6 November 2024

Retirement Village reforms pass through Parliament

Welcome to the first bulletin for retirement village owners on the implementation of the retirement village law reforms.

We’re pleased to inform you the Retirement Villages Amendment Bill 2024 was passed by Parliament on November 5.

Some of the key reforms include:

• new disclosure requirements to provide earlier, clearer disclosure of the type of tenure offered, availability of facilities and services and costs of entering, living in, and leaving a village;
• timely payment of exit entitlements for holders of a lease-for-life, or completion of buybacks of strata titled properties for former residents within 12 months of leaving the village;
• operators will be able to apply to the Commissioner for extensions to exit entitlement and buyback obligations where required. An amendment will be made to the Duties Act 2008 to exempt operators from paying transfer duty in the event of a compulsory buyback;
• residents will be able to ask for help from their operator with aged care fees while they are waiting for exit entitlements;
• clarified obligations and responsibilities around maintenance of the village and replacement of capital items;
• clear rules about reinstatement and refurbishment; and
• rules for operators and residents and requirements to consult on the annual budget for the village.

It is important to note that these changes won’t commence immediately. For example, operators will have 12 months to comply with the new exit entitlement time limit so they can adapt to the changing circumstances. There will also be a delay of around 12 months in commencement of other provisions to allow for the preparation of regulations and new disclosure documents and guidance materials.

Would you like to participate in the consultation?

Consumer Protection is currently consulting with key stakeholders on amendments to the Retirement Villages Regulations that will support the changes that have been made to the Act. The new regulations are expected to be in place in the second half of 2025.

Consumer Protection is taking a staged approach to consultation, with stakeholders asked to provide feedback on several topics at a time over the next 5 months.

If you would like to contribute to the consultation, please contact consultation@demirs.wa.gov.au to receive a copy of the latest consultation paper on proposed rules applying to capital items, modification and termination of retirement villages.

Bulletin for retirement village residents 

We have developed a bulletin specifically targeting retirement village residents.

Please share the link Retirement village reform updates so residents in your village can subscribe to receive these bulletins.