This newsletter contains information about:
1. The upcoming ACT RVRA Forum
2. The Changing Face of Retirement Villages in Canberra: Part 2
3. The proposed Strata Commissioner
4. Join the ACT RVRA Committee
5. The ACT RVRA Website
6. Would you like the ACT RVRA to visit your village?
7. Communicating with our Members
8. Renewing your Membership
1. The upcoming ACT RVRA Forum
We are once again holding our free annual Forum to present a program of speakers on topics that matter to you and indeed all seniors. Look for a flyer in your letterbox or check out the ads in Canberra Weekly or City News magazines. We would love to see you there! Here are our exciting line-up of speakers:
Report on the 2025 National Retirement Living Council Summit
ACT RVRA President Janine Lewis, and the Vice-President of the NSW RVRA Roger Pallant, will update attendees on the outcome of the 2025 National Retirement Living Summit – an event where retirement village (RV) operators discuss developments in the RV sector.
Setting the Record Straight: The Truth About Retirement Village Living
Vice-President of the NSW RVRA Roger Pallant will present the results of a recent Australia-wide survey of 4100 residents of retirement villages that was commissioned following the negative 7.30 reports in 2024 on retirement village living. While acknowledging that challenges do exist, the survey offers a more accurate and representative view of life in a retirement village and also celebrates the many positives that this lifestyle offers.
Jurisdiction and powers of the ACT Human Rights Commissioner in relation to ACT Retirement Villages,
Karen Toohey, an ACT Human Rights Commissioner, handles complaints and concerns from ACT retirement village residents in a safe, confidential and accessible manner. This service is free. Karen will describe how the Commission deals with complaints from residents, and the new legal requirement for retirement village operators to have an elder abuse strategy in place from May 2025.
Effective Regulation of the ACT Retirement Village Sector
Dr Louise Bassett, an Executive Branch Manager in Access Canberra, oversights the area that administers the laws applicable to ACT retirement villages. Louise will discuss Access Canberra’s role in this area, and measures that Access Canberra has in place to protect consumers and assist people (including residents) with Australian Consumer Law.
What is happening with Home Care Packages from 1 July 2025
Pinky Khu, Goodwin HomeCare Business Development Manager, will outline the current situation with the Home Care Packages Program which provides access to 24/7 support, the changes being implemented from 1 July 2025, and also how Goodwin is responding to these changes.
We have also invited a number of organisations that we think are important for all current and prospective residents of retirement villages to know about to attend the Forum. Please feel free to approach any of these organisations before or after the speakers have finished and have a chat. The organisations are:
- COTA ACT
- OPALS (Older Persons ACT Legal Service)
- ADACAS (ACT Disability, Aged and Carer Advocacy Service)
- KJB Law
- Tetlow Legal
- Phillips Wealth Partners
- Pets and Positive Ageing Inc.
FORUM DETAILS:
When: Wednesday 25 June 2025
Time: 10.30-1.00
Where: Fred Daly Room, Belconnen Labor Club
Charge: Entry is Free
Refreshments: A light lunch will be provided
Parking: Canberra Labor Club Car Park is located at 59 Cameron Avenue, Belconnen (next to the Club). It is open all day. Cost is $2.00 per hour.
2. The Changing Face of Retirement Villages in Canberra: Part 2
New Retirement Villages
Retirement villages currently under construction are:
- Goodwin Homes, Downer: construction commenced in April 2024, and its 109 independent living apartments and 20 assisted living apartments are due for completion in 2026.
- ‘Sense of Yowani’ will be a 400-apartment complex. 55% of Stage 1 apartments have already been sold. Stage 2 of the complex is due to be completed in mid-2027 and released to market in May 2025. The final stage of 150 apartments is expected to be completed in late 2028: https://www.senseofyowani.com.au/
- ‘The Gardens @ Monash’ is a 17- villa project selling off the plan, with occupation expected in early 2025. Although it is registered as a retirement village, it is essentially a strata villa complex with each unit resident-owned so that owners retain all capital growth without any exit or deferred management fees: https://www.allhomes.com.au/the-gardens-at-monash-monash-act-2904
Operator Changes
- In 2024 the Goodwin Aged Care organization took over responsibility for the 20 year old, 109-residence, Araluen Retirement Village from Canberra Retirement Villages. The existing residents are gradually transferring from their previous strata title contract to the Goodwin loan/licence contract.
- The 30 independent living unit village at St Andrews, Hughes was built in 1991 and is co-located with a much larger 176 room residential aged care facility. In November 2023, Anglicare transferred both facilities to the Warrigal organization.
3. The Proposed Strata Commissioner
As many members will be aware, following last year’s ACT elections, the ACT Government announced that it was going to explore whether a Strata Title Commissioner to deal with its policy in relation to strata title developments and retirement villages was required. It then established an Assembly Inquiry into the Management of Strata Properties. 125 submissions put to the Inquiry. Submissions are now closed. The Inquiry is due to report later this year.
