Regarded as a vital building block in the maturity of the sector, the national scheme was created jointly by the Property Council of Australia (PCA) and Leading Age Services Australia (LASA) and will replace the existing schemes run independently by the two organisations.
ARVAS was developed over more than 12 months of consultation with industry stakeholders –including current residents – and will certify the quality of retirement villages and communities’ services and operational processes.
Executive Director of the PCA’s Retirement Living Council, Ben Myers, says the ARVAS standards link directly to the recently released Retirement Living Code of Conduct, which completes a clear pathway to quality and accountability for operators.
The scheme will be independently operated on the PCA and LASA’s behalf by Quality Innovation Performance (QIP), an experienced not-for-profit provider of accreditation services to health care and community organisations. It will also assess to the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards for the Australian Commission of Safety and Quality in Health Care.
The proposed standards will be released for public comment in the coming weeks and ARVAS will be officially launched in June.
