First round of retirement village legislation passed

The NSW Government has taken on board a number of reforms to the Retirement Villages Amendment Bill 2018 and already introduced legislation to address six of the 17 recommendations made in the Inquiry into the NSW Retirement Village Sector.

Some of the recommendations were:

• A mandatory “rules of conduct” for operators for or with respect to professionalism, training, competencies, performance and behaviour
• Village operators to explain contract information to residents once a year, increasing transparency for contract terms, exit fees, and living cost
• More support for dispute resolution and mediation services, managed by NSW Fair Trading.
• A requirement for annual audits of the retirement village
• New asset management plans detailing the items of capital that the operator is responsible for
• New requirements for the provision, sharing and publication of specific information about retirement villages
• Ensuring that an emergency plan is prepared and maintained so that it remains effective
• Having safety inspections for the communities at least once every calendar year, including evacuation exercises and the display of crucial safety information

Led by Ms Kathyrn Greiner AO, the NSW Retirement Village Sector Report (the Greiner Review Report) is the final component of the Government’s four-point plan for retirement villages, which included:

• Revising the Retirement Villages Regulation 2009;
• Introducing an online calculator to help consumers understand the costs of retirement village living;
• Undertaking compliance and education operations targeting NSW retirement villages; and finally,
• Launching an Inquiry to examine the retirement village sector in NSW.

These recommendations were made to improve the legislative framework for retirement villages and the operational practices of both the industry and the regulator. The inquiry was conducted over five months (July to December 2017), engaged with over 850 members of the retirement village community and received almost 500 written submissions during the public consultation. At the consultation stage, residents and members of the community were invited to attend consultation forums to discuss their concerns across the State. These forums were held in Ballina, Hornsby, Newcastle, Parramatta, Port Macquarie, Sydney and Wagga Wagga.

According to recent data, there are currently 653 villages in NSW which are home to over 55,000 residents with a median age on entry of 75 years, and an average resident age of 80 years old. With residents living in a retirement village for approximately seven years, these changes will be significant.

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