Residents Must Speak Out

"Retirement village residents should speak out because change must come and only by speaking out will anyone with the capacity to bring about that change take notice"

Retirement Village Residents must continue to speak out on the issues they are facing whilst living in retirement villages. For a variety of reasons they can be suffering financially, socially and even emotionally at the hands of the so called 'retirement village system'.

A system that empowers operators over residents, places justice at the end of a very long road, places roadblocks on the road that deter vulnerable retirees from completing or even starting that journey.

A system that despite creating laws and regulations in the interest of fair play does not demand legislators and regulators ensure laws and regulations are adhered to and that retirees obtain the protections available to them under these laws.

One retirement village resident recently wrote:-

"There are powerful commercial forces pushing against residents, the industry will fight hard to defend this in-going payment ‘deferred management fee’ business model. A business model which creates an excessive reduction in capital wealth for retirees over their period of occupancy whilst transferring this capital wealth to operators. (see chart below) Over my 10 years in a retirement village I have seen, experienced, or been the victim of the paper tiger approach of Consumer Affairs Victoria.  Suffered the intimidation of an operator over multiple issues I have raised on behalf of myself and/or other residents. Won a case in VCAT that forced the operator to refund $300,000.00 to the residents for charging a fee over a 10+ year period that was deemed contrary to the provisions of the Act. The residents committee where I live has just carried a motion of ‘no confidence’ in the recording of the minutes of the Residents Annual General Meeting after multiple years of problems with the minutes. This of course is simply life in a retirement village for some, not everyone, but certainly for some. Unfortunately the deferred management fee model moves us all closer to a position where we cannot make a U-turn because of the fee, loss of earnings on the refundable amount, the impact of inflation on the ‘present day value’ of the refundable amount, exit fees etc.

Yes, retirement village residents should speak out because change must come and only by speaking out will anyone with the capacity to bring about that change take notice."






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Victorian Retirement Village Legislation Flawed

Victorian Retirement Village Act Proposed Cost Transparent Definition.

Victorian Retirement Village Legislation Flawed - Long time advocate for reforms to the Victorian Retirement Village Act 1986 Charles Adams says the Victorian Retirement Village Legislation is fundamentally flawed. Flawed by not allowing residential tenancy contracts with monthly rentals as the mandatory standard legislated definition of a retirement village, with other contract models only available as options.



He believes it should be mandatory for retirement village operators to offer all prospective residents’ residential tenancy contracts alongside the more traditional loan/lease, deferred management fee' style contract. Loan/Lease hides contract costs until months after the contract is terminated, making that model opaque.

See also:- http://www.retvill.net/retirement-village-legislative-reforms/

In a submission to the Minister for Consumer Affairs, The Shadow Minister and the spokesperson for the Greens Party,  Charles states:-

"The No.1 Victorian legislative reform required is a change to the current requirement that to enter a retirement village you must pay an in-going contribution and that contribution cannot be classified as rent.

The requirement for an inclusive rental price (residential tenancy) is the only known contract that provides the transparent cost rate at entry, necessary for cost comparison, and free market competition."

The fairer definition proposed for a Retirement Village.

1. Retirement village means a group of leased, with secure tenure, dwellings, forming a community, the majority of which is retired persons, with all services for the common property included in the rental price.


2. Residential tenancy contracts, with monthly rentals are mandatory. Other contract models may only be offered as an option.

Given the revelations that surrounded retirement villages during 2016 and 2017, Charles believes now is the time to act on the legislated definition of a retirement village.  "This proposed change has the capacity to provide transparency to retirees as to the actual cost of residential accommodation within a retirement village unlike the current deferred management fee model."

"So long as the present biased definition continues, people will continue to be hampered by the lack of free market competition in the retiree downsizing market, and some trapped by extraordinarily high exit costs."

 


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Perfect Storm for Seniors in 2017

Perfect Storm for Seniors in 2017 - In the latest (12/17) edition The Senior Newspaper encapsulates 2017 for Australian seniors by describing the revelations about Aged Care together with the revelations about Retirement Villages as being the 'Perfect Storm'.

