Now is the time to prepare for the Retirement Villages Amendment Act 2025 (Vic), which amends the Retirement Villages Act 1986, according to the law firm.
In a new note, Russell Kennedy warns that the amendments must commence no later than 1 May 2026 and that many operational details will arrive via new Regulations.
Russell Kennedy authors Donna Rayner, Kathryn Elleman, Jessica Kinnear and Portia Pascuzzi flag that standard form contracts, prescribed forms, 10-year capital maintenance plan requirements, emergency planning, and rules for aged care/alternative accommodation payments will all be set out in those Regulations.
Operators should act now on the items they can control.
Do-now checklist for operators:
- Review disclosure practices to ensure readiness to adopt the new Information Statement once released and publish it on your village website;
- Audit your current residence and management contracts to identify areas likely to require amendment once the new standard forms are released;
- Assess current processes to carry out premises inspections prior to a non-owner resident’s entry into the village to enable you to provide a condition report once the new form is released;
- Assess internal processes and establish systems that will enable you to provide annual contract checks including tracking and record-keeping processes;
- Review your financial modelling ahead of the changes to the method for calculating deferred management fees, exit entitlement repayment timeframe, capital replacement obligations, maintenance charge cessation and treatment of operating surpluses and deficits. This will require the modification of many retirement villages’ financial models;
- Consider how your operating budgets may need to change to budget for capital maintenance, noting it is still unclear at this stage as to whether internal fixtures and fittings (inside units) will be excluded;
- Begin compiling internal data about the village assets in preparation for the release of the 10 year maintenance plan requirements; and
- Continue to monitor Consumer Affairs Victoria’s website for the release of the new Regulations and calls for submissions and make submissions to influence the content of the new Regulations.
