Retirement Villages Act 2012

This section applies to the amendment of recurrent charges payable under a village contract if the contract provides that the recurrent charges are to be amended otherwise than in accordance with a fixed formula.

Amendment of recurrent changes otherwise than in accordance with this Act is an offence (see s 152).

The operator of a retirement village must give a resident of the village written notice of a proposed amendment of recurrent charges under this section—

on a day, at least 30 days before the day the proposed amendment takes effect, agreed to by the operator and the residents; or

if no day is agreed—at least 60 days before the day the proposed amendment takes effect; or

if a regulation prescribes another time—at the prescribed time.

The notice must—

state the amount of the proposed recurrent charges; and

state the date it is intended that the proposed recurrent charges are to be payable; and

include details of any action taken to minimise the proposed amendment of recurrent charges; and

state that the amendment will take effect only if the residents affected by the proposed amendment consent to the amendment or the ACAT orders that it take effect; and

include anything else prescribed by regulation.

A notice may—

cancel an earlier notice under this section; or

provide for a lesser increase than the increase stated in an earlier notice.

A notice that provides for a lesser increase than the increase stated in an earlier notice is taken to have been given on the day the earlier notice was given.

However, the 30-day period mentioned in section 153 (2) (Residents consent to amendment) begins, in relation to a later notice, on the day the later notice is actually given.

If the operator operates more than 1 retirement village, the operator must deal with each village separately under this section.