Queensland retirement village residents have been invited to have their say as part of a review of the government’s contentious mandatory buyback laws.
The government has appointed an independent panel to undertake the review.
The Queensland laws, which have been in operation since mid-2019, require retirement village operators to pay residents their exit entitlement 18 months after the resident permanently leaves a village. The laws do allow operators to seek to extend the payment time if they are arguing “financial hardship”.
While the policy should give greater peace of mind to departing residents, it has also been linked with the financial collapse and difficulties of some retirement villages, which can also be very distressing for residents.
NSW has since baulked at introducing the same requirement into its laws, because of concerns about the impacts on operators. At the same time, the NSW Government is proposing to introduce a number of separate new consumer protections.
The Queensland government panel secretariat has told Downsizing.com.au that it is keen for future, current and former retirement village residents to have their say.
Residents can participate through the following avenues:
- Filling out a survey by 31 August 2020
- Writing a submission to [email protected] or Retirement Village Feedback c/- Findex (D Griggs) GPO Box 736 Brisbane Qld 4001 by 15 September 2020.
- Requesting an interviews with the panel, between 3 August and 16 October
- Participate in group consultation sessions (preference up to 5 participants virtually), between 3 August and 16 October.
The panel can be contacted on (07) 32333520.
The panel will undertake the review by 30 November 2020.
