Page 3266 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 22 August 2012

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Question put:

That Ms Gallagher’s amendment be agreed to.

The Assembly voted—

Ayes 11

Noes 6

Mr Barr

Mr Hargreaves

Mr Coe

Mr Smyth

Dr Bourke

Ms Hunter

Mr Doszpot

Ms Bresnan

Ms Le Couteur

Mrs Dunne

Ms Burch

Ms Porter

Mr Hanson

Mr Corbell

Mr Rattenbury

Mr Seselja

Ms Gallagher

Question so resolved in the affirmative.

Motion, as amended, agreed to.

Retirement Villages Bill 2012

Debate resumed from 6 June 2012, on motion by Ms Porter:

That this bill be agreed to in principle.

MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development) (9.06): The government is pleased to support Ms Porter’s Retirement Villages Bill 2012. Before I make my detailed comments on this bill, I congratulate Ms Porter on her dedication and her commitment to improving the protection of consumers in the retirement village industry. Thank you, and congratulations to Ms Porter.

This bill is based on the New South Wales Retirement Villages Act 1999, and it will replace the existing retirement villages industry code of practice, which is a mandatory code under the Fair Trading (Australian Consumer Law) Act 1992. To be clear, neither the existing code nor this bill regulates aged care facilities or parts of retirement villages that provide aged care facilities. These are regulated by the Commonwealth Aged Care Act 1997. The existing code and this bill only regulate independent living units in retirement villages.

There are 28 retirement villages in the ACT, housing up to 1,600 independent living units. Some villages are operated for profit while others are run by not-for-profit organisations. This is an important industry for the ACT, as it provides not only a long-term housing option for older Canberrans, but also a lifestyle option that many older residents prefer. Aside from the social aspects of retirement village living, residents are able to enjoy both the benefits of independent living and the security and services offered by the villages.

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