Redevelopment plans for retirement villages

As a retirement village operator, if you are proposing to redevelop a village while it's operating, you must prepare a redevelopment plan. The plan should provide a clear, orderly and fair process for the redevelopment.

A redevelopment plan must be prepared for redevelopments that include:

• the construction or demolition of an accommodation unit
• the construction, demolition, expansion or reduction of a building or structure in the village
• the expansion or reduction of the retirement village
• the expansion or reduction in retirement village greenspace or parklands
• a change in the use of a building or structure located in the retirement village.

A redevelopment plan is not needed if:

• changes are minor (e.g. construction or demolition of a shed)
• residents were given written notice of the redevelopment before they became a resident in any of the following documents:
  • Residence contract
  • Village comparison document (VCD)
  • Prospective costs document (PCD)
  • Village by-laws
  • Public information document.

Content of a redevelopment plan

A redevelopment plan (Form 9) (DOCX, 396KB) must include details of:

• time frames of the proposed redevelopment
• the status of any local government approvals
• any prior notifications to residents about the proposed or similar redevelopment
• consultation with residents in preparing the plan, during the redevelopment process and for any proposed revisions to the plan
• how the redevelopment will impact the amenity, value and quiet enjoyment of residents, how their units may be affected, and how these impacts will be managed
• how general services will be impacted
• fees and charges that will be impacted and how these impacts will be managed
• whether residents will be relocated during the redevelopment and the process for doing so
• any compensation residents may receive as a result of the redevelopment.

Approval process for redevelopment plans

If you propose to redevelop a retirement village, you must:

• give each resident in the retirement village a copy of the proposed redevelopment plan
• issue a residents meeting notice (Form 9A) (PDF, 96KB) proposing a date and time for the residents meeting to vote on the proposed redevelopment plan.

If the redevelopment plan is not approved by the residents' vote at the meeting, you may apply to the chief executive to approve the plan.

Before making a decision, the chief executive will write to each resident of the retirement village to tell them how they can make submissions on the proposed redevelopment plan.

The chief executive may also request additional information from the operator or direct the operator to revise the proposed redevelopment plan. Use the chief executive information document (Form 10) (PDF, 89KB) to provide additional information.

If you want to revise an approved plan, you must make an application to the chief executive. Revisions to the plan will only be approved if the chief executive is satisfied that the revised redevelopment plan provides a clear, orderly and fair process for the running redevelopment of a retirement village.

If the chief executive approves the proposed redevelopment plan, or a revision to an approved redevelopment plan, each resident in the retirement village will receive a Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) information notice for the decision.

A scheme operator may also discontinue a running redevelopment by providing a notice of discontinuation (Form 9B) (PDF, 81KB) to the chief executive and each resident in the retirement village.

Your responsibilities

As an operator, you should:

• ensure the proposed redevelopment process is clear, orderly and fair
• provide residents with the opportunity to vote on the redevelopment plan—this may be done in person, by proxy, or by postal vote
• allow residents to clarify any matters in the redevelopment plan that they do not understand (you may wish to consider holding a 'question and answer' session)
• encourage residents to seek independent legal advice about their rights and obligations under the Act and how the proposed redevelopment may affect them
• note and consider your rights to apply to QCAT to appeal the chief executive's decision to give you a direction to revise the plan.

You are responsible for implementing an approved redevelopment plan. Penalties may apply under the Act.