That was the view raised last week by Kathryn Greiner AO, who headed up the NSW Government’s retirement village inquiry into the sector, at the Property Council’s annual Retirement Forum.
She wants the NSW Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) to set up a website where all disputes are registered, with length of time to resolve and the result published.
She also supports a village asset register to identify maintenance issues that the village operator will be responsible for.
Resolving disputes key to resident satisfaction
It does make sense. The villages.com.au 2018 National Resident Survey revealed dispute resolution was a big factor in resident dissatisfaction with half of residents who made a complaint feeling that it was not resolved quickly or fairly and one in four saying the issue was still unresolved.
But it is worth remembering that there are processes in place and these can usually resolve an issue in a reasonable timeframe.
According to the DCA, 70 per cent of the 46 complaints received this year have been resolved by providing information, talking to the operator and mediation.
Ensuring that you know the process if you do need to raise an issue is also important.
Find out more here.
Discussion1 Comment
Short answer – no – it does not make sense – it could also have unintended consequences eg naming and shaming the resident whose complaint is without foundation
As well, from my lengthy experience in retirement villages, I am confident that the vast majority of residents who complain would not want their details displayed on a public register.
Ms Greiner’s suggestion is a sledgehammer hovering over a nut.