28 September 2006

Rules Protect Village People

New Zealand First is pleased with the new set of rules applying to retirement villages, saying that they provide a level of protection that was previously lacking.

“Under the new rules, announced by the Building Issues Minister, retirement villages will have to comply with a number of regulations such as registration, a disputes resolution service and a code of practice, to ensure that residents are secure and not exploited,” said Housing spokesperson Pita Paraone.

“It was recognised some time ago that some practices in the previously unmonitored industry were less than ethical, and that the licence and fee structures in some villages were weighted in favour of the operators.

“The new rules, which do not apply to rest homes, set in place processes for dealing with disputes over fees, contracts and services.

“New Zealand First has long championed the cause of protecting the interests of the elderly, and this initiative will give some comfort to retirement village residents, who have better things to do than worry about whether they’re getting ripped off.

“What is needed now is an adequate Government response to the crisis in the aged care sector, starting with adequate pay levels for caregivers.

"The aged-care sector has been chronically underfunded for 10 to 15 years. It needs more resources put into it, and it needs those resources now," said Mr Paraone.

ENDS

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