land adjacent to teaching facilities, so it is looking to open up those lands to cater for an ageing population while reorienting its training capacity to support aged care participants. Long term, it is seeking place based relationships with the aged care sector that foster both community training and viable seniors accommodation.
TAFE NSW is very much looking for ideas from the sector as to how this might succeed.
TAFE NSW:
- this month (ie now) is sounding out the market to better understand the commercial constraints for development and to explore how the industry might take advantage of the opportunities;
- in February 2017 – will be seeking expressions of interest for the development of a trial involving at least one regional and one metropolitan site (to be put forward by TAFE NSW based on a review of its portfolio and the market research this month);
- by second quarter 2017 – aims to seek formal requests for proposals from a selection of operators based on the EOI, for the two trial sites;
- by late 2017 – aims to have commercial relations documented for the trial sites;
- is working with the Department of Planning & Environment to amend the Infrastructure SEPP to ensure that zoning will facilitate take up of the opportunity.
Any EOI and RFP must involve both a regional and one metropolitan site.
TAFE NSW will roll out other sites in the near term based on its experiences with the trial sites.
Post by Robert Wilcher