Rosemary Southgate, Principal, Property and Development, Russell Kennedy, said the full extent of Victoria’s Retirement Villages Amendment Bill 2024, expected to be passed in early 2025, is still unknown.
“Changes to the pre contract disclosure requirements, a commitment to create simpler, transparent contract templates and to introduce more resources to assist with the conciliation of resident and management and resident to resident disputes are welcome,” Rosemary said.
Victoria’s Minister for Consumer Affairs Gabrielle Williams when introducing the Bill into Victorian Parliament, claimed it gives residents in retirement villages some of the strongest protections in Australia.
“The Bill also introduces the power for Regulations to be made to create a Code of Practice. Details in relation to the Code are not yet available; however, the Bill does refer to a Code covering matters such as disclosures and marketing, village operation and administration, renovation, refurbishment and reinstatement requirements and good practice in dealing with disputes, among other things. Hopefully the regulators take into consideration the codes developed by the industry and undertake meaningful consultation with all stakeholders to assist with developing a balanced Code for the sector,” said Rosemary.
“There are a number of significant changes in the Bill, however, which will require operators to consider their financial and operating models for retirement living moving forward. These indicate that the Government is moving to regulate deferred fees, capital gain sharing, payment and calculation of exit entitlements, capital replacement and maintenance, and village operating deficits. Some of these changes reflect recent reforms in other states. However, some reforms move Victoria towards a more heavily regulated financial model which will lead to a more limited contract offering for consumers.
“There is still some way to go with the passing of the Bill and development of Regulations in 2026 before the full outcome of these reforms will be known with certainty.”
The next sitting of the Victorian Parliament is today.
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