Residential services legislation
The Residential Services (Accreditation) Act 2002 (RSA Act), commenced in 2002, regulates residential services to:
- protect the health and safety of residents
- encourage continuous improvement of services
- support fair trading in the residential services industry.
Under the RSA Act, residential services are required to be registered and premises must also be accredited for the type of services provided.
All services must be accredited to provide accommodation (level 1, known as boarding houses), and some may also be accredited to provide:
- food (level 2) or
- personal care (level 3, known as supported accommodation).
The RSA Act is complemented by the Residential Services (Accreditation) Regulation 2018 which primarily sets out the accreditation standards for level 1, 2 and 3 providers.
Review
We are currently conducting a review to improve the residential services legislative framework to consider:
- any regulatory overlaps and gaps with the RSA Act and other regulatory frameworks
- improvements to safeguards and protections for vulnerable residents.