In a new article by Brittany Smeed the case for federal laws for retirement villages is raised again.
"When ABC aired their Four Corners exposé, Bleed Them Dry Until They Die, viewers around
Australia were shocked to learn about the exploitation of vulnerable elderly people by the
retirement village industry. The public outcry and media attention surrounding these issues
quickly led to calls for reform and regulatory action across Australia. While some state and
territory governments have demonstrated a commitment to addressing the issues raised by the
media, we need to reconsider the capacity of state and territory governments to adequately
respond to a problem that clearly exists on a national scale. This article will discuss the
retirement village industry in Australia, consider the shortcomings of state and territory level
regulation, and suggest that further reform needs to be implemented at a federal level to account
for the changing nature of the industry in the context of our ageing population. It is argued that
the federal government would be capable of regulating retirement villages as financial
products, with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (‘ASIC’) and the
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (‘ACCC’) playing a stronger role in
monitoring consumer protection. However this requires a significant shift in the way that
retirement villages are viewed from a legal perspective."
The full article can be downloaded here - https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/1456015/Brittany_Smeed.pdf
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Function of Government
The role of government is to create an environment for commerce to function whilst at the same time protecting retirees and particularly vulnerable retirees from both financial and emotional harm emanating from that function.
The Victorian Retirement Villages Act 1986 provides the environment for commerce to function but fails to fully protect retirees from financial and emotional harm as a result of it.
The Victorian legislative definition of a retirement village in demanding the payment of an 'in-going' amount without the transfer of property ownership is a major contributor to that financial and emotional harm suffered by retirees.
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