Uniting NSW/ACT says independent living residents may have to pay Fair Work Commission Stage 3 wage rise

At the beginning of the month, the NSW Retirement Village Residents Association (RVRA) told The Weekly SOURCE that the soaring cost of living and the retirement living operators’ need to cover insurance price hikes and increase the wages of staff was causing major concerns for residents around forthcoming annual budgets.

Not For Profit Uniting NSW.ACT said the recently announced increase to aged care workers award wages, will not affect their day to day or annual costs, stating the pay rises only occur in staff in residential aged care and home care services at this time.

“We don’t anticipate any flow on effects for our Independent Living residents until stage three of the Fair Work process is settled, as this is expected to increase the wages of other staff such as those who work in administrative roles or maintenance,” said a Uniting NSW.ACT spokeswoman.

“In terms of expenses, Independent Living residents are responsible for their own individual costs (such as electricity usage in their unit) and given that they are experiencing the same high inflationary environment as everyone else right now, this will affect their ongoing costs, such as electricity, gas and water.

“Independent Living residents also contribute to shared costs for their village (similar to the shared strata costs in units, which include things like gardening and some maintenance) but these are strictly controlled and legislated for under the Retirement Villages Act, and providers can’t just do what they like when it comes to the village budget. 

“Uniting 23/24 Financial Year budgets are monitored closely with monthly financial commentary required by all Village & Area Managers. With the cost of living on the rise and aged care workers wage discussions in play, we will continue to prioritise financial transparency and consultation with residents to communicate and prepare for 24/25 FY potential budget and recurrent charge increases.

Under the Retirement Villages Act, there is a process for any changes to the village budget which requires a meeting (where the budget for the year is proposed and considered by residents) and then a vote (which requires resident consent) for year-on-year changes (unless it’s the same as last year, or within CPI). 

Residents will only get charged what was agreed – and if the costs blow out or are over that figure, the provider must cover the difference.

“At Uniting we sit down regularly with our residents, and certainly as part of the budget process, so we can discuss in advance any changes we need to propose towards shared costs and to get their consent,” said the spokeswoman. 

“When costs do go up, it does not necessarily mean an automatic fee increase. We will always try to explore other ways of finding efficiencies, such as cutting the lawns less regularly or trimming other forms of non-essential maintenance, so we can arrive at a solution that works for everyone and won’t break the bank.”