THE PROPERTY Council of Australia, which represents many of the country’s retirement village operators, has put forward an eight-point plan to raise industry standards.
The plan was developed during a a meeting between 20 operators and retirement village association leaders from around the country.
While not explaining how the plan will integrate with state-based retirement legislation and regulations, the Property Council said it was designed to lead to greater transparency and higher standards.
Chief executive Ken Morrison said the industry was laying the foundation to give residents more opportunities to have their say and ensuring they had greater confidence that disputes and concerns are fairly dealt with.
“Over 180,000 older Australians live in retirement villages. This action plan is about giving residents, their families and the broader community confidence that the interactions between residents and the villages they are part of, reflect community expectations.”
Property Council director of retirement living Ben Myers said the action plan would form the basis of future discussion with politicians and regulators about enhancing the industry.
The eight-point plan supports:
- Nationally consistent legislation and contracts.
- Transparent and easy-to-understand descriptions in contracts of entry pricing, ongoing service fees, reinstatement costs, and fees and payments relating to departure.
- Encouraging potential residents to seek independent legal advice before signing a contract, and working with government and the legal profession to make this happen.
- Improving training and professional support for village managers, sales people and other staff who engage directly with current and potential residents.
- Working with the Australian Retirement Village Residents Association to implement an industry code of conduct.
- Improving industry village accreditation standards and coverage, and supporting government initiatives to make accreditation a mandatory requirement.
- Establishing an efficient and cost-effective government-backed independent dispute resolution process for disputes that are unable to be solved at a village level.
- Maintaining and strengthening the relationship between the industry and the residents’ association.
Residents’ association president Alistair Christie said the eight points would go a long way in the process of improving the retirement village industry.
