Ken Wyatt promises action on regulating retirement villages

ABC News reports:-

"Federal Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt has said he was "disappointed" to see the "exploitation" of some residents of retirement villages on last night's Four Corners.

Key points:

• 2007 parliamentary committee recommendations to improve residents' protection never implemented


• Mr Wyatt says no need to wait another 10 years for action, he will revisit report


• Retirement villages "would be more effectively regulated by ASIC", COTA head says

The program highlighted how some retirees have been stung by complicated contracts, oppressive rules and crippling fees.

"I sat there and watched the program and thought: 'How do you justify? How do you justify a $10 fee to provide a key to someone who has locked their key inside?' Because we've all done it," Mr Wyatt said.

"And it irritated me actually, to be quite truthful."

Problems with the retirement village sector were revealed as far back as 2007, when a Federal Parliamentary Committee made several recommendations to improve protection for residents.

Those recommendations were never implemented.

Age Discrimination Commissioner Kay Patterson called on state, territory and federal ministers to work together to implement them now.

"I think there are things that can be done fairly immediately," she said.

"Given that the parliamentary committee was 10 years ago, something needs to be done."

Mr Wyatt said people would not need to wait 10 years for him to take action.

"I now want to revisit that report, look at what the detail was and then look at what options I can take forward, and certainly have discussions with colleagues — because I'm very keen and have always been committed to looking after an ageing population," he said.

The 2007 report recommended:

• Federal, state and territory consumer protection ministers look at whether a statutory supervisor would be appropriate;


• Federal, state and territory attorneys-general look at how they could harmonise legislation; and


• That the ACCC and state and territory fair trading offices form a working party to examine the nature of retirement village contracts, including reviewing all aspects of exit fees and other fees including whether they should be abolished.

However, the Council on the Ageing (COTA) said the 2007 report would not solve the problems, because the sector was changing as a result of federal legislative changes in 2012 and this year."