Making the decision to move to a retirement village takes a lot of consideration. Not only do you have to factor in cost, location and services, but you need to know that you are moving to a reputable facility. A new industry-led accreditation scheme provides confirmation and confidence that the village you choose is meeting a high set of standards.
The Retirement Living Council, an arm of Property Council Australia, has recently announced a new development in the industry, the Lifemark Village Scheme. Designed to protect consumers the scheme also assists village owners and operators to be more accountable and responsive. It is not compulsory for retirement villages to join, however industry feedback and potential marketing opportunities have seen villages line up for the Lifemark seal of approval.
Executive Director of the Retirement Living Council, Mary Wood, said the accreditation scheme has been developed with village owners and operators, alongside professional certifiers, to include an operational standard of governance that is high. “It measures the most important aspects of village life including services, respect of dignity and safety,” she adds. “Lifemark goes well beyond an operator’s legal obligations. “It recognises that consumers and government expect human services industries to have high operational standards.”
More than 175,000 Australians live in more than 1900 retirement villages throughout Australia. As the industry is governed by state legislation, it has taken great effort to develop a scheme with a national focus.
“A major feature of the Lifemark Village Scheme is the complete independence of professional, external survey teams that assess villages,” Ms Woods says. “In the past the RVA used the services of both paid and volunteer surveyors and committee members to assess the operating capabilities of villages against the industry standards. “While this has served the industry well for a long time, modern governance standards require a fresh model.”
The Lifemark Village Scheme will be run by one of Australia’s largest auditing organisations BSI Australia. Matthew Day, BSI Australia’s general manager marketing and consumer insight, says “We are very excited about being involved in the Lifemark Scheme. “Accreditation to Lifemark helps increase transparency for residents and to drive improvements in retirement village operations in a cost effective manner.”
Industry representatives are quick to agree. Nieves Murray, Chief Executive of IRT, which has 35 retirement lifestyle villages in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, was quick to support the scheme.
“For us, it’s about giving consumers a level of comfort that the village they are looking at purchasing has a basic level of compliance with systems and processes and assures them they are going into a reputable place.
“The feedback we get is that consumers are pleased the industry is going down the path of accreditation. “Research shows 97 per cent of people living in retirement villages absolutely love it and wish they’d made the decision earlier. “For them, it’s showcasing that they have made the right decision and they are living in a place with a good system of governance and focussed on their quality of life.”
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF IRT
Ms Murray says potential retirement village buyers should be asking about accreditation when selecting where they will invest their money and lifestyle. “At the end of the day, it’s their hard-earned savings they are investing and knowing the place they are choosing is accredited will give them a sense of confidence that they are making the right decision.”
As well as providing peace of mind when purchasing a retirement village, residents can be assured that the Lifemark accreditation scheme has a set of 26 standards which are geared towards continual improvement. The accreditation process is ongoing with 18 month on-site surveillance checks, which are the most rigorous for any industry association. Operators with two or more sites will be audited by a multi-site sampling system.
“Consumers and governments are increasingly placing pressure on all human service industries to ensure operational and governance standards are high and transparent,” Ms Woods explains. “The value of high standards is well accepted by our industry, which has always had a strong commitment to excellence.
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