A key element to the reforms is making paperwork simpler and clearer for retirees to better understand what they are signing up for.
The Victorian government has been slammed over the “botched” roll out of the biggest reform of the state’s retirement villages in decades as it works to make retirement living fairer.
Long-awaited details of the reform regulations were released by the government today.
Key changes being implemented to the Retirement Villages Act include mandatory condition reports completed before residents move in, a seven-day cooling off period for contracts, banning undisclosed fees and costs, as well as requirements resident shares of capital gains be the same as those for capital losses and simpler contracts.
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Slated to become law from May 1, industry groups are worried the 200-page legislative amendment released today that requires changes to contracts for people entering villages will risk “real harm” to future residents as operators try to meet an “unrealistic” 39-day turnaround.
It continues a war of words between Consumer Affairs Minister Nick Staikos and the nation’s biggest retirement village industry group, the Retirement Living Council — who yesterday indicated many of the reforms were “catching up with where the majority of the market has already moved”, but warned there was not enough time for implementation to contracts.
A late-stage draft of the reform regulations was released by Consumer Affair also promised to clarify what operators and residents are responsible for maintaining and replacing, definitions of wear and tear, as well as emergency planning and safety inspection requirements.
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Allan government reforms to the Retirement Village Act have been supported, but the timeline to implement them has been slammed. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw
Retirement villages will also be required to use a standard form contract, while operators will be barred from setting limits on the keeping of pets in homes.
Residents will also no longer need to seek consent to add fly screens or curtains to windows, picture hooks, shelves and security systems that don’t interfere with other residents’ privacy.
The reforms will impact 513 retirement villages across the state, where there are currently around 36,000 residents, but land lease retirement communities are not included — and covered under the Residential Tenancies Act.
Consumer Affairs Minister Nick Staikos said it was the most significant reform to the Retirement Villages Act in decades.
“We have worked closely with industry to deliver protections that will make life easier, fairer and more affordable for residents,” Mr Staikos said.
“Victorians in retirement villages now have peace of mind that their contracts are fair and transparent and can focus on enjoying their retirement.”
RLC executive director Daniel Gannon said while the industry supported the intent of the reforms, they were unhappy the rule book had arrived at the last minute.
Retirement Living Council executive director Daniel Gannon believes the time left to implement the changes is too short. Picture: Jeremy Piper.
“Given this unrealistically narrow time frame, this botched reform process risks doing real harm, including the displacement of older Victorians,” Mr Gannon said.
“More transparency, clarity and certainty are absolutely the right objectives for residents, investors and operators alike, but reform of this scale needs to be properly planned and competently executed – not rushed through under extreme time pressure.”
He added that they would now work through the regulation in detail in an effort to ensure future retirement village residents are not left facing any uncertainty — and noted that in most cases legislation as “simply catching up with where the majority of the market has already moved”.
“For many operators, the changes themselves won’t be the issue – the problem is the implementation time frame,” he said.
“Imposing a 38‑business‑day implementation window for reforms of this complexity isn’t reasonable. It prioritises speed over clarity, and in doing so increases the risk of confusion for residents and avoidable errors across the sector.
“The RLC will not defend poor practice or operators who fail to meet their obligations to residents. We support greater clarity, certainty and transparency for residents, operators and investors – those objectives are right.”
Victorian Consumer Affairs minister Nick Staikos says he refuses to bow to “powerful interests” when making reforms. Picture: NewsWire / Diego Fedele.
Last week, Mr Gannon made a speech slamming the government over the delays in providing the details of the reforms at the RLC’s Outlook event.
Mr Staikos had already spoken at the same event, without clarifying when the reforms’ details would be released, and took a dim view to the industry group’s response speech shortly after.
A subsequent social media post included comments that he believed Victorians had been treated “very, very poorly” by retirement village operators and he would not bow to “powerful interests” in providing a requested delay to the May 1 start date.
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