This article applies to organisations that operate retirement villages in New South Wales. 

Retirement Villages Regulation 2025 (NSW)

On 1 September 2025, the Retirement Villages Regulation 2025 (NSW) (the Amending Regulation) commenced and replaced the Retirement Villages Regulation 2017 (NSW) (the Regulation).

What’s changed?

The key changes made by the Amending Regulations require operators of retirement villages to:

• prepare an annual capital maintenance report instead of a three-year report;
• update asset registers to record the remaining effective life of items, with updates required within 21 days;
• provide revised Asset Management Plans if maintenance costs increase by 25% or more above the originally estimated cost; and
• disclose additional premises details in the annual capital maintenance report, alongside a clarified and narrowed list of required disclosure documents focused on those most relevant to prospective residents.

Further changes include the reinstated requirement to include the average resident comparison figure in disclosure statements, now calculated using a prescribed formula, as well as a new mandated form for the General Enquiry Document and the Disclosure Statement. Finally, there are updates to operator conduct rules, including both minor clarifications and new offence provisions.

Further Information

Annual Capital Maintenance Reports

Pursuant to section 98 of the Retirement Villages Act 1999 (NSW) (the Act) and regulation 26 of the Amending Regulation, an operator who proposes to apply any recurrent charges or any portion of the capital works fund to fund capital maintenance must submit an annual capital maintenance report together with the proposed budget, thereby replacing the previous three-year report. The report must be based on the asset management plan prepared in accordance with regulation 35 of the Amending Regulation and must include, for each major capital item, proposed maintenance dates during the budget year, the amount of funds held in the capital works fund, and a summary of planned maintenance for the subsequent three years with estimated costs. In accordance with section 98 of the Act, the report must enumerate each item of capital maintenance proposed, specify the expected cost, include any quotations obtained, and provide for urgent capital maintenance. The report must also identify major capital items with one year or less of remaining effective life, or, in the case of non-building items, where accumulated maintenance costs have reached or exceeded 90% of the purchase price, and state whether the operator intends to replace or continue maintaining such items.

Asset Registers

Regulation 37 of the Amending Regulation continues to require operators to maintain an asset register recording all major items of capital for the retirement village with some changes. Operators are now required to record a brief description of the item, the purchase price, the date of purchase, the remaining effective life, the asset identification number, and, for any shared item of capital, the name of each other retirement village or aged care facility that also uses the item. The previous requirement to record the brand and model of each item, and its serial number, has been removed, with the inclusion of these details now optional. This change is intended to reduce the administrative burden associated with maintaining the asset register. The register must continue to be reviewed and updated regularly, with new major items recorded within 21 days of purchase.

Asset Management Plans

Regulation 36 of the Amending Regulation requires operators to revise the asset management plan if, during the term of the plan, they become aware that the total cost of capital maintenance for all major items, including shared assets, is likely to increase by 25% or more above the original estimate (excluding inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index). If this occurs, operators must promptly update the capital maintenance cost estimates, notify residents that the revised plan is available for inspection at the village or a nominated business location in NSW, and attach the required notice to the plan. The notice must list the items with increased costs, provide both original and revised estimates, and explain the reasons for the changes.

Access to Documents

Section 20(1)(k) of the Retirement Villages Act 1999 (NSW) requires operators to make certain documents available to prospective residents, with regulation 13 of the Amending Regulation expanding and clarifying these obligations. Operators must now provide documents including court or tribunal decisions involving the operator or the Residents Committee within the past five years; any waiting list policies where fees are charged; constitutional and governance documents for villages established under company title, community land or strata schemes; the insurance policies required under section 100 of the Act; the most recent capital maintenance report; and detailed information for each currently available residential premises in the village, such as the listed price, size in square metres and number of bedrooms.

Under the Regulation, the General Enquiry Document and Disclosure Statement were required to be in the form and contain the information prescribed in the schedules to the Regulation. Regulation 11 of the Amending Regulation now provides that these documents must be in the form published in Government Gazette No. 315 of 1 August 2025. In addition, the General Enquiry Document must include a copy of the village rules and the NSW Fair Trading information sheet titled “Moving into a retirement village?”.

Disclosure Statements

Regulation 12 of the Amending Regulation prescribes new requirements for disclosure statements under section 18(3A) of the Act. The Disclosure Statement must provide specific details of the residential premises, including fees and charges payable by the resident; it must be signed and dated by the retirement village operator, and include the average resident comparison figure (ARCF) and a copy of the village rules. The ARCF is calculated using a new formula based on total recurrent charges over 84 months, the departure fee, and any capital gain payable after 84 months. If future values such as entry payments or property prices require estimation, they must be adjusted using the 10-year average annual change in the relevant Australian Bureau of Statistics property price index for NSW.

Conduct Rules and annual management meetings

The Amending Regulation includes important updates to the conduct rules set out in Schedule 9. These include enhanced duties regarding elder abuse prevention, new requirements for marketing materials, and clarifications on village management responsibilities. Several regulations in Schedule 9 are now offence provisions, including regulations 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, and 29.

In addition, Regulation 21 of the Amending Regulation updates the agenda requirements for annual management meetings under section 72A(6) of the Act. The revised agenda now expressly requires discussion of matters such as the village’s future plans, management arrangements and safety issues (including security and fire safety systems).

What you should do

Organisations should update their internal processes and systems to incorporate the new obligations outlined in this Training Brochure. All relevant staff should be made aware of these changes to ensure compliance, particularly those responsible for preparing budgets and capital maintenance reports, maintaining asset registers, and managing resident disclosures and documentation.