Retirement Villages Look Before You Leap

When it comes to Victorian retirement villages the old adage of Look Before You Leap has never been more true. 

The new Jacinta Allan, Nick Staikos, Consumer Affairs Victoria operator centric 2025 version of the retirement villages act makes it even more imperative.

Research, research, research, the best outcome may be not to leap at all.

 

Retirement Village Residents Like Frog in Slow Boiling Water

Victorian retirement village residents are as vulnerable as a frog in slow boiling water, they don't know what is really happening to them.

The reality is a slow transfer of their hard earned capital wealth, not to their families, but to greedy corporations. Then they have to rely on the Australian taxpayer to fund their aged care costs.

The Victorian Labor government has just written an operator centric legislative framework to support this process.

Retirement Village More Costly than a Residential Tenancy

Victorian Retirement Village residents can pay multiple times the cost of a residential tenancy for what is the same primary product, residential accommodation. Retirement villages are all smoke and mirrors hiding the true cost. 

Property ownership through retention of the family home or a true Body Corporate retirement village the only defence. 

Growth & Innovation in Retirement Living Sector

The Victorian Minister for Consumer Affairs has introduced the new Retirement Villages Act as to 'provide for future growth and innovation in the retirement villages sector'. 

Of course village residents based on their lived experience in a village see it as code for 'to provide for future growth in profits and innovation as to how that can be achieved'.

Retirement Village Fox in the Hen House

The new proposed Victorian Retirement Villages Act 1986 has put the Fox in the Henhouse by government decree. 

As though written by operators for operators, brushing residents aside in their insatiable pursuit of even bigger profits.

Victorian Retirement Villages Act Problem

A problem with the new Victorian Retirement Villages Act.

There is a problem with the new Victorian Retirement Villages Act, the Jacinta Allan Labor government allows village operators to abuse the statutory term 'adjusted maintenance charge'. Village residents are misled into believing that the 'adjusted maintenance charge' is the 'maintenance charge' for the previous year adjusted for cpi. This is incorrect and residents are overcharged tens of thousands of invalid fees.

By statute the 'adjusted maintenance change' is the 'maintenance charge' in the very first year of the village adjusted for cpi in each year thereafter. There is an easy fix just change 'adjusted maintenance charge' to 'BENCHMARK FEE'.

Sting in the tail for Victorian retirees

Sting in the tail for Victorian retirees as the Jacinta Allan Labor government moves to enhance profits of retirement village operators. 

Hollow claims of striking a balance between facilitating industry growth and innovation with retirement village resident consumer protections.