Daniel Gannon’s strident push leads to a rushed announcement
A public clash over Victoria’s retirement village reforms has triggered a swift response from the State Government, just weeks out from the legislation’s commencement date.
The Office of the Victorian Premier contacted The Weekly SOURCE today (Wednesday 25 February) to say it has engaged extensively with the Property Council and Retirement Living Council (RLC) on the new regulations.
It added the regulations will be published on Monday (2 March) and are consistent with the Retirement Living Act, which was passed in May last year.
The intervention follows a heated exchange at a Property Council/RLC breakfast in Melbourne yesterday (Tuesday 24 February), where Minister for Consumer Affairs Nick Staikos addressed the audience ahead of the Act coming into force on 1 May 2026. His officers had also agreed to attend to be on panels after the speeches.
The Minister said the reforms to retirement village legislation were made necessary by a lack of transparency and rights afforded to residents in the past.
“Residents were exposed to unclear, unexpected and burdensome financial obligations. Many felt uncertain about their rights and whether they were being treated fairly, and dispute resolution processes were often ineffective or unclear,” he said.
Retirement Living Council Executive Director Daniel Gannon gave a strident response just metres from the Minister, accusing him of creating mistrust and refusing to fix a “compliance choke point” that could leave residents stranded in “motels or caravan parks”.
“Minister, I’m not going to lie, I had hoped that the regulations would be deferred … I was hoping to be on this stage with policy pompoms, but unfortunately I’m not,” Daniel said.
“Minister, in your own press release following the passing of the Amendment Bill on 30 May last year, you described this legislation as the biggest change to the Retirement Villages Act since it was made law in 1986.
“That same statement speaks of standard form contracts. New calculations for exit entitlements. Streamlined procedures. Dispute resolution processes. Codes of Practice.
“And yet nine weeks out from a legislated commencement date set by government, we are still no closer to understanding how those new processes will actually work.
“You don’t need to imagine a system where operators cannot issue valid contracts with confidence because the operational detail isn’t finished, because that’s where we are now.”
The Minister shook his head throughout the speech, and the RLC claims he left the venue abruptly alongside his staff while the audience applauded Daniel.
“Victorians living in retirement villages have the right to the best possible quality of life and new regulations to protect these Victorians will come into effect on 1 May,” Minister for Consumer Affairs Nick Staikos told The Weekly SOURCE.
“We will not be lectured by a former Liberal Party staffer who has demanded we delay reforms that will improve the lives of older Victorians.”
We understand that the Minister was originally scheduled to leave after his speech but remained longer to hear the following speech, and the officers expected to stay were told to walk out with him.
