Consumer Protection has been developing new regulations to support changes made to the Retirement Villages Act 1992 (WA) (the RV Act) by the Retirement Villages Amendment Act 2024 (WA).
This page covers the key changes and will provide links to forms and templates as they become available.
Key reforms commencing soon
The rollout of the new laws under the Retirement Villages Regulations 2026 (the Regulations) has started.
The reforms will be implemented in stages over a two-year period to provide time for operators and residents to prepare for the new legislation.
Stage one: started 1 September 2026
The first key reforms started on 1 September and include:
- Operators have up to 12 months to make mandatory exit entitlement payments (MEEP). See more on the Exit entitlements page.
- Eligible residents will be able to request a portion of their exit entitlements to be paid directly towards aged care daily accommodation payments (DAP). See more on the Moving into aged care page.
- Operators must consult with residents before preparing the draft annual budget. See more on the Retirement village budgets page.
- Clear conduct rules will set professional standards and obligations of behaviour for tenants, operators and employees. See more on the Conduct rules of residents or Conduct rules of operators pages.
- Operators must follow rules for closing a retirement village including creating termination plan and getting it approved. See more on the Closing a retirement village page.
Stage two: starting 1 December 2026
The reforms for stage two that will commence from 1 December 2026 include:
- Residents to be consulted about modifications of the retirement village.
- Residents to reinstate or renovate their unit when they permanently depart depending on their contract.
- Property condition reports to be prepared at the beginning and end of a resident’s tenure.
- Forms will be available in October to help operators prepare.
Stage three: starting 1 July 2027
New disclosure documents must be given to prospective residents for contracts entered into on or after 1 July 2027. The community arrangement statements (CAS) and prospective resident information statements (PRIS) will be available from early March 2027.
Stage four: starting first half 2028
A public register of retirement villages will be launched in first half of 2028. Operators will be required to provide Consumer Protection with basic village information and a copy of their current community arrangements statement. Prospective tenants will be able to compare villages before visiting them in person.
Stage five: starting 1 July 2028
Stage five reforms that will commence from 1 July 2028 include:
- Operators will be responsible for maintaining and replacing (where appropriate) capital items.
- Operators will be required to have a 5-year plan setting out maintenance and replacement work and an estimated cost of each item.
- Operators will have to maintain a capital maintenance fund large enough to cover the capital maintenance plan.
- Residents will be required to report to the operator when a capital item in their residence needs maintenance.
More information
Full details about the above reforms are covered in the Retirement village laws reform: Decision Regulatory Impact Statement.
Subscribe for updates
Subscribe to Consumer Protection’s bulletins for regular updates about the reforms, including when forms and templates will be available:
Summary of changes - short video
The above presentation covers the Stage 1 reforms and provides an overview of stages 2 to 5.
Information sessions
We will be hosting presentations to cover the key changes in the reform.
Residents
Resident sessions were held in August with a final one to be held in early September. Please register to attend by clicking the link below:
- Monday 7 September 2026: 10 am - 11.30 am – 140 Williams St Perth (in-person) FULL
You can also register for the wait list to be informed of any new sessions.
Operators
Operator sessions were delivered over July and August 2026. A recording of the presentation and detailed answers to questions raised during the sessions are available on Retirement village reforms operator presentation and FAQs.
Regional operators and residents
Please register your interest if you would like to attend a session in Mandurah, Bunbury, Busselton, Albany, or another regional location. We will book venues and email you with the session dates and details if enough people are interested.
Need advice
For more information about the reforms and what they mean for you, call 1300 30 40 54 or email.