Retirement Village Code of Conduct

Retirement village code of conduct

Keyton is a proud signatory to the Retirement Living Code of Conduct. Signatories to the Code represent a pool of operators that have proven they are extremely dedicated to providing residents with the best possible experience. As a Foundation Member, Keyton is dedicated to complying with the Code’s commitments, values, and principles.

What is the retirement living code of conduct?

The code aims to improve standards across the industry and promotes and protects the interests of current and future residents.

It has been developed by retirement living operators, working with residents, and endorsed by the Property Council of Australia and Leading Age Services Australia (LASA).

The Code covers all aspects of a residents’ experience in a retirement village: from signing the contract and moving into a retirement village, the on-site living experience, to leaving a village and re-selling the unit or apartment.

As a signatory we are committed to setting and maintaining high standards and attaining high resident satisfaction in our retirement villages.

Banner showing the standards covered by the retirement living code of conduct

Frequently asked questions

How does the code work?

The Code of Conduct is a voluntary industry code with independent governance where:

• Operators conduct a self-assessment of their retirement community against the provisions of the Code.

• If they satisfy the provisions, they can formally sign up to the Code (becoming a ‘Code signatory’) which commits them to upholding the Code of Conduct.

• All Code signatories are listed on a publicly available register at www.awisemove.com.au, where members of the public and operators can search for communities that are signatories to the Code and find out how to access a formal complaints management process with referrals to independent dispute resolution services where required.

• An independent Code Administrator and Code Review Panel have oversight of the Code of Conduct. This includes managing the public register, the complaints and breach process, and undertaking compliance audits and investigations.

Does the Code conduct equal accreditation?

The Code of Conduct and the recently introduced Australian Retirement Village Accreditation Scheme (ARVAS) both promote high standards in the retirement sector, but they have important differences. The Code of Conduct is a self-assessment against standards, whereas ARVAS accreditation is an independent, third-party assessment of business processes against standards, including adherence to the Code of Conduct. Operators who are a signatory to the Code of Conduct can pursue ARVAS accreditation but being a signatory to the Code of Conduct does not automatically mean a community has formal accreditation.

What are the benefits for retirement communities?

Retirement community operators who sign up to the Code of Conduct will be listed on www.awisemove.com.au as a signatory, enabling current and prospective residents to easily identify them when making their decision to move to a community.

Signatories can also use the Retirement Living Code of Conduct seal in their marketing materials and within their communities, to acknowledge their commitment to the Code’s standards.

The Code provides a complaint management framework, including an independent dispute resolution service, to assist the speedy and cost-effective resolution of complaints where possible.

Code signatories will have developed consistent and transparent complaints and dispute management systems that have the support of the Code and its framework.

What are the benefits for residents?

Members of the public will be able to see if their retirement community, a community they are considering moving into, or the community of a family member or friend, is signed up to the Code at www.awisemove.com.au.

Individuals have the assurance of knowing there is a formal complaints management service – with the option to remain anonymous – and escalation to an appropriate independent dispute resolution service where required.

Many Code signatories will be working towards ARVAS accreditation, which promotes an even higher standard of operations in retirement communities.

Retirement Living Code of Conduct

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To see the full code of conduct, please click here.

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