Retirement Village Amendment Bill NSW Passed – What Does It Mean?

On 4 December 2008, the two Houses of Parliament in New South Wales finally passed the long awaited Retirement Village Amendment Bill NSW (the Bill). The Bill was assented to on 10 December 2008 and is awaiting proclamation for the provisions to commence. Given the nature of the Bill, it is anticipated that proclamation may await promulgation of supporting Regulations, but the Bill could work now, even without those Regulations being finalised.

The final form of the Bill contains provisions that differ from the Bill originally presented to Parliament in June (the June Bill ), and these more recent changes are important for operators to understand.

As we mentioned in our June 2008 update , when the June Bill was first tabled, many provisions of the Bill were similar to the exposure draft released in November 2006, and the Bill contains a number of refinements that operators need to be aware of and consider. The changes will affect financiers lending to the