Wednesday, 28 May 2025

Retirement Villages Amendment Bill 2024

Council’s amendments

Message from Council relating to following amendments considered:

1. Clause 6, page 6, after line 25 insert –

“certificate of insurance, in relation to a retirement village, means a certificate issued by an insurer who has insured property in the village against damage which sets out the terms of the insurance policy given and the start and end date of the policy;”.

2. Clause 6, page 9, after line 21 insert –

“pet means any animal other than an assistance dog within the meaning of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010;”.

3. Clause 7, page 25, line 2, after this line insert –

“3EA Interpretation of vacant possession and permanently vacating

(1) In this Act, in relation to a premises occupied by a resident in a retirement village, a reference to giving up or delivering vacant possession of the premises, however expressed, is a reference to the point in time when all the following have occurred –

(a) the resident has ceased to occupy the premises;

(b) all personal property of the resident has been removed from the premises;

(c) any keys to the premises have been returned to the operator or proprietor of the village;

(d) if the resident occupies the premises under a retirement village contract that requires notice to be given before the resident delivers up vacant possession of the premises, the notice has been given and the notice period has elapsed.

(2) Subsection (1) is not intended to limit the common law meaning of delivering up or giving vacant possession of a premises.

(3) In this Act, in relation to a premises occupied by a resident in a retirement village, a reference to permanently vacating the premises, however expressed, is a reference to the point in time at which the resident delivers up vacant possession of the premises.”.

4. Clause 19, page 49, after line 7 insert –

“(fa) the prescribed information about or relating to all insurance arrangements that are in place in relation to the retirement village (other than policies of insurance held by residents of the village) including –

(i) details of any insurance policies in force over all or part of the village and copies of any relevant certificates of insurance; and

(ii) details of any funds set aside by the operator or proprietor to insure against any potential damage to the village by whatever means;”.

5. Clause 19, page 63, lines 6 to 12, omit all words and expressions on these lines and insert –

“expiration of the period during which the contract can be rescinded under section 26X.”.

6. Clause 19, page 67, after line 3 insert –

“(ea) the prescribed information about or relating to all insurance arrangements that are in place in relation to the retirement village (other than policies of insurance held by residents of the village) including –

(i) details of any insurance policies in force over all or part of the village and copies of any relevant certificates of insurance; and

(ii) details of any funds set aside by the operator or proprietor to insure against any potential damage to the village by whatever means;”.

7. Clause 19, page 68, after line 3 insert –

“(ba) the prescribed information about or relating to all insurance arrangements that are in place in relation to the retirement village (other than policies of insurance held by residents of the village) including –

(i) details of any insurance policies in force over all or part of the village and copies of any relevant certificates of insurance; and

(ii) details of any funds set aside by the operator or proprietor to insure against any potential damage to the village by whatever means;”.

8. Clause 19, page 78, lines 16 to 28, omit all words and expressions on these lines and insert –

“(1) Despite anything to the contrary in the Sale of Land Act 1962, a person who signs a residence contract to become a resident in a retirement village may, at any time before the end of the period of 7 business days after signing the contract, rescind the contract in accordance with this Act.

(2) If a person rescinds a contract under subsection (1), the person is entitled to the return of all money paid under the contract by the person, except for the prescribed administration fee, if any, which may be retained –

(a) if a contracting party has entered into the contract, by the contracting party; or

(b) if an owner resident has entered into the contract, by the owner resident.”.

9. Clause 19, page 78, line 31, omit “resident that the resident may” and insert “person who signs the contract that the person may”.

10. Clause 19, page 78, line 32, omit “3 clear business days after the resident” and insert “7 business days after the person”.

11. Clause 19, page 78, line 34, omit “resident” and insert “person”.

12. Clause 19, page 79, lines 3 and 4, omit “a resident who is a party to the contract” and insert “the person who has signed the contract to become a resident”.

13. Clause 36, page 113, lines 28 to 31, omit all words and expressions on these lines and insert –

“(2) The quorum for a meeting of residents is –

(a) for a retirement village with 40 or more residents who are entitled to vote in the meeting, 25% of those residents; or

(b) for a retirement village with 20 or more residents but fewer than 40 residents who are entitled to vote in the meeting, 10 of those residents; or

(c) for a retirement village with fewer than 20 residents who are entitled to vote in the meeting, 50% of those residents.”.

14. Clause 43, line 32, omit “2010.” and insert “2010; or”.

15. Clause 43, after line 32 insert –

“(e) unreasonably limit the keeping of a pet on a resident’s premises.”.

16. Clause 46, line 8, omit “Former” and insert “Certain”.

17. Clause 46, after line 14 insert –

“(2) If a resident of a retirement village dies before delivering up vacant possession of the resident’s premises in the village, the resident is not liable for a maintenance charge that arises on or after the time of death of the resident.”.

