26 November 2024
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (17:48): I rise on behalf of the Greens to speak in favour of this bill. I recognise it has been a long time coming. Indeed, we have had consistent advocacy from groups that support those living in villages urging the parliament to deal with this matter as a priority. It has been languishing on the Notice Paper for many months. We welcome the fact that it is finally being made a priority and can be resolved by Christmas.
The Greens believe that residential care for older South Australians must prioritise quality of care, not profits. Furthermore, the aged-care system should be underpinned by transparency and accountability at every level. Many of the measures contained within the bill respond to recommendations made by an independent review conducted by PEG Consulting in 2021, which serve to strengthen the Retirement Villages Act.
Whilst the bill goes some way in increasing consumer protections for residents, improved rights for residents and transparency of disclosure documents and contracts, the Greens believe that the bill could go further. The Greens have filed a number of amendments to strengthen this bill.
The first amendment ensures that residents are not required to undo any approved changes to their units upon their exit. These include removing or replacing fixtures and fittings, specifically functional or personal aids such as handrails that might have been added as an approved alteration by the operator. I had an advocacy group who came and met with me earlier this year and flagged this issue with me. It was not something that I was aware of previously, but it does seem curious that when someone vacates a property they are required to remove any alterations they have made to a property in one of these villages, even if the alterations have been approved by the village. They might have to undergo the removal and restoration work at significant cost.
One of the examples that was provided to me was someone having solar panels installed on their property and then being required to remove them at the point of sale, or someone having handrails installed in their property and having to remove them at the point of sale, even though these alterations have been approved by the village operators. That seems a bizarre state of affairs to me. The Greens' amendment seeks to address that. Leaving functional aids in place will save on resources, money and potentially time of the SACAT in dealing with disputes over both installations and removals.
The second amendment seeks to prevent operators from charging advertisements and marketing fees upon exit. Again, these are add-on costs that people may not always be familiar with when they are signing on to a contract, and it significantly hikes up the cost for someone when they are selling their property. At present, many operators charge a remarketing cost of 2.5 per cent of the sale price, plus a 10 per cent GST. Residents should not have to bear this cost given it is not theirs and the property is no longer occupied. This does not occur with tenants within rental properties, for instance, or on the open market. Why should those who are living in retirement villages be subject to different rules?
The third amendment that the Greens are moving ensures that all of the proposed changes in the bill apply to existing residents, including those under contract, rather than just future residents. I understand this will be the most controversial of the Greens' amendments, but it would ensure that these protections that the government is seeking to impose today apply to all of these retirement village residents. There are roughly 26,000 residents who are already living in retirement villages across South Australia. They will be excluded from the improved conditions in the government's bill because the bill will not take effect retrospectively. It does seem unfair to see those South Australians being left out of the bill, and not to get the protections that they deserve.
I also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the many constituents who have reached out to my office on this bill, including representatives of the South Australian Retirement Villages Residents Association (SARVRA). I also acknowledge the work of the minister and his office. I know that this is a topic that he is passionate about, and has been working on for some time, and I know that these reforms will be welcomed by people living in retirement villages across the state. I will make it clear that the Greens, obviously, will be advancing our amendments, but in the event that the amendments are not successful, we will still, of course, support the government bill.