Retirement Village Won’t Pay Out Mum’s Unit or Is Charging Huge Exit Fees? Here’s What to Do

Your mother moved into aged care eight months ago. The village unit is empty. The operator is still charging her weekly fees, has just sent a $40,000 “refurbishment” invoice, and says her exit entitlement (the money she paid in, minus a deferred management fee that turns out to be 35%) will be paid “when the unit resells”. They control the resale. They’re in no hurry. Meanwhile, the aged care bond is due.

This exact scenario is why each state’s retirement village law limits charges after a resident leaves, and some go further: Queensland sets an 18-month payment deadline, and in New South Wales you can apply for an order to be paid. Most families don’t know that, and operators don’t volunteer it.

Your rights

• New South Wales: Retirement Villages Act 1999. If the unit has not sold within the prescribed period (6 months in listed metropolitan council areas, including Newcastle; 12 months elsewhere), a registered interest holder who is not in a strata, company title or community title scheme can apply to the Commissioner for Fair Trading for an exit entitlement order. The period starts 40 days after the first of: the unit being advertised for sale, the keys being returned, or written notice that the resident is staying while it sells. The application needs an agreed valuation made at least 30 days before. Residents moving to aged care can request an “aged care payment” of up to 85% of the estimated entitlement to fund the accommodation deposit. Ongoing charges stop 42 days after the resident leaves. Refurbishment obligations are limited to returning the unit to its original condition allowing for fair wear and tear.
• Victoria: Retirement Villages Act 1986. Contract disclosure requirements, limits on ongoing charges after departure (generally 6 months), and refund obligations. 2023 reforms tightened disclosure and the Director of Consumer Affairs can intervene.
• Queensland: Retirement Villages Act 1999. Operators must pay the exit entitlement within 18 months of vacating whether or not the unit resells (the “18-month buyback rule”). Reinstatement work must be reasonable and the operator can’t charge for capital improvements.
• South Australia (Retirement Villages Act 2016), Western Australia (Retirement Villages Act 1992), Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory: similar disclosure rules, caps on charges after departure and dispute processes through the state tribunal.
• The Retirement Living Code of Conduct. Most large operators (Lendlease, Stockland, Aveo, Keyton, RetireAustralia, Levande) are signatories, committing to fair exit processes and timely payments.
• Australian Consumer Law. Unfair contract terms (ss 23–28) and misleading conduct (s 18) apply to village contracts and to sales representations (“you’ll get most of your money back”).

What to do right now

1. Get the contract and the disclosure statement. The village contract, the disclosure document given before signing, and every fee statement since departure. If you’re the attorney or executor, you’re entitled to them.
2. Calculate the entitlement yourself. Ingoing contribution, minus the deferred management fee as calculated under the contract (check the years counted; operators sometimes count from the wrong date), plus or minus any capital gain share. Get the operator’s figure in writing and compare.
3. Check whether the statutory period for your state has passed. In NSW you can then apply for an exit entitlement order.
4. Dispute refurbishment charges in writing. Ask for the itemised quote, before-and-after photos, and the condition report from move-in. Fair wear and tear is not your cost; upgrades are never your cost.
5. Send a Letter of Demand. A formal letter citing the state Act and the exit-entitlement rules that apply, the calculated entitlement, the disputed charges, the Code of Conduct, and a 14-day deadline before a tribunal application and a regulator complaint. Operators’ legal teams respond to this where sales offices don’t.
6. Apply to the tribunal. NCAT, VCAT, QCAT, SACAT and the Western Australia State Administrative Tribunal all have specific retirement village jurisdictions with modest fees.

The charges that don’t hold up

• Ongoing service fees months after departure. Capped by statute in most states (42 days in New South Wales, 6 months in Victoria, and so on). Anything beyond the cap is refundable.
• “Refurbishment” that is really renovation. New kitchens and bathrooms are capital improvements. The Act in every state stops operators passing these on.
• Marketing and resale fees at rates not disclosed in the contract, or where the operator delayed marketing.
• Deferred management fees calculated on the wrong base or wrong period. Recalculate and challenge.

Acting for a parent or an estate

Most of these disputes are run by adult children. You can act if you hold an enduring power of attorney (while the resident is alive) or are the executor or administrator (after death). Send the operator a copy of the document with your first letter so they can’t stall on “we can only deal with the resident”. If the resident has died, the exit entitlement is an estate asset and the statutory payment deadlines still run; operators sometimes suggest that “probate must be granted first” before they’ll pay, which is a reason to hold the money in trust, not a reason to keep charging fees or delay the calculation. Ask for the calculation now and the payment on production of probate or letters of administration. If the resident is alive and moving to aged care, ask specifically about the aged care payment provisions in your state (New South Wales’s 85% advance, for example); the accommodation deposit deadline is real and the village’s delay shouldn’t cost your parent the room.

Who to complain to

New South Wales: NSW Fair Trading (Retirement Villages Ambassador and dispute service) and NCAT. Victoria: Consumer Affairs Victoria and VCAT. Queensland: Department of Housing (Regulatory Services) and QCAT. South Australia: Office for Ageing Well and SACAT. Western Australia: Consumer Protection WA and the State Administrative Tribunal. Also the Retirement Living Code of Conduct complaints process for signatory operators, and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission if the village is also an aged care provider.

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