Retirement villages legislation changes

The Housing Legislation Amendment Act 2023 was passed by the Queensland Parliament on 28 March 2023 and assented on 5 April 2023. This legislation contains amendments to the Retirement Villages Act 1999.

These amendments aim to maintain public confidence in Queensland’s retirement village industry by:

• increasing consumer protections
• requiring more transparent, accountable and consistent financial reporting in retirement villages.

The amendments:

• create a new regulation-making power for financial documents
• clarify and strengthen existing financial reporting provisions, including new penalties for non-compliance
• increase access to village financial documents for village residents, the department and the public register for retirement villages
• strengthen the Retirement Villages Act 1999’s purpose by adding a new objective: ‘to maintain public confidence in the retirement village industry by enhancing the financial transparency of village operations and the accountability of operators’.

What’s changed?

Better resident access to financial documents

Residents and resident committees can now request access to these financial documents before the beginning of a financial year:

• capital replacement fund draft budget
• maintenance reserve fund draft budget
• general services charge fund draft budgets
• related independent quantity surveyor reports.

Public retirement village register

Scheme operators must lodge a copy of the full or updated QSR, obtained during the financial year, with the chief executive within 5 months after the end of financial year.

This does not apply to QSR written reports obtained or updated before 1 July 2024.

Operators must also provide a copy of the audited annual financial statement and audit report to the Chief Executive within 5 months after the end of each financial year.

These reports and the annual financial statements are recorded by the Chief Executive and form part of the public register for retirement villages.

Capital replacement fund

Clearer obligations and penalties require operators to:

• consider the quantity surveyor’s written report for the capital replacement fund budget
• ensure the annual capital replacement fund contribution is sufficient to provide:
  • necessary and reasonable spending from the fund for the financial year
  • a reserve amount that accumulates within the fund and meets expected major expenditure requirements over at least the next 9 years after the financial year
• pay the annual capital replacement fund contribution into the fund each year.

Quantity surveyors definition

A quantity surveyor is now defined as a person who holds a member grade or fellow grade membership with the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors.

Amended regulation for more detailed financial reporting requirements

In June 2024, the Retirement Villages (Financial Documents) Amendment Regulation 2024 amended the Retirement Villages Regulation 2018 to improve transparency, accountability and consistency of financial reporting by retirement village scheme operators. Key changes include new requirements for:

• budgets
• quarterly and annual financial statements
• audit reports
• independent quantity surveyor written reports.

The changes to the Retirement Villages Regulation 2018  will apply to:

• village budgets for the 2025–26 financial year onwards
• audited financial reports for the 2025–26 financial year onwards
• quarterly financial statements as of the 1 July 2025 to 30 September 2025 quarter onwards
• quantity surveyors reports (QSR) prepared after 1 July 2024

The Chief Executive can make guidelines that:

• inform how the chief executive administers the Retirement Villages Act 1999
• outline their attitude about a matter
• help people comply with obligations or responsibilities, or lawfully and appropriately exercise powers under the Act.

These guidelines must be published on the department’s website.

The Department of Housing and Public Works has consulted with resident, industry and legal groups and has released guidelines to assist residents and retirement village operators understand and implement requirements arising from the amendments to the Retirement Villages Regulation 2018.

The Residential Services (Accreditation) (Retirement Village Schemes) Amendment Regulation 2025 made amendments to the Residential Services (Accreditation) Regulation 2018 that took effect from 13 June 2025 that mean that Retirement Villages schemes are not residential services.

Housing Legislation (Building Better Futures) Amendment Act 2017

The Housing Legislation (Building Better Futures) Amendment Act 2017 was passed by Parliament on 25 October 2017 and assented on 10 November 2017.

This legislation contains amendments to the Retirement Villages Act 1999 that:

• strengthen the regulatory framework for retirement villages
• improve consumer protections for prospective and current residents of retirement villages.

From November 2017

Amendments included a requirement for retirement village operators to pay former residents their exit entitlement within 18 months after the resident terminates their right to reside in a retirement village, unless doing so would cause the operator undue financial hardship.

The changes also included a requirement for a review of this maximum timeframe to start no later than two years after the commencement of the changes.

From February 2019

Changes to the Retirement Village Act ensure that operators provide more information to prospective and current residents.

In February 2019, there was the introduction of :

• an improved 2-stage, 21-day, pre-contractual disclosure process for prospective residents to easily obtain information earlier, and seek financial and legal advice
• a new Village Comparison Document and Prospective Costs Document – replacing the Public Information Document (PID) – for prospective residents to easily compare villages and know the costs of entering, living in and leaving a village
• increased access to village operational documents for residents and prospective residents
• a clearer and more predictable process for reinstating or renovating a unit, supported by entry and exit condition reports
• an improved process for a resident and operator to agree on the resale value of a unit.