The ACT RVRA made a submission to the Inquiry recommending that retirement villages NOT be included in the Commissioner’s remit, because:
- There are approximately 4,300 strata title complexes in the ACT, encompassing roughly 60,600 units;
- There are only 42 retirement villages in the ACT and approximately 4,500 independent living units – so the association was concerned that strata title issues would swamp those relating to retirement villages;
- There is very little overlap between legislation governing strata titles and retirement villages;
- The issues of concern to strata title owners/complexes bear little relationship to the issues of concern to retirement village residents/retirement villages; and
- The ACT RVRA has worked hard to develop a good relationship with the ACT Government agencies dealing with ACT Retirement Village legislation and issues, and we consider that this is a more productive route for us to have retirement village problems addressed.
So, in summary, we see no reason to change the existing arrangements for retirement villages.
4. Join the ACT RVRA Committee
The ACT RVRA Committee (the Committee) is seeking expressions of interest from members of the association who would like to join our committee of volunteers.
The Committee is an active working committee – with members contributing, in a meaningful way, to the effective functioning of the organisation as a whole, and in the process, advancing and protecting the interests of residents of ACT retirement village residents.
The committee:
- provides information and support to financial members of the association about matters of concern to ACT retirement village residents;
- provides information to prospective residents of retirement villages;
- is financially and constitutionally independent from political parties and operators of the retirement villages;
- lobbies government and industry for, and advocates on behalf of, residents of ACT retirement villages for relevant and useful changes to legislation and policy; and
- provides a website that contains useful information for retirement village residents.
By taking on a role within the Committee, you will be expected to attend meetings of the Committee each month where current issues of concern to ACT retirement village residents are discussed and actions are proposed
Take a moment to peruse our website https://actrvra.org.au/ to gain an understanding of the role of the ACT RVRA.
We would be delighted if you would submit an expression of interest to the President by providing your name, phone number, village, your area of interest or expertise, and how long you have lived in your village. You will be invited to attend a committee meeting as a guest to appreciate the work of ACT RVRA.
Contact details: Email: enquiries@actrvra.org.au; Phone: 6179 6003
5. The ACT RVRA Website
When you get a moment, why not have a look at the Association’s website: actrvra.org.au?
Find out about the ways you can join or renew your membership – with online fee payment available.
Following recent changes to our Constitution, prospective residents of ACT retirement villages can now join the Association as Associate Members. Tell your friends!
Our website contains a wealth of information, including:
- outcomes from our most recent Annual General Meeting, including slides from Jo Twible from KJB Law’s presentation on ‘Retirement Village Departure Fees, Upfront Fees and Membership Fees’;
- useful seniors contacts in the ACT;
- the ACT Government’s most recent Retirement Villages Handbook (2024);
- links to Access Canberra’s list of ACT retirement villages; and
- information about resolving disputes that arise in your retirement village.
You can contact us through the website, and you are welcome to provide suggestions for any website improvements you think are appropriate.
6. Would you like the ACT RVRA to visit your village?
If you would like your village to be included in our village visit schedule to hear all about the activities of the ACT RVRA, please contact us via enquiries@actrvra.org.au
7. Communicating with our Members
As you are aware, the RVRA is a small organisation, and we need to manage our limited funds very carefully in order to ensure that membership fees are applied to achieve the best overall result for members. Our total income is modest, with not much left over once the cost of flagship activities including hosting an annual Forum and participation in COTA activities are accounted for.
In 2023 we were fortunate to have been awarded an ACT Government “startup” grant, and we have applied for another grant this year. If that second grant is not forthcoming, unfortunately the activities we aspire to undertake will have to be significantly scaled back, with expenditures even more tightly controlled.
One item of expenditure that is significant for us is the cost of keeping in touch with members who do not have email addresses. While this group is relatively small – comprising around 10% of our membership – the cost of sending letters, documents etc out to these members last year was around twice the aggregate amount those members contributed by way of annual membership fees. Revising the Constitution last year required the distribution of a large amount of paperwork, as did sending out copies of the slide presentations made at the Forum and the AGM. Printing, packing and posting out information also requires a not insignificant amount of time.
The Committee is currently considering how to achieve the objective of communicating fully and regularly with members – while managing the cost of doing so.
As a trial, and in order to gauge member reaction, the Committee proposes to reduce postings to members without email addresses by not sending out bulky paperwork such as copies of slide presentations. Post-outs will therefore be limited to newsletters and AGM notifications.
Documents like our new Constitution, and the slides from our various events, will always be available on our website.
If you would like to express a view on this issue or discuss the Committee’s approach, please feel free to:
- ring the RVRA contact number – (02) 6179 6003 – and leave a message if unattended; or
- have a family member with an email account send an email to enquiries@actrvra.org.au
8. Renewing Your Membership
The end of the financial year is the time to start thinking about renewing your membership of the ACT RVRA. The cost of membership fees will remain the same. We will send out a reminder email closer to the time giving details of how to renew, including through our website https://actrvra.org.au/membership/.