SACAT can deal with disputes between the resident of a retirement village and the administering authority or operator of a retirement village.
A dispute can be about any issue arising from the rights and obligations of either of these parties under the Retirement Villages Act 2016 or under their private agreements.
Types of applications
The most common applications made by residents include:
- disputes about the repayment of a premium
- increases in maintenance charges
- disclosure of information to residents.
The most common applications made by the administering authority or operator include a resident not making payments as required by their agreement.
Applying to change or set aside an order
Under the Retirement Villages Act 2016, SACAT may consider an application to change or set aside a previous order.
Examples of those circumstances include:
- inability to attend a previous hearing - where a party is able to produce medical evidence to prove they were unable to attend a previous hearing
- changed circumstance - where a party’s financial circumstances have changed significantly and the party is unable to meet payments set by a previous order.
There must be a proper ground for you to make an application to vary or set aside a previous order.
If you simply disagree with a decision made by SACAT, it is not appropriate to make this application – you should consider lodging a request for an internal review of SACAT decision.
Before applying to SACAT
The Office for Ageing well provides a mediation service to those involved in retirement village disputes.
You should access this service before an application is made to SACAT.
Other organisations that may be able to help with retirement village disputes:
