Redeveloping a retirement village
If there is a proposal to redevelop a retirement village while it is operating, the retirement village operator must provide you with a redevelopment plan. The plan should provide a clear, orderly and fair process for the redevelopment. You’ll be given an opportunity to ask questions, make submissions and vote on the plan.
The requirement for redevelopment plans commenced from 11 November 2019, when changes to the Retirement Villages Act 1999 (the Act) came into effect.
A redevelopment plan must be prepared for redevelopments that include:
- the construction or demolition of an accommodation unit
- the construction, demolition, expansion or reduction of a building or structure in the village
- the expansion or reduction of the retirement village
- the expansion or reduction in retirement village greenspace or parklands
- a change in the use of a building or structure located in the retirement village.
A redevelopment plan is not needed where:
- changes are minor e.g. construction or demolition of a shed
- residents were given written notice of the redevelopment before they become a resident, in any of the following documents:
- Residence contract
- Village comparison document
- Prospective costs document
- Village by-laws
- Public information document
On this page:
Content of a redevelopment plan
A redevelopment plan must include details of:
- timeframes for the proposed redevelopment
- the status of any local government approvals
- any prior notifications to residents about the proposed or similar redevelopment
- consultation with residents in preparing and revising the plan
- how the redevelopment will impact the amenity, value and enjoyment of the village, how units may be affected and how these impacts will be managed
- how general services will be impacted
- fees and charges that will be impacted and how these impacts will be managed
- whether residents will be relocated during the redevelopment and the process for doing so
- any compensation residents may receive as a result of the redevelopment.
Approval process for redevelopment plans
If a village operator wants to redevelop a retirement village they must:
- give each resident a copy of the proposed redevelopment plan within 28 days
- propose a date and time for the residents’ meeting to vote on the proposed redevelopment plan. The meeting must be at least 21 days from when you received the closure plan.
If residents don’t vote to approve the plan by the specified date, the village operator may apply to the chief executive (Department of Housing) to approve the plan.
Before making a decision, the chief executive will write to you to tell you how to make submissions on the proposed redevelopment plan. By making a submission, you can tell the chief executive about your needs and how the proposed plan would impact you personally.
The chief executive may also request additional information from the operator or direct the operator to revise the proposed plan.
If a village operator wants revise an approved plan, they must make an application to the chief executive. Revisions to the plan will only be approved where the chief executive is satisfied that the revised plan provides a clear, orderly and fair process for the redevelopment.
If the chief executive approves the proposed plan, or a revision to an approved plan, each resident in the retirement village will receive a ‘QCAT information notice’. This notice will outline your rights to review the decision through the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
A village operator may also discontinue a running redevelopment by providing a notice to the chief executive and each resident in the retirement village.
Steps for residents
- Read the proposed redevelopment plan and consider whether the proposed process for redevelopment is clear, orderly and fair to you.
- Vote on the plan by the date specified in the residents meeting notice. This may be done in person, by proxy, or by postal vote. More information on this may be found in the residents’ meeting notice.
- Ask the village operator to explain anything in the plan that isn’t clear. The plan may specify a time for a ‘question and answer’ session.
- Consider seeking independent legal advice about your rights and obligations under the Act and how the proposed redevelopment may affect you.
- Make submissions to the chief executive about the proposed plan if you receive an invitation to do so.
- Consider your rights to apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal to appeal the chief executive’s decision to approve the plan if you receive a QCAT information notice.