Australia: Contract and information disclosure options for retirement villages in Victoria – have your say

On 19 October 2011 the Victorian Consumer Affairs Minister Michael O'Brien released a discussion paper which seeks feedback on ways to promote a better understanding of the rights and obligations of residents who live in retirement villages in Victoria, as well as a better understanding by potential residents of these rights and obligations (Discussion Paper).

On releasing the Discussion Paper, Minister O'Brien confirmed that the Victorian government is committed to helping seniors become better informed about retirement villages through the provision of easy to understand information in order to help avoid conflicts between residents and management in the future.

The Discussion Paper seeks feedback on the following areas:

1. How the disclosure of information to prospective residents of a retirement village could be improved, both when a person is generally interested in a particular retirement village and when a person is about to enter into a contract for a particular unit at a village.
2. What matters must be set out in retirement village contracts and what matters must be excluded based on a draft list set out in the Discussion Paper.
3. The details of a basic set of mandatory terms for retirement village contracts to promote fairness, in addition to those already prescribed by the Retirement Villages (Contractual Arrangements) Regulations 2006 (Vic).
4. The appropriateness of a standard layout for retirement village contracts to assist residents to compare both residence and management contracts.
5. The requirement for the provision of a condition report before a new resident moves in, as is currently the case in New South Wales.

The Discussion Paper can be viewed here and draws on experiences from other jurisdictions including New South Wales. Initial submissions to Consumer Affairs Victoria are due on Monday 19 December 2011. Consumer Affairs Victoria will meet with industry stakeholders to discuss outcomes from the Discussion Paper in early 2012, and will then prepare a regulatory impact statement in relation to any proposed regulations.

Please contact Gadens Lawyers if you would like advice or assistance in relation to the preparation and lodgement of submissions with Consumer Affairs Victoria.

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This report does not comprise legal advice and neither Gadens Lawyers nor the authors accept any responsibility for it.