The City of Melville’s vision is “Working together to achieve community wellbeing for today and tomorrow. (People, Places, Participation 2012 – 2022). Our community’s vision is for “a safe, liveable, prosperous and sustainable Melville where we enjoy high levels of health and wellbeing; where opportunities to participate in decisions are transparent and inclusive. Our Community is accountable for our actions now and in the future, our local cultures are respected and our natural spaces and built facilities are accessible to all who live work and play in the City”.

The City of Melville has actively engaged with the World Health Organisation (WHO) Age-Friendly Cities project since 2007. The World Health Organisation defines an age friendly community as “one that optimises opportunities for health, participation and security as people age, and adapts its structures and services to be accessible to, and inclusive of, older individuals with varying needs and capacities”.

Since then two documents have been developed to advance the aspirations of our seniors’ community. The Directions from Seniors (DFS) strategies were based on information received from senior’s focus group participation to progress towards the establishment of an Age-Friendly City. The City of Melville’s Age Friendly Strategy – DFS is embedded within both the City’s Strategic Community Plan and Corporate Plans.

Population Forecasts indicate that by the year 2020, 30.3% of the City of Melville population will be seniors. The City of Melville Local Planning Strategy has examined economic modelling and includes increasing the number of dwellings by at least 11,000 by the year 2031. This increase is aligned with the Central Subregional Strategy, Planning Western Australia. The City’s Strategic Urban Planning Directorate anticipates that this higher density of dwellings may increase the number of accessible dwelling for seniors within the City of Melville.

This report details the findings from the evaluation of the 2010-2012 DFS and also provides

recommendations for the development and implementation of the City’s new Age Friendly Melville Directions from Seniors 2013-2017.

Click [here] to read the full assessment