Retirement Village Regulation Released

The Queensland Government has notified the Retirement Villages Regulation 2018 (RV Regulation) and it will commence on 1 February 2019.  The amendments contained in the RV Regulation give effect to the first stage of implementation for the legislative amendments passed in 2017.

Accompanying the RV Regulation are a series of new forms that operators will need to implement prior to the 1 February 2019 commencement date.  The forms include the new Village Comparison Document and Prospective Costs Document that will replace the Public Information Document for new residents.

The key changes contained in the RV Regulation, include:
• mandatory content included in the new forms for pre-contractual disclosure (Village Comparison Document and Prospective Costs Document) and exit and entry condition reports,
• an expanded list of village operational documents that residents and prospective residents can inspect or request a copy of free of charge, and
• limits on the fees an operator can charge for preparing and giving certain documents to residents or prospective residents.

Operators will be required to implement the changes including the preparation of new documents by the commencement date of 1 February 2019.  In correspondence from the Honourable Mick de Brenni MP to the Property Council, he notes that the changes will take some operators more time than others to fully implement, and on a case by case basis the department will work with operators rather than take enforcement action under the Act up until June 2019, if the operator has taken all reasonable steps to achieve full implementation. It is important to note that this ‘grace period’ is not reflected in the legislation.

To view the RV Regulation, click here.

To access the new forms, click here.