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Operators must comply with the Retirement Villages Act and with the regulations and Code of Practice made under the Act, along with all other applicable statutory and legal obligations. They must run the village properly and use reasonable care and skill in everything they do.
 
The deed of supervision between the village operator and statutory supervisor also sets out many general and specific obligations of operators. The occupation right agreement with each resident also sets out many of the operator's obligations.
 
What is an 'operator'?
The operator of a retirement village is typically the developer or owner of the village, who often also manages the village. Operators have obligations under occupation right agreements, and also the other obligations set out below.
 
In some cases, an operator appoints a manager, who then takes on the operator's responsibilities and obligations on behalf of, and with the authority of, the operator.
 
What are an operator's obligations?
The obligations of operators focus on the following areas:
The village

• registering their retirement villages (existing villages must apply for registration by 1 November 2007)
• making annual returns to the Registrar of Retirement Villages, including audited financial statements
• appointing an approved statutory supervisor for each village (unless it is exempted) and complying with the deed of supervision and the statutory supervisor's directions
• providing information on certain changes and other matters to the Registrar, to the statutory supervisor, and to residents and intending residents
• running the village properly, including keeping it in good condition, fully insuring it and following a long-term maintenance plan
• accounting for all money received, and keeping this in accounts in financial institutions

Intending residents

• ensuring that advertising is accurate
• providing each intending resident, before they sign an occupation right agreement, with a disclosure statement that complies with the Act, regulations and Code of Practice, together with copies of the agreement, the Code of Residents' Rights and the Code of Practice. The Department of Building and Housing has developed a disclosure statement template
• ensuring that intending residents receive independent legal advice before they sign the occupation right agreement, as certified by their lawyer
• providing a minimum cooling-off period of 15 working days
• providing for residents to cancel their agreements for delay if the village or unit is not yet completed six months after the proposed completion date

Residents

• having a clear and unambiguous occupation right agreement with each resident that complies with the Act, the regulations and the Code of Practice
• providing residents with what they promised them
• communicating with residents, consulting residents on changes, and involving them in decision-making in the village
• calling an annual general meeting within six months after the end of the village's financial year, and calling other meetings when they're asked for by the residents' committee, 10% of the residents or the statutory supervisor, and providing all relevant and requested information for those meetings
• providing all residents with a copy of the statement forecasting income and expenditure, including what residents pay, within three months of the start of the village's accounting year, and providing a copy of the financial statements to residents if they ask for them
• providing a copy of, and complying with, the Code of Residents' Rights
• providing a copy of, and complying with, the Code of Practice (although a village may be exempted from particular provisions in the Code). This includes having written policies and procedures for each of the 10 topics covered by the Code, telling residents and intending residents about these, and providing copies of the Code on request. Operators must also have an induction process for residents and staff on the Code's requirements. In addition they must monitor and review these policies and procedures and consult residents on any changes
• providing a complaints facility.  This must comply with the Code of Practice 2008, and must include procedures for complaints to be resolved simply, fairly and quickly
• appointing and paying for a disputes panel after a dispute notice has been given under the Act's dispute resolution provisions and the Retirement Villages (Disputes Panel) Regulations.

 
Responsibilities of directors, trustees, managers and promotors
Directors, trustees and managers of retirement villages must also take all reasonable steps to make sure that the operator's obligations are carried out.
Promoters of retirement villages also have some obligations relating to advertising.
 
What are the consequences for not complying with the Act?
A village can have its registration suspended if it fails to comply with the Act or if its financial statements or other registered documents are likely to be misleading or deceptive. If its registration is suspended, the village cannot advertise or take in new residents.
 
Residents can also avoid (cancel) an occupation right agreement if certain important requirements were not complied with before they signed it. This means the agreement is at an end and the operator must refund all capital sums paid and other payments and costs.
 
Residents can also make a complaint or take a dispute to a disputes panel if their rights have been breached.
 
Further, operators that don't comply with the Act face fines of up to $30,000 for individuals and $100,000 for companies and other bodies. A court can also order an operator or other person:

• to stop committing a breach or to take certain action
• to publish corrective statements or other information
• to pay money to a resident.

A court can also amend or cancel an occupation right agreement.