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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-05-03 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

RETIREMENT VILLAGES

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Ageing, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Arts) (15:20): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: Sorry, I have copies here.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.D. HILL: Retirement villages are an important housing option for senior South Australians, providing safe, secure, low-maintenance housing. South Australian retirement villages are subject to the Retirement Villages Act 1987 which regulates the operation of retirement villages and protects the rights of current and prospective residents. Overwhelmingly, South Australian retirement villages are operated very well and are a popular housing option for more than 24,000 senior South Australians who live in them.

The decision to enter retirement villages has significant legal and financial implications for prospective residents that should be fully considered before prospective residents sign a contract. Like any financial transaction, the buyer beware principle applies. It is important that prospective residents fully understand what they are agreeing to, the legal and financial implications of entering, remaining in and leaving the village, and the implications for spouses or partners.

As part of the moving-in process, residents receive a number of documents which can be long and quite daunting. However, it is vital that they understand the contents because, once signed, they are legally binding on both residents and the operator. It is important to take time before the move to go through these documents with a fine toothcomb and seek advice if clarification is required.

The Office for the Ageing retirement village officers are available to speak to and its website links to a range of fact sheets that can help prospective residents navigate the process. Being well informed, aware of rights and responsibilities and understanding the contract make for smoother transition, and disputes are less likely to crop up in the future. The Office for the Ageing has informed me of a number of disputes caused by the worrying practice of one retirement village operator, who operates Fernleigh Gardens Estate at Woodcroft.

I want to take this opportunity to warn prospective residents of these practices. In some instances, prospective residents have entered into a contract with the operator for a yet-to-be-built retirement village home and then sold their current home to him. These people then remained in their former home while waiting for their unit to be built which, in some cases, never happened. At least two of these parties are in danger of being evicted from their former homes, having received notices of summons to the Supreme Court—

Ms CHAPMAN: Point of order, Madam Speaker.

The SPEAKER: I am not sure you can have a point of order in the middle of a ministerial statement. However, what is your point of order?

Ms CHAPMAN: Perhaps if you would give me the opportunity to indicate what it is. The minister is giving a ministerial statement obviously warning consumers and the people of South Australia of a consumer issue he is concerned about. He has identified that it is a matter of court proceedings. The government has consistently refused to make statements about matters when they are sub judice.

It concerns me that the minister, knowing that there are existing Supreme Court proceedings about this matter, continues to provide detail about the allegations in respect of this which are not yet tested. I ask for your ruling on that. It may be that they say you have no jurisdiction on that, but this is the standard that they have set, and it is a matter that is sub judice. I ask you to give some indication to the minister what he should do about it.

The SPEAKER: Minister, can you respond to that?

The Hon. J.D. HILL: I take the point that the member raised. What I want to do is warn citizens in our state who may be contemplating entering into a retirement village contract to check the contract very carefully. There is a matter that has been brought to my attention, and if I did not warn citizens of it, they may make the same error that others have made. I will leave it at that.

The SPEAKER: Thank you. Thank you, member for Bragg.

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