Legislative Council Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2) 54 2 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Answers to Questions Retirement Villages Retirement Villages The Hon. J.A. DARLEY Legislative Council Retirement Villages In reply to the Hon. J.A. DARLEY (4 March 2021). The Hon. R.I. LUCAS Legislative Council Retirement Villages The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer): The Attorney-General has advised: The current Valuer-General has been communicating with various stakeholders through a number of means since the seven recommendations of the Joint Committee on the Valuation Policies and Charges on Retirement Villages were tabled in November 2019, where not all of the recommendations are applicable to the Valuer-General. A comprehensive process of consultation commenced in July 2020 when the Valuer-General's service provider, Land Services SA, wrote to retirement village owners requesting nomination of a liaison officer. In August 2020, with the retirement village owners now fully engaged in the process, 'land owner returns' were issued which requested information designed to assist in the valuation process. There were 530 such land owner returns issued, and as at March 2021 the Valuer-General has advised there has been over a 95 per cent response rate. This comprehensive consultation was designed to assist the Valuer-General to deliver upon recommendation one, which was based on her preferred approach, to create an assessment record for each retirement village, which will include a valuation of the whole of the property and a separate tenancy apportionment for each independent living unit. More recently, on 23 February 2021, the Valuer-General hosted webinar information sessions with local government (including representation by the Local Government Association) around valuation matters, including an update on the valuation of retirement villages and independent living units. Then on 25 February 2021, there was a further webinar information session for key stakeholders, such as retirement village operators and resident association(s), which was also attended by the Property Council of Australia. To assist the Valuer-General with stakeholder enquiries, the session was attended by Land Services SA, SA Water, Concessions SA, Department of Treasury and Finance (Land Tax and Emergency Services Levy) and Office of Local Government. I have been advised the Hon. John Darley MLC was also invited to participate in the session. At the webinar information sessions, there was the opportunity for participants to submit questions to be addressed by the Valuer-General, and participants were provided with links to fact sheets and other communication tools such as information videos. The Valuer-General will continue to provide ongoing communication up until the valuations come into force on 1 July 2021 for the 2021-22 financial year, and if necessary provide assistance for residents with the objection process. Further, whilst the joint committee recommended the convening of a working group to oversee consultation and creation of a new memorandum of understanding as part of recommendation four, the Valuer-General was advised by my office that the memorandum of understanding and working group are no longer applicable.