Angela Wood
Angela is well known as a leading expert in commercial and regulatory matters in the healthcare sector, with over 20 years' experience advising health, aged care, medical device and not-for-profit providers.
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Legal Insights
Are you ready for the changes to Victoria’s Retirement Village laws?
By
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29 April 2026
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2 min read
The Retirement Villages Amendment Act 2025 (Vic) commences on 1 May 2026, ushering in the most significant overhaul of Victoria's retirement village framework in decades. With the Retirement Villages Regulations 2026 (Vic) made on 14 April 2026, operators and proprietors now have the full picture of how the changes will impact them. The Government’s stated aims of the amendments are to improve transparency and accountability for consumers in the sector.
A significant change is the introduction of a mandatory standard form residence and management contract. Operators may continue to use existing contracts (with some amendments that are set out in the Regulations) during a ‘grace period’ from 1 May 2026 to 31 August 2026. However, from 1 September 2026, the new standard form contract must be used for all residence and management contracts. Operators who fail to do so face penalties of up to 300 penalty units for a body corporate ($61,053).
Beyond contracts, operators will also need to understand their changed obligations in relation to financial disclosure, capital maintenance, exit entitlement timelines including changes to payments for residents who have left the village to enter aged care, and dispute resolution.
We set out a detailed overview of the key reforms across Victoria in our article last year, available here:
What needs to be done?
To prepare for the changes, operators will need to create the following documents (where new prescribed forms or new documents are required) or update existing documents:
- template residence and management contracts that are in the prescribed form;
- an information statement, which must also be in a prescribed form and replaces the current disclosure document;
- a complying dispute resolution policy;
- a capital maintenance plan for the village; and
- an emergency plan.
Our team has significant experience in the retirement village sector and is well placed to assist your organisation navigate these changes and update your key documents.
If you would like advice on how these changes affect your operations or assistance updating your template residence and management contracts, or any other documents, to comply with the new requirements, please get in touch with our team.
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Alexandra Adams
Alexandra is an experienced commercial and regulatory lawyer who advises health and aged care clients on regulatory compliance, corporate matters and M&A, supported by extensive sector experience.
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Sydney