More compliance for retirement village operators and increased consumer protection are the cornerstone of the Queensland Government’s changes to the Retirement Villages Act 1999.
The Government states the purpose of the amendments is to ensure public confidence in the state’s retirement village industry. The changes include:
- creating a new regulation-making power for financial documents;
- clarifying and strengthening existing provisions related to financial reporting, including new penalties for non-compliance;
- increasing access to village financial documents for village residents, the Department and the public register for retirement villages, and
- enhancing the financial transparency of village operations and the accountability of operators.
The Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy now will consult with resident, industry and legal groups on proposed amendments to the Retirement Villages Regulation 2018 and implementation timeframes.
“As is often the case, the devil is in the details,” Retirement Living Council Executive Director Daniel Gannon told The Weekly SOURCE.
“Together with operator members, the Retirement Living Council awaits draft regulations to be released, given the Act puts a lot of the important detail into regulation.
“The RLC will also continue to work with Governments in Victoria, Western Australia, and South Australia on current reforms to ensure that consumer expectations and industry viability are concurrently met and strengthened.”
