It will be no secret that the Covid situation is frustrating our ability to visit you and explain our advancements to a large group of members at any singular time.

To get over this hurdle, we are moving with the times to produce an electronic update which, when you receive it, we would ask you to share it with your fellow villagers that are not electronically connected.

We have been asked by the appropriate Parliamentary committee to direct them on the background and rationale of our very successful petition covering mandated buybacks and a full legislative review. Regarding the later, the Minister (Hon. Poto Williams) has instructed her officials to work with the RVR this year on the initial work leading to a review of the legislation.

More news to follow shortly. Until then, all the best.

Peter Carr, National President.

Printed Newsletter, Covid and Consultation
We trust you received your own copy of the Members Newsletter – December 2021 (our thanks to those contacts that delivered them). If not, please let us know and we will locate the parcel or send out another one.

On the inside cover we included an article about Covid and Consultation. It appears it generated some discussion which has resulted in several residents filing formal complaints with their operator. The key point is that where an operator has allegedly not followed due process and consulted residents, then they may be in breach of their obligations under the Code of Practice and Code of Residents Rights.

We will be interested to hear how these complaints are resolved, and report on any precedents.

CONFIDENTIAL Advice…

Statistics show that for everyone 1 person that has a concern and makes a complaint there are another 25 people that have concerns – but won’t complain. To help members, the RVR’s 0800 number has been upgraded to help you with any confidential or local advice… and it’s FREE. Phone 0800 787 699.

Retirement Commissions 2022 Projects

The Retirement Commission have hired a contractor to assist with specific Retirement Villages projects in the first half of 2022. Peter Carr and Nigel Matthews had the opportunity to meet Sara via an online meeting last week.

Following feedback received from the White Paper, Sara will be focusing on understanding the various options proposed as improvements to the current Retirement Villages complaints and disputes resolution process, and “how these align to the newly released Aotearoa Best Practice Disputes Resolution Framework (developed by the Government Centre for Disputes Resolution)”. The Retirement Commission stated that it “intends to hold a stakeholder workshop in May (inviting specific stakeholders involved in the Complaints and Disputes process) to discuss options for improvements. This workshop will consider work undertaken by the RVA and RVR to improve the current complaints process, and identify what can be achieved in the existing framework, what aspects may require code changes, and which aspects will require legislative changes”.

The Retirement Commission will also be investigating the feasibility of introducing a standardised Occupation Right Agreement (ORA). As there are a range of views from stakeholders as to whether a standardised ORA would be beneficial or not, the intention of the project will be to have discussions with various stakeholders to understand the pros and cons of standardisation, and investigate what parts, if any, of the ORAs might be standardised versus what needs to remain customised.

The RVR’s position on both of these matters is covered in our Framework for Fairness document. We look forward to contributing further and we will keep you updated on both projects.

NB. The latest Complaints Summary report for the period 1 April 2021 – 30 September 2021 has been published on the Commissions website, and available here: Monitoring and reports | Retirement Commission Te Ara Ahunga Ora.

PETITION – Next steps…

We have now heard from the Government that the Petitions Committee has agreed to refer our petition to the Social Services and Community Committee for it’s consideration. A further submission will then be presented to support the 12,485 signatures already supplied.

2022 RVR Workshops / Seminars…

We had hoped to have some dates for you, however the recent ‘Red Light’ change has postponed that. Currently an online webinar / forum is being explored for March. We will come back to you with an update shortly.

Does you village have a ‘Sinking Fund’?

We are wanting to explore the financials of villages to see what they are doing with their sinking funds. This is where money is put aside specifically for long term maintenance. If your village has one of these, then please let us know. It will be listed in you Disclosure statement or on your Summary of Key Terms form. Also, we still need a copy of most villages ‘Summary of Key Terms’. This was mandated in 2020 by the RVA (operators assoc.), as part of membership. Any residents moving in post April 2020 should have received a copy with their ORA and Disclosure Statement. If you could please take a photo or scan it and send it through to [email protected].

Membership Renewals…

A Renewal Email will be sent out in March/April. Renewal of existing member subscriptions are then processed from the 1st April 2022. Please note – If you send a payment before that it will be receipted and acknowledged on or after 1st April.

If you can wait to receive the renewal notice before paying, that would greatly help us with reconciling payments.

Hopefully, most of you have received your cards. If not, please ask your local RVRANZ village contact. Any questions, please email [email protected].

REMEMBER – Your membership is VITAL for improving village legislation and giving residents a voice and peace of mind. Thanks for being part of a nationwide organisation making a difference for retirement village residents.

Opinion Pieces…

Late last year we explained we were looking for some people who would like to dust-off their writing skills and submit some opinion pieces. Thank you to those that have written in. A shortlist has been forwarded to our communications company. If you would like to be involved, please send a village related article to : [email protected].

 

 

 

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