18. Clause 46, line 15, omit “(2)” and insert “(3)”.

19. Clause 46, line 16, after “village” insert “(as the case requires)”.

20. Clause 46, after line 24 insert –

“(4) If a resident of a retirement village dies before delivering up vacant possession of the resident’s premises in the village, the proprietor or operator of the retirement village (as the case requires) must not purport to charge a maintenance charge that arises on or after the time of death of the resident.

Penalty: 60 penalty units for a natural person;

120 penalty units for a body corporate.”.

21. Clause 46, line 25, omit “(3)” and insert “(5)”.

22. Clause 48, page 142, line 3, after “village” insert “(as the case requires)”.

23. Clause 48, page 142, after line 12 insert –

“(2) If a resident of a retirement village dies before delivering up vacant possession of the resident’s premises in the village, the proprietor or operator of the village (as the case requires) must not levy a charge for optional services against the resident for any period on or after the time of death of the resident.

Penalty: 60 penalty units for a natural person;

120 penalty units for a body corporate.”.

24. Clause 48, page 142, line 13, omit “(2)” and insert “(3)”.

25. Clause 48, page 142, line 15, after “(1)” insert “or (2)”.

26. Clause 61, line 14, omit “3 business days” and insert “7 business days”.

27. Clause 66, page 208, after line 15 insert –

“(3) On and from the commencement of section 6 of the Retirement Villages Amendment Act 2024, any reference in another Act or in regulations made under another Act to a residence right, within the meaning of this Act as in force before that commencement, being a reference in the other Act or regulations that was in force immediately before that commencement, includes a reference to a right to occupy premises, within the meaning of this Act as in force on and from that commencement.”.

28. Clause 66, page 211, lines 3 to 30, omit all words and expressions on these lines and insert –

“Despite the commencement of section 19 of the Retirement Villages Amendment Act 2024 –

(a) Divisions 2, 3, 5 and 6 of new Part 4 do not apply –

(i) to any resident of a retirement village who occupies the village under an applicable resident right; and

(ii) in respect of any applicable residence contract; and

(b) sections 18, 18A, 18B and 20 to 26 of the old Act continue to apply to any such resident and to any such contract as if, in relation to the resident and contract, any reference (however expressed) to –

(i) an owner of a retirement village within the meaning of section 3 of the old Act were a reference to the proprietor of the retirement village occupied by the resident, and a reference to that owner’s agent were a reference to that proprietor’s agent; and

(ii) a manager of a retirement village within the meaning of section 3 of the old Act were a reference to the operator of the retirement village occupied by the resident, and a reference to that manager’s agent were a reference to that operator’s agent.”.

Nick STAIKOS (Bentleigh – Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Local Government) (12:45): I move:

That the amendments be agreed to.

It is a real pleasure to be able to speak to these amendments and to speak to this bill, because I did not have the opportunity to do so when it was introduced. It was introduced by the member for Dandenong, my predecessor in the consumer affairs portfolio, and I thank her for the power of work that she did to get it to this point.

I will just briefly go through the amendments. Firstly, disclosure of insurance information: a key focus of these reforms is to support residents to make informed decisions about entering and living in a retirement village by making important information easier to access and to understand. This amendment will go further by requiring retirement village operators to disclose information about insurance arrangements protecting the retirement village. Operators will be required to disclose insurance information to prospective residents in the information statement and to all residents as part of their annual contract check.

Secondly, vacant possession: the Victorian government has listened to stakeholders’ concerns and is providing greater clarity about when a resident leaves a retirement village. This amendment will clarify that a resident or their estate delivers vacant possession when they have given notice, they no longer occupy the unit, they remove all personal property and they return the keys to the unit. This will ensure both residents and operators understand when the exit entitlement repayment period begins and certain fees can no longer be charged to the resident.

Thirdly, the cooling-off period: entering into a retirement village is a significant life decision carrying substantial financial implications. Residents should be able to take time to decide whether retirement village living is right for them. This amendment will provide non-owner residents with more time to make those important decisions by extending the cooling-off period from three to seven business days. If residents change their mind about entering a village during the cooling-off period, they can cancel their contract and get their money back.

Number four, quorum for residents meetings: it is important that residents can have a say in the decisions that affect them. The bill introduces a quorum requirement to ensure that important decisions cannot be made without resident participation, such as increasing maintenance charges, paying a special levy and varying services provided in the village. This amendment will strike the balance between supporting residents’ participation and ensuring that quorums for residents meetings are workable.

Number five, prohibition on maintenance charges and optional service charges after a resident has died: this bill will introduce a definition of ‘vacant possession’ to clarify when maintenance and personal service charges must no longer be charged to a resident. In some cases a resident may die while in occupation in the retirement village, and it becomes their estate’s responsibility to deliver vacant possession of the retirement village unit. Commonly the granting of probate or administration can take several weeks to finalise. It is not fair that fees and charges continue to accrue during this time. This amendment will clarify that operators cannot continue to levy maintenance charges against the resident’s estate for any period after they have died.

