City of Rockingham transfers ownership of Challenger Court retirement village to RAAFA

Challenger Court retirement village now has new owners, with the City of Rockingham confirming on Wednesday a transfer of ownership to the Royal Australian Air Force Association.

The transfer has been described as a “landmark step” that will help boost the delivery of services to current residents at the facility and maximise potential future development.

Air Force Association (Western Australian Division) Incorporated, trading as RAAFA, is a not-for-profit organisation and one of the largest retirement living and aged care providers in Western Australia.

RAAFA chief executive John Murray said the organisation had been working closely with the City of Rockingham for a number of months to make the transition a smooth one.

“RAAFA is delighted to have successfully acquired Challenger Court, particularly as there is a high proportion of Defence Force personnel and veterans who live in the City of Rockingham area, which makes it a good fit for us,” Mr Murray said.

“In addition, we see Rockingham as a strong growth area given the recent foreshore redevelopment and planning scheme, so we’re very excited by this acquisition and to have Challenger Court in our family of RAAFA estates.”

The organisation now has seven retirement villages in WA, comprising 1466 retirement living units and apartments, 19 assisted living units, 446 residential aged care places and 13 short-stay accommodation units in Bull Creek, Mandurah, Albany, Merriwa and now Rockingham.

Located on Ray Street, Challenger Court was opened in the mid 1970s by the Aged Persons Home Trust and was developed to provide affordable accommodation to ageing residents in the community.

Ownership of Challenger Court was then transferred to the city from the Trust in December 2006.

Rockingham mayor Deb Hamblin said this latest transfer was an exciting milestone for the provision of aged care and retirement living in the city.

“RAAFA has extensive experience in managing retirement living and residential care facilities, and we are confident they will be able to provide quality support and care to current and future residents of Challenger Court,” Ms Hamblin said.

“Crucially, the city has secured a commitment from RAAFA to carry out further development on site in the future, to expand accommodation and services available to the community.

“This will be essential to meeting the demands of our growing seniors population, which is expected to reach more than 47,000 people by 2046.”

As part of the transfer agreement, all current residents of the estate have been provided with long-term certainty of tenure, meaning all existing tenancy agreements will be maintained.