From November 2019

Final amendments to the Retirement Villages Act 1999 commenced in November 2019. These changes introduced:

• a new process and plans for a village closure, redevelopment or transition to a new operator
• the power to initiate more standardised residence contracts
• the power to initiate standardised requirements for retirement village financial statements and budgets
• a requirement for operators to create a separate fund for general services charges
• tighter restrictions on increases to the total general services charge.

The Retirement Villages Regulation 2018 was also amended to implement these changes.

In 2019, regulation amendments outlined the content and types of information that operators must include in plans for village closure, redevelopment or transition to a new operator.

Health and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2019

The Health and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2019 was passed by the Queensland Parliament on 3 April 2019. This legislation contains amendments to the Retirement Villages Act 1999, which commenced on 11 April 2019.

These amendments:

• improve consumer protection for retirement village residents who hold a freehold interest of their unit
• give residents in freehold units certainty about the maximum time they have to wait to receive their funds after they terminate their right to reside
• require the village operator to buy the unsold freehold unit, within a specific time frame, by entering into a contract with the former resident.

As a result of the amendments the village operator must:

• enter into a contract to purchase the former resident’s freehold property in certain conditions
• complete the purchase within a specific time frame.

The Retirement Villages Act 1999 outlines how a resident can terminate their right to reside. This includes giving 1 month’s written notice to the village operator.

If the resident doesn’t terminate their right to reside in a freehold unit, the village operator isn’t required to purchase the unit.

An operator may apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal for an extension of time to purchase the unit if the purchase will cause them financial hardship. They can continue to market the unit for sale to an incoming resident during an approved extension.

Read more exit entitlement information for residents and for operators.

Mandatory buyback exemptions for resident-operated retirement villages

The Housing Legislation Amendment Act 2021 was passed by Parliament on 14 October 2021 and assented on 20 October 2021.

This legislation includes changes to the Retirement Villages Act 1999, which implement the recommendations in the review panel’s Interim Report from the Independent Review of timeframes for exit payments in Queensland retirement villages.

These changes exempt resident-operated freehold retirement villages from buying back a freehold retirement village unit 18 months after the resident has permanently left the retirement village.

A retirement village may be exempt from the mandatory buyback requirements when:

• the village’s residence contracts are based on a freehold interest
• the residents have a certain level of control or influence over the operator’s affairs
• the operator’s assets and ability to earn income aren’t enough to buy a former resident’s accommodation unit.

Other matters considered in a retirement village exemption include:

• whether retirement village land is included in a community titles scheme
• the operator’s level of involvement in refurbishing, reinstating, renovating or selling former residents’ accommodation units
• how much profit the operator makes from fees or charges paid by residents, and whether the operator receives money when an accommodation unit is sold.

After a retirement village is considered exempt in a regulation, it’s also exempt from having to purchase an unsold freehold unit. However, this process isn’t automatic – retirement villages need to apply for exemption.

Buyback requirements continue to apply until the exemption is granted. However, operators can apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) for an extension if they’re experiencing financial hardship due to upcoming buybacks.

Exemptions have been provided to a number of resident-operated retirement villages through changes to Schedule 5D of the Retirement Villages Regulation 2018 through the following amendment regulations:

• Retirement Villages (Exempt Schemes) and Other Legislation Amendment Regulation 2023
• Retirement Villages (Exempt Schemes) Amendment Regulation 2022

In 2020, the final report of the Independent Review of Timeframes for Exit Payments in Queensland Retirement Villages (PDF, 5576.71 KB) was released. Consultation was undertaken with retirement village residents, their families, operators and other interested parties about the impacts of the recommendations.

Background

The independent review was established following  amendments to the RV Act to require retirement village operators to pay former residents their exit entitlement within 18 months after the resident terminates their right to reside in a retirement village, unless doing so would cause the operator undue financial hardship.

The amendments included a requirement for a review of this maximum timeframe to start no later than two years after the commencement of the changes.

Independent review

An independent panel was established with Terms of Reference (PDF, 84.75 KB) to review the potential impacts of implementing the 18-month timeframe for payment of exit entitlements, and purchase of unsold freehold units, on scheme operators, residents, former residents and their families.

The panel provided a Final Report, with findings and recommendations, in November 2020.

Findings and recommendations

The Final Report contains 4 key recommendations. One of these recommendations was to exempt resident-operated freehold retirement villages from the requirement for mandatory buyback of unsold units. This was implemented through the Housing and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2021 .

The other 3 recommendations include:

• reducing the timeframe for paying exit entitlements from 18 to 12 months. The timeframe would start 20 business days (or 40 days outside of South East Queensland) from when the operator has vacant possession of the unit.
• allowing operators to apply for one extension, up to 6 months per unit, to pay out exit entitlements or buyback freehold unitswhere they can demonstrate they have taken all reasonable steps within the timeframe.
• creating a simpler and more accessible decision-making mechanism for extension applications.