Retirement village operator must act professionally and ethically when managing a retirement village.
The conduct rules promote trust, transparency and resident wellbeing.
The rules for operators are in Schedule 3 of the Regulations. They cover:
- Standards of conduct
- Avoiding conflicts of interest
- Advertising and promotion of retirement villages
- Training and competencies
See Conduct rules for residents for the rules residents and their guests must follow.
Standards of conduct
Operators must:
Follow relevant laws
You and your staff must follow laws that apply to managing a retirement village, including:
- Retirement Villages Act 1992 (WA)
- Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA)
- Australian Consumer Law (WA)
- Strata Titles Act 1985 (WA)
- Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA)
Consider residents' best interests
You must consider the best interests of current and prospective residents when performing your duties.
This includes considering the residents':
- wellbeing
- health
- views
- concerns.
Act with skill, care and diligence
You must act with reasonable skill, care and diligence when performing your duties.
Act honestly, fairly and professionally
You must act honestly, fairly and professionally in all dealings with:
- current residents
- prospective residents
- their representatives.
You must not mislead or deceive people about village living, fees, services or any other matters.
Respect residents' rights
You must respect residents' rights to:
- privacy
- quiet enjoyment of their home
- make their own decisions about their personal, financial and property affairs.
Communicate respectfully
You must:
- respond to residents' enquiries courteously and within a reasonable time
- communicate and consult effectively with residents
- consider resident feedback and use it to improve the village where appropriate.
Prevent harassment and intimidation
You must not harass, threaten or intimidate residents.
Protect personal information
You must handle confidential information about current or prospective residents properly. You must not use or disclose this information improperly.
Financial penalties may apply for non-compliance.
Prevent elder abuse
You must prepare and maintain an elder abuse prevention strategy.
The strategy must be:
- clearly displayed in the village
- reviewed every two years.
You must make sure staff understand how to identify and respond to elder abuse.
Financial penalties may apply for non-compliance.
Help external selling agents
An external selling agent may be appointed to sell a resident’s home.
You must provide any information and assistance requested by the agent to help sell the home. You must do this within five working days of a written request.
Financial penalties may apply for non-compliance.
Conflicts of interest
A conflict of interest happens when your personal interests could affect:
- the decisions you make
- the work you do
- how you manage the village.
For example:
- a village manager hires a relative to work in a village
- a staff member takes office supplies home for personal use
- a staff member shares confidential information with a competitor.
Manage conflicts of interest
You must make sure you and your staff avoid conflicts of interest.
You and your staff must not carry out a function if a personal interest affects you or your staff’s ability to act fairly and in the best interests of the residents.
Financial penalties may apply for non-compliance.
Disclose conflicts of interest
You must tell each resident in writing as soon as you become aware of a conflict of interest involving you or your staff.
Keep records of conflicts of interest
You must keep records of conflicts of interest. You can use a register to do this.
Each conflict record must include:
- the name, title and contact details of the person with the conflict
- the date the residents were told of the conflict
- the village function the conflict relates to
- what the conflict is about
- steps taken to reduce the effect of the conflict.
Residents who ask to see the records must be given access within five working days.
You must keep the records:
- while the person with the conflict is employed at the village
- for a further five years after their employment ends.
Financial penalties may apply for non-compliance.
Advertising and promotion of villages
You must follow rules when advertising and promoting:
- the village
- units in a village
- services or amenities available to residents.
Marketing material must be truthful and accurate and comply with the:
- Retirement Villages Act
- Australian Consumer Law.
Retirement village developments
You must obtain planning and development approvals before you start promoting a village for sale.
Financial penalties may apply for non-compliance.
Before the sales promotion begins, you can:
- invite expressions of interest
- conduct market research.
Proposed services and amenities
Your sales material must state:
- the latest date the services and amenities will be available to residents
- any event that must happen before services and amenities are available
- any charges or conditions that apply to using the services or amenities.
For example, if a service or amenity is not available when the resident moves in, the sales material must say:
- the latest date it will be available
- what needs to happen before it becomes available.
Financial penalties may apply for non-compliance.
Residential care homes
You must obtain approvals to operate a residential care home before promoting it as being available.
Financial penalties may apply for non-compliance.
Selling a resident's home
An operator appointed to sell a resident’s home must:
- take all reasonable steps to advertise it as soon as possible
- give the resident, or their representative, a written report each month about the steps taken to sell the home.
Financial penalties may apply for non-compliance.
Training and development of village staff
You must make sure your staff have the training, skills and competencies they need to do their job.
All village staff must receive appropriate training to help them meet their legal obligations under:
- village contracts
- the Retirement Villages Act 1992 (WA)
- any other laws that apply to their role e.g. the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA)
Staff training policies and procedures
You must have written policies and procedures for staff training and supervision.
The policies and procedures must include:
- key responsibilities of each role
- qualifications and experience required, where applicable
- required performance standards
- how to perform each role professionally and in the best interests of residents.
You must:
- keep records of staff training and professional development undertaken
- monitor staff compliance with policies and procedures
- keep records for at least five years.
Complaint handling and dispute resolution training
All staff must receive training in the village’s complaint handling and dispute resolution procedures.
You must make sure staff:
- know how to deal with unreasonable conduct by anyone making a complaint or raising a dispute
- receive ongoing training in how to handle complaints or disputes
- know when and how to escalate a complaint or dispute.
Village managers skills and training
You must not employ a village manager unless they have the ability and skills to manage the village.