Finally, retirement village residents with pets: Ms Purcell in the other place moved an amendment that seeks to ensure that retirement villages cannot unreasonably limit the keeping of a pet on a resident’s premises. The government supported this amendment. This builds upon the government’s reform of allowing pets in private rentals, ensuring that a house can be a home.

In my 11 years as a parliamentarian I have met with a lot of retirement village residents, because we do have a lot of retirement villages in the Bentleigh electorate. I have met people who absolutely love living in their village; they love the lifestyle it gives them. But to be brutally honest, I have also had older ladies in my electorate office in tears because they did not know what they had got themselves into. I acknowledge that for a lot of people retirement living is the way to go, but people need to make that substantial life decision having had all of the facts explained to them – armed with all the facts, armed with all the knowledge – but also having sufficient protections in place, and this bill is a substantial step forward.

But the work does not stop there. I will be establishing a mandatory code of practice that I expect all retirement village operators to comply with.

We will also be establishing a conciliation scheme to ensure that disputes between retirement village operators and residents can be resolved, and that dispute resolution service will be linked to the regulator. That is the key – it will be linked to the regulator. In so doing, I say as Minister for Consumer Affairs that I will take a zero-tolerance approach to any retirement village operators who are not complying with the mandatory code of practice. I have also asked the commissioner for residential tenancies and retirement villages to establish a lived-experience forum of retirement village residents so that retirement village residents can have an official channel into government advising on the implementation of these reforms and any further reforms. With those few words, I commend the amendments to the house.

Tim McCURDY (Ovens Valley) (12:51): I am delighted to make a few comments on the Retirement Villages Amendment Bill 2024 as well, as the minister has just noted. Certainly I want to begin by thanking and congratulating the retirement living council president Lawrie Robertson, who we have worked tirelessly with. He has worked with us and with the government and has had a good hearing on both sides. I think Lawrie is an outstanding representative of the people who are living in retirement villages. Congratulations to Lawrie for the work that he has done, and also to Les Scobie. He actually lives in Wangaratta and has been a tireless worker for retirement villages, and he has had a lot of input, as have the many other residents and operators who have contributed. I think operators also need to be considered in this whole process, because it takes two sides to get something together. You have got to have residents and you have got to have operators, and you have got to have them working together. It is not about a top-down approach, it is about making sure that they both have a fair say in these procedures.

The contributions over the journey – we have been working together for what seems like a decade, but I think it has only been three or four years since the first draft was put out. But I am pleased that we have made it through this far. There still are a few flaws and we do have a few concerns from residents, but we all know we cannot please everybody; It is about trying to strike that balance. There are still a few issues that are unaddressed, and hopefully they will still get addressed through the regulation as we move forward.

Can I say that of the government amendments I think five out of the six of their amendments have been driven through the discussions that we have had in the lower house and between houses, and I am pleased to see some of those amendments get up. I would say that we can show that sometimes by working together we can get a better outcome.

I do want to thank the minister and his staff for the engagement and the feedback and the explanations. I know you are the minister at the end of a long line of ministers for consumer affairs – I think five in five years is the count I am up to, since that exposure draft was put in. As I said, I congratulate the minister on getting us to this point where we do have agreement between residents and operators. But, without pumping up the minister’s tyres too much, I think there is still some work to do in Consumer Affairs Victoria, and I certainly hope that he takes that on board, because as the shadow minister we see so many different issues come through our office not being addressed by Consumer Affairs Victoria. So we have all got work to do.

I also want to point out the Greens. Where are they? They are not here today again. Is it Friday, or is it Thursday? I am not sure. But anyway, the Greens, who always want to be seen to be standing up for residents and standing up for renters – well, they voted against every resident-led amendment that we put forward. So that tells you where the Greens stand on this issue. It really is abysmal. But anyway, they will still go out with their narrative that they are looking after residents and retirement village people, but at the end of the day, they voted against the amendments that we put up.

As I say, the devil is in the detail, and as the minister has said, we will see that code of conduct put in place, and again, we respect that. I look forward to that and certainly hope that the residents and the operators have a say as that code of conduct is developed.

It has been a long run-up – three or four years – and I certainly want to reiterate that we are not opposing this bill. It has been a long time coming, but we are very pleased to have got to where we have by working with both sides.

We know certainly on this side – in fact both sides of this chamber know – that for people who are 50 and 60 and beyond and those looking into retirement villages, although they might still be in the prime of their lives, it is an important time for their age group. They certainly want to be enjoying that time, and they should be protected all the way through. I think it is important that this legislation will give more protections to those moving into the retirement sector, whether they are in a retirement village or not. I do commend the minister and the changes that have been made, and I commend the house amendments to this place.

Motion agreed to.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Paul Edbrooke): A message will now be sent to the Legislative Council informing them of the house’s decision.