‘Cleaning up’ the running of villages

A group representing thousands of Canberra retirees say it is about to achieve legally enforceable rights over their homes after years of reported struggles.

The Canberra Times reports the ACT Retirement Village Residents’ Association recently welcomed an ACT government decision to drastically change its plan on regulating the industry and take “off the rack” legislation already in place in NSW and presenting it to the Assembly this week.

Efforts by government backbencher Mary Porter to force through binding legislation on Canberra’s 28 retirement communities had been stalled after six years of attempts to reach compromise between elderly residents and the owners of their retirement complexes.

Ms Porter, who will introduce a bill adopted from the NSW legislation, hopes the bill will be passed, with Greens support, in August.

The ACT, estimated to have up to 2,200 retirement village residents, is reportedly the only Australian jurisdiction not to have legislated to regulate the growing sector.

President of the residents’ association, Pamela Graundez, said the group was pleased with the decision to adopt the “cross-border” laws.

“The peak industry lobby, the Retirement Village Association, did not want any legislation because it’s going to make them regulate the industry.

“This bill is also going to clean up the running of retirement villages. It’s not a complex bill; it’s certainly one that’s needed.”

Ms Graundez added she and her colleagues had been lobbying for enforceable legislation to replace the “code of conduct” governing the running of retirement villages.

“We’re happy with the NSW bill because it’s a fairly clear bill and it offers much more regulation, it gives much more security for residents and it’s needed because there are significant administrative problems in some of the retirement villages in the ACT.”

The body representing village owner-operators, the Australian Retirement Village Association, said the uniform cross-border laws would help reduce compliance costs.

“That’s very important to us, because we have members operating in both NSW and the ACT,” the association said.