A review of the Retirement Villages Act 1992 has been completed by Consumer Protection. The purpose of the review was to consider ways to improve consumer protections for residents and prospective residents of retirement villages. 

The Decision Regulatory Impact Statement (DRIS) is a comprehensive report containing recommendations to reform the retirement village laws.

The Summary Consultation Report is a summary of the DRIS and highlights key elements.

Review finding

The review found  the Retirement Villages Act 1992 (WA) should be updated to improve consumer protections for residents. For example, improvements are recommended to the way information is disclosed to consumers interested in entering a retirement village. Other improvements include requiring operators to pay exit entitlements no later than 12 months after the resident permanently leaves the village.

Downloads and resources

Proposed reforms to retirement villages legislation in WA - Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement 4 - Managing changes to a retirement village

Final report

The DRIS:

• identifies issues raised during the consultation phase
• reports on stakeholder feedback
• makes recommendations

Stakeholder consultation

Between August 2019 and June 2021, four consultation papers (CRIS1- 4) were released as part of the consultation into reform of the retirement village laws. Feedback was received from a wide range of stakeholders including peak industry and resident groups, individual operators and residents, specialist legal advisers and government agencies. 

Compliance

On 12 December 2021, the Department of Treasury’s Better Regulation Unit (BRU) certified the DRIS as complying with the Government’s Regulatory Impact Assessment Guidelines.

Next steps

The drafting of amendments to the Retirement Villages Act is currently being progressed.