The Retirement Commissioner has reignited calls for changes to the Retirement Villages Act and for the industry to support the development of a better, more equitable framework.
Speaking at the Retirement Villages Association (RVA) conference today in Wellington, Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson laid out four key areas she argues need addressing.
· Simplifying documents when you enter a village
· Clarifying responsibility for chattels
· Improving the complaints scheme
· Making the exit provisions fairer.
“The history of solving problems has been fairly erratic and even reviewing the Code of Practice seemed to be difficult. When I looked at the legislation, I saw it was very light touch – in itself not a bad thing – but that the processes to consider change and improvement were poorly developed, and overcomplicated by the presence of an Act, regulations, and a Code which had all become a bit messy with tinkering over the years,” she says.
“A comprehensive legislative review is overdue and far preferable to code changes alone. There are longstanding issues that need to be resolved with a holistic look at the system. This will make the framework fit for purpose for at least another two decades.”
The Retirement Commissioner first prompted calls for a review of the legislation following the release of the white paper published in 2020 and the response to submissions it received in 2021. The then Associate Minister of Housing and Ministry of Housing and Urban Development accepted the recommendation that a full review was overdue. HUD subsequently issued a discussion paper in 2023, which received more than 11,000 submissions and is now with the Minister awaiting next steps.
“Many of the proposals in the review will ultimately be good, not just for the residents, but those working in the industry as well,” says Wrightson.
“Residents who understand the documentation when they enter the village won’t be complaining later that they didn’t realise there was a second deferred management fee to move into a serviced apartment, or that the on-site rest-home doesn’t provide dementia level care.
“An independent complaints scheme will take the onus off village managers from trying to resolve the messier disputes and provide a safety valve.
“Providing some form of payment to residents or their families, while waiting for the License to Occupy to sell, whether in the form of interest or the capital sum minus the deferred management fee, may make the lives of village managers easier. Villages will deal with fewer distressed families who aren’t sure how they can pay for their parent’s rest-home care.
“Change does not have to be an antagonistic process. No one wants villages to fail – and no one wants unhappy customers. We can engage constructively about this, agree to disagree on occasion, but nonetheless develop a better framework that fits the 21st century.”
The Retirement Commissioner’s full speech is available here
For media interviews, contact:
Anika Forsman | Director, Stakeholder & Communications
Ph: +64 21 246 4302
Email: anika@retirement.govt.nz