Page 3073 - Week 10 - Thursday, 15 September 1994

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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

QUESTION NO 1348

Retirement Village Industry - Code of Practice

Mr CORNWELL - Asked the Attorney General upon notice on 23 August 1994

In relation to Recommendation 11 of the Report No. 2 (Aged Accommodation and Support Services in the ACT) of the Standing Committee on Social Policy, namely that the retirement village industry draw up its own self-regulatory code and if the code is not forthcoming within a reasonable time frame, the Government consider legislation -

(1) What has happened in respect of this recommendation.

(2) Is the Government considering such legislation, given that the report was brought down in December 1992.

Mr CONNOLLY - The answer to the members question is as follows:

(1), Following the recommendation by the Standing Committee on

Social Policy, the Aged Services Association of NSW and the ACT

Inc have recently submitted to the Government a copy of their draft

ACT code of practice for the retirement village industry.

This code is closely modelled on the current NSW code of practice for the industry. However, I am advised that there are a number of major departures between the NSW code and the draft ACT code including the following:

• the drafting of the ACT code is incomplete. The draft still has a number of "blank" spaces left in it, apparently to be filled in at a later stage.

• the NSW code is complimented in that State by the Retirement Villages Act and the disputes arising out of the code are able to be heard in the Commercial Tribunal; and

• the NSW code is a mandatory code approved under the

NSW Fair Trading Act (1987) NSW.

2. Yes, having regard to the problems identified in the draft self

regulatory code as presented by the industry I have asked the Director

of Consumer Affairs to prepare a Code of Practice applicable to the

retirement village industry. This code will be a mandatory code

established under the Fair Trading Act 1992.

3073


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