The NSW Government has proposed a series of reforms to the retirement village industry to provide for and protect senior citizens.
The reforms follow the recent release of the Greiner Report, which analysed the retirement home industry from August to December 2017, pinpointing issues and potential resolutions.
The Greiner Report was conducted after a disturbing Four Corners exposé on predatory financial practices in the retirement home industry was published last year.
The key factors in improving the sector were identified as:
1. Increasing the transparency of exit fees and contracts;
2. Clarifying the funding arrangements for ongoing maintenance costs which are shared between residents and operators;
3. Providing more support for residents to pursue disputes with operators (in addition to reducing the potential for disputes to arise).
Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald said, "Hunter residents heading into retirement will benefit significantly from these reforms, which put the power back in their hands."
The changes are especially important given Australia's growing elderly population.
NSW Retirement villages currently house 55,000 people, with that number expected to reach 325,000 by 2025.
"There will be a code of conduct that'll be standard for every retirement village," Mr MacDonald said, "there will be demand and requirement for greater transparency so you will have to disclose to village residents things such as contract terms, exit fees...
"All those things that you would think would be obvious but sometimes are a bit hard to access," he explained.
"There will also be a dispute resolution service for residents and this can be quite a difficult thing for residents there to take on a manager, so we're hoping that will be easier for both sides," Mr MacDonald continued.
"We want disputes resolved quickly, and the other thing we're going to put in is a retirement village ambassador so that'll be a voice for residents."
Both Minister for Ageing Tanya Davies and NSW Minister for Better Regulation Matt Kean believe increasing confidence in the retirement village sector is important for the future.
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| SOURCE: kensingtonretirementvillage.com |
