Retirement Living Industry puts on a united front

In what is believed to be a nation first, Property Council WA has been successful in getting cross-industry support from other key industry associations for our response to the first Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement review into the Retirement Villages Act.

Leading Age Services Australia and Aged Care Services Australia agreed to be co-signatories to a joint industry response written by the Property Council outlining our strong concerns with the Retirement Village Act review process.

The review, led by Consumer Protection, is the second stage in a reform process that commenced with an independent review into the sector, released in 2008. The 2008 review made several recommendations, a number of which were enacted through legislative and regulatory change in 2010. Further reform was postponed after the then-Barnett Government agreed with industry to assess the impact of the first suite of changes before proceeding with additional changes.

Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement one is the first paper in a series of six expected over the next 18 months to two years. The first paper is lengthy and complex. It is 100-plus pages long and was drafted without any initial consultation with industry. The consequence is a disconnection between the identification of issues in the sector and the proposed solutions out for comment. The Retirement Living industry is concerned that if the first paper indicates how the process will progress, that meaningful and sensible reform will be difficult to achieve.

Our response builds on a joint letter to Commerce Minister John Quigley signed by the Property Council, LASA and ACSA, as well as the Western Australian Retirement Villages Residents Association, requesting a meeting to discuss the reform process.