Greetings members and readers.

This will be the last monthly bulletin before our Annual General Meeting, and it contains the needed information concerning nominations for board positions, virtual attendance and other details.

I really encourage everyone to participate in the meeting if at all possible. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us (see AGM information below).

Note that the AGM minutes and recording will be published as soon as possible afterwards.

It would also be appreciated if you could provide us with any questions you may have for the board prior to the meeting. We will attempt to answer these questions at the meeting if possible. Of course, there will be an opportunity to pose questions at the meeting itself as well.

I will be posting my President’s Report for the year on our website prior to the meeting and hopefully there could be some discussion at the AGM.

Our articles this month showcase some of the work of RVRA volunteers, including the experiences of a new member on the RVRA Board and a new village Ambassador. We hope you enjoy them and feel inspired by their accounts.

Happy reading

Craig Bennett
RVRA President

During August RVRA Board members had several key meetings to discuss the reviews of the AMP regulations and dispute resolution processes. They also met with representatives from the Property Council, the Retirement Living Council, Fair Trading, the Council on the Ageing (COTA), and various Operators.

Members Enquiries

There were 44 enquiries from members in July covering a total of 73 categories (some enquiries covered 2 or more call categories).

The largest number of calls categories were about Management (24), followed by Legal and Legislation (15), Residents Committees (10), and Finance/Budgets (7).

Members can access Information Sheets dealing with these and many other topics in the Members Only section of the website

The Retirement Villages Education Centre Workshops

A very successful 2 half-day modified Residents Committee Workshop was held in a regional Village by our Secretary and Treasurer. An account of the training is featured below in this month’s Bulletin.

We have several villages who have applied to do the workshops, which can be either Face-to-face or by zoom. If your village would benefit from a training workshop, please contact info@rvra.org.au for cost information and an application form or see here on our website.

Village Visits

If you wish your village to be included in the Village Visit schedule, please contact Cathy on 1300 787 213 (option 1) if you have not already done so.

Annual RVRA Budget and AMP Survey

You will have received an invitation to complete the 2024 Budget and AMP Survey. The annual survey is about your village budget and is confidential and anonymous. Please feel free to pass the link to friends and neighbours who also live in a NSW retirement village.

You will be helping us, by providing relevant data to guide our future discussions with the various NSW bodies (Government, regulators, and influencers) in relation to Retirement Villages legislation - with the added benefit of comparison to the 2022 and 2023 Budget Surveys.

This short, anonymous survey will take around 5 minutes to complete on your computer. It will be available until Friday 27th September and the responses will be analysed and the results published in a future Bulletin and on the RVRA website.

In the survey the RVRA would like you to tell us some general information about your village, recent budget changes, and how the Asset Management Plan is being managed.

THE HIGH COST OF APATHY - it is very expensive for some residents.

Firstly I’d like to comment that:

• I am not speaking about apathy in my own village, and
• The RVRA acknowledge that there are many very good Residents Committees and Operators of Retirement Villages observing the RV legislation.

However, there is a very disturbing trend among some village residents towards apathy.

How many of us have heard the comment “I didn't come here to go to meetings?” This unfortunately can be contagious. Residents seem to assume that enough people will turn up without them. If enough people think that, then your village could be in trouble!

The RVRA has evidence from members that lack of attendance at village budget meetings over the past few years has seen huge increases in monthly fees go through uncontested. Pensioners have realised that they can no longer afford to live in their independent living homes, Sadly we see instances of poorly run ballots, residents doing whatever their resident committee suggested without proper discussion and explanation.

There is an entire part of NSW Legislation that deals with Retirement Villages. We, the residents, have certain roles along with responsibilities. The Operator and the Management also have their parts to play in adhering to this very same legislation. It is in the best interests of all residents to familiarise themselves with the Retirement Villages Act and Regulations.

This is not as difficult as you may think. On our website, the RVRA has a large number of Resource Sheets, and Information Sheets - the latter available for members only. If you have a folder of some key documents printed out, you can refer to them anytime if you don't wish to go to the RVRA website when you need them. They will clearly and concisely answer many of the questions that you may have. And if you are a member, you can ring or email the RVRA with an enquiry which will be answered by a Board Member.

Residents cannot afford to be apathetic in a highly regulated environment. We need to engage with it.

