Gold standard accreditation for Stockland retirement villages

Gold standard accreditation for Stockland retirement villagesStockland has achieved national Lifemark accreditation for its 49 retirement living villages around Australia, demonstrating a portfolio-wide approach to best practice in retirement village management.Launched in 2013 by the Property Council ‘s Retirement Living Council, the Lifemark Village Scheme provides professional quality assurance standards to ensure residents live in comfortable, safe and ethically-managed villages. Stockland’s chief executive officer of its Retirement Living business, Stephen Bull, says the accreditation is a “point of difference” and an “independent endorsement of [residents’] decision to call a Stockland village home.”According to Bull, “by continuing to raise standards across the whole industry, all customers will ultimately benefit”.To achieve Lifemark accreditation, each village must meet 26 standards across six categories of village performance: lifestyle; support; people and staff; safety; regulations and village policy.British Standards Institution is the independent auditor for the Lifemark Village Scheme. BSI’s general manager John Krnel, says that Lifemark “goes well beyond an operator’s legal obligations, recognising that customers and governments expect human service industries to have high operational standards.”Stockland currently has more than 100,000 residents living in its retirement villages.”We’ve been collaborating with the Property Council of Australia and Retirement Living Council to drive the establishment of the Lifemark Village Scheme because it is so important that we set a benchmark and high standard for the homes and villages that older Australians can and should expect to enjoy in retirement,” Bull concludes.