The Retirement Villages Act 2016, which passed through Parliament in November 2016, has a number of changes that will bring certainty and transparency to village life for residents, according to the Minister for Ageing, the Hon Zoe Bettison.
Speaking at a special forum in Gawler this morning, Ms Bettison said the introduction of a mandatory maximum 18-month repayment period for residents who exit will deliver greater certainty to residents.
“ This means that if you want to leave the village, perhaps to move closer to family, you can now have certainty about when your funds will be released,” said Ms Bettison.
“This, along with the ability to remain in residence through the relicensing period gives residents greater security and a range of options should you want to move.”
The new Act will lead to an increase in transparency of village funds, including breaking down management fees and providing details of exactly what consultation residents can expect regarding the village budget and finances. The new Act also sees an increase of penalty amounts to deter contravention of the law.
Penalty amounts will now range from $750 to $35,000 for offences. Local Member of Parliament Mr Tony Piccolo, who organised the forum, said there are also major changes for prospective residents, in particular, the introduction of a standard disclosure statement, which will improve transparency and clarity of residence contracts.
“This will make it easier for prospective residents to compare fees, charges and services across a number of villages and to have greater clarity regarding all charges from entry to exit,” said Mr Piccolo.
Ms Bettison told the forum that she intended for the new Act to come into effect in January 2018; allowing sufficient time to develop the corresponding regulations. “I aim to have the draft regulations released for public consultation by Easter this year and information about public consultation will be widely distributed. I urge you all to contribute towards it,” Ms Bettison said.
Ms Bettison also spoke about the State-wide Conversation with Older South Australians, which she launched in October last year. Over 400 older people from across South Australia attended a series of dynamic community conversations. They told the State Government what was great in their communities and what could be done to make South Australia an even better place to live as people age.
“Tapping into the experience and ideas of older South Australians was what the conversations were all about,” added Ms Bettison.
Mr Piccolo said the ideas and themes from the conversations will be used to guide and inform an Age-Friendly South Australia initiative which the Minister plans to release in the middle of 2017.