The question is often asked “Can a residents committee make a decision on behalf of the residents? The answer is “No, they can’t”.

The legislation gives the RC power to:

• carry out the functions of requesting information or proposals from Management (ss 51, 60, 107(4), 114; Reg 20),
• receive reports and budgets from Management (ss 58A, 118E, 119),
• call meetings of residents (s 70), proposing motions (ss 99(6), 118C, 120B),
• request meetings with Management (s 72), reporting residents decisions to Management (Sch 1(4)), 
• apply to the Tribunal on behalf of residents (Reg 35) and 
• determine its own procedures (s 70(5a)). 

So the legislation does not give the Residents Committee any authority to make decisions on behalf of residents or to exercise any power over them, at any point. 

Residents please do not be apathetic or assume someone else will go to meetings instead. The consequences can be shattering and change what you wanted to do with your retirement. 

Trish Ziliani

RVRA Board Member
RVRA Ambassador Tea Gardens Grange

I’ve been a keen supporter of the work that the RVRA does ever since I moved into my village some 11 years ago.

I joined fairly soon after moving in because I knew that I would probably need help from time to time in navigating my way through this new and complex retirement village world, it was all so new and different! But more importantly for me, I wanted to support and be a member of a group dedicated to lobbying Government on issues that would improve the lives of all of us living in villages.

It’s such a pleasure to be RVRA's Ambassador for Camden Downs Retirement Village.

Camden with its old country charm is situated on the banks of the Nepean River with its rich history. The birthplace of Australian wool, wheat and wine industry, and in later years Coal Mining.

Being a 'Coal Miner's Daughter' I was raised and educated in Camden along with my five brothers. Now, 50 years later on I returned to take up residence at Camden Downs only a short distance from my family home and the bells of St John’s Steeple.

The Catalyst Report –

Village Residents feedback

We have received the summary report from the Catalyst survey, in which many of you participated - thank you once again.

• Community life is a quality of life boost for many
• Fees rising too fast
• Site maintenance and management patchy

This month our questions cover:

• RVRA Associate Members
• A husband and wife both nominating to stand for the Residents Committee
• Appointment of RVRA Village Ambassadors

Q1: Who can join the RVRA? My manager said she had joined the RVRA as an Associate Member and I am concerned this would be a conflict of interest.

A1: The Associate Membership category, to which your village manager would belong, is one we have had for a long time – it covers anyone who is not a Retirement Village resident. These members have all membership benefits excepting they cannot vote.

Over the past few years we have been encouraging village managers to become Associate Members, as this gives them access to the members’ section of the RVRA website and thus the Information sheets. It also encourages them to read the Bulletin and learn from the articles it contains.

You may have noticed that village managers often move into their job with little or no specific training. There are short training courses available through the Property Council Academy (PCA), to which our Board Members have input, and through Do Come Monday Institute (DCMI). However, many managers do not have much training, and this can lead to problems with areas of the legislation, the running of the village, and their relationship with the Residents Committee and residents. Access to the RVRA resources helps, as does ringing our Enquiries phone line for assistance.

Board members who handle the Enquiries are very mindful, in all cases, of confidentiality requirements. We often get 2 or 3 members from one village enquiring about a problem that has arisen, and each is both unaware of the others and also of any information we receive from them. It is the same in the case of Associate Members’ enquiries. You can be assured that we are aware of the potential for a conflict of interest in this respect.

As retirement village residents we often assume that we are on one side and management on the other. The RVRA considers that through handling all enquiries respectfully and confidentially we can help both residents and village managers achieve their goal of a more harmonious village.

We understand that everyone is impacted by the cost of living crisis, however, we ask if you can help in ensuring that the RVRA will be able to continue its vital work in supporting retirement village residents.

We are fortunate to have a strong volunteer board, with experienced RV residents who devote hours to understanding and assisting with our members’ needs.

None of this would be possible without our membership subscriptions, government grants and thoughtful donations.

We invite you to support our vision of ensuring a fair and affordable retirement living experience for all NSW retirement village residents by making a tax-deductible donation if you can.

So, to give us a more sustainable future:

https://www.rvra.org.au/donate

On behalf of the RVRA Board - thank you for your ongoing support.

Kind regards

Craig Bennett
RVRA President

The RVRA appreciates the support of the following professional services organisations.
To become a Supporter of the RVRA, contact us.