The hopes and aspirations of many Australian seniors and their families were summed up in the final paragraph of the editorial:-

"Let's hope 2018 is the year it all comes together: that our politicians get it right so everyone can rest assured they will be able to age with dignity and respect, no matter what side of the financial railway line they live."

https://www.thesenior.com.au/


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Angst for Retirement Village Residents

More angst for Retirement Village residents but of a different style than has been reported before.

Angst for Retirement Village Residents - The residents committee in a not-for-profit retirement village in regional Victoria has passed a motion of no-confidence in the minutes of the Annual Meeting of Residents recorded and distributed by village management.

This annual meeting of residents is a formal affair as required by section 34 of the Retirement villages Act Victoria 1986.

One village resident stated privately that "There has been a growing problem with the accuracy of the minutes for the Annual General Meeting of residents. This year the issues were inclusive of:-

• Correspondence  lost by management relating to the placement of items on the meeting agenda.


• An apology to the resident by the Chairman for the lost correspondence and the subsequent failure to place the requested item on the meeting agenda was not recorded in the minutes of the meeting.


• A statement attributed to the residents committee but not made by the residents committee was recorded in the minutes.


• Votes were taken at the AGM on multiple motions during the meeting  but the motions and the results of the vote not recorded in the minutes.'

The resident says 'this is indicative of what can be just everyday life in a retirement village for some retirees. Residents can be totally dependent on the level of morality of the operator with little or no support from organisations such as Consumer Affairs Victoria. In this same village the operator made errors in contract preparation contrary to the provisions of the Act. This was reported to Consumer Affairs who simply told the operator to not do it again despite the fact that the operator will benefit to the tune of $1.5 million dollars plus from breaking the law whilst the residents will be out of pocket by $1.5m dollars. Again this is simply life in a Retirement Village for some retirees."

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Coroner Wants Better Aged Care Recording.

Coroner recommends care workers document changes in residents’ health.

In a story by By Megan Stoyles on December 6, 2017 in Research & Clinical.

Coroner Wants Better Aged Care Recording - A Queensland coroner has recommended that personal care workers and assistants in nursing be required to enter any variation in a resident’s condition in their progress notes, following the health-related death of an 86-year-old aged care resident.

The case was reported and reviewed in the November edition of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine’s (VIFM) Residential Aged Care Communique by Professor Joseph Ibrahim from Monash University.

It involved a resident residing in the low-level care section of a residential aged care facility, which had a registered nurse available if called upon by personal care workers.

After the resident notified staff he was unwell on a Sunday morning, he was reviewed by a registered nurse, examined by his GP the following day and died the evening after that.

See the full story here:- https://www.australianageingagenda.com.au/2017/12/06/coroner-recommends-care-workers-document-changes-residents-health/?platform=hootsuite


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Retirement Village Story Wins Walkley

Fairfax’s Adele Ferguson has won a Walkley Award for her retirement village investigative articles.

Retirement Village Story Wins Walkley - Regarded as the pinnacle for quality journalism, Ferguson, together with Sarah Danckert and Klaus Toft, were awarded a Walkley Award for Investigative Journalism last week for their “Bleed Them Dry Until They Die” project, a joint Fairfax Media/ABC investigation into Aveo retirement villages.

ABC Story here:- http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/bleeding-them-dry-promo/8643348

SMH Story here:- http://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2017/retirement-racket/bleed-them-dry/




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Serious Concerns Treatment Of Elderly

Serious Concerns Treatment Of Elderly

ABC News Reports:-

Aged care report card reveals 'serious concerns' about treatment of elderly in Victoria.

"Documents obtained by the ABC under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws detail serious concerns around the treatment of residents in aged care homes across country Victoria, which victims say is due to a shortfall in staff ratios and skillsets.

Patients being hospitalised with burns and allegations of stalking and harassment by mentally ill residents, are among some of the most worrying cases uncovered in western Victoria alone."

Full article here:-  Aged care report card reveals 'serious concerns' about treatment of elderly in Victoria.

Serious Concerns Treatment Of Elderly.




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