Focus Industry

Retirement Villages and Aged Care

Summary

Retirement villages and aged care facilities are more than just places to live. They are communities that offer a range of services and support to enhance the quality of life and wellbeing of their residents. However, they also operate in a highly specialised and regulated sector that faces its own unique opportunities and challenges.

If you are involved in the retirement village sector, you need legal advice from experts who understand the intricacies and complexities of this field. That's where we come in. We are the largest specialist retirement village law practice in New Zealand, with over 30 years of experience and a proven track record of delivering results. We work with over half of New Zealand's registered retirement villages and associated aged care facilities, providing them with comprehensive and tailored solutions for their legal needs.

Key services

Retirement village development and registration

We assist clients with the development and registration of new retirement villages, from initial feasibility studies and due diligence to obtaining statutory supervisor approval and issuing disclosure statements. We also advise on all aspects of property and finance transactions, including land acquisition, subdivision, construction contracts, and funding arrangements.

Aged care

Our thorough knowledge of the certification, funding and operation of aged care facilities means we are well placed to advise on age care, particularly its interplay with retirement villages such as Occupation Right Agreements (ORAs) for care suites. We also assist our clients to review and update their admission agreement templates to ensure legal compliance and best practice.

Retirement village compliance and operational services

We help clients comply with the regulatory framework governing retirement villages and aged care facilities, including the Retirement Villages Act 2003. We also provide ongoing support for operational matters, such as resident documentation and settlements, annual returns and update of documents, complaints and disputes resolution, employment and health and safety issues, and mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures. Our plain language approach to drafting enables us to provide modern and concise village documents.

Healthcare

Advising clients on various aspects of healthcare law, especially in the context of aged care and retirement villages. We can assist you with issues such as capacity assessments, health information privacy, health policy and regulation, the Code of Health and Disability Consumers' Rights, the End of Life Choice Act 2019, complaints to the Health and Disability Commission and coronial inquests. We assist clients on understanding the obligations under the latest regulations and standards, ensuring that their policies are compliant.

Villageinfonet and RV settlements

We offer a comprehensive service for retirement village operators, covering all aspects of resident entries and exits. Our settlements team uses our own innovative software, Villageinfonet (VIN), which allows our clients to access real-time information, records and documents for each transaction. VIN is a proven technology that simplifies and streamlines the settlement process, with features such as automated email notifications, customisable reporting and secure storage of key resident documents. Whether you need full-service or self-service options, we can tailor VIN to suit your needs and budget. Contact villageinfonet@ah.co.nz for more information.

Key people

Work Highlights

Acting for a range of operators, from large groups to small not-for-profit entities to trustee companies, in their role as statutory supervisors of retirement villages.
Advising on sales and acquisitions of retirement villages and aged care facilities, recently including the sale of Oceania Healthcare's Everil Orr retirement village business, and the sale of four separate retirement and aged care businesses for Merivale-Willowlea Holdings Limited.
Advising on complaints and dispute resolution, including attending dispute panel hearings.
Advising on retirement village financing, and statutory supervisor security sharing arrangements.
Advising retirement village operators on the introduction of care suites in existing retirement villages.
Acting on the managed exit of a resident causing distress to other residents and posing a safety risk to a vulnerable resident.
Advising on a care centre resident with impaired cognitive function wanting to self-discharge from care, to protect client from potential liability.
Advised one of NZ's largest specialist medical services providers on its nationwide leasing matters.

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