NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business / Companies / Aged care

Chief welcomes cleanup of 'complicated' retirement village contracts, slow change a worry

Anne Gibson
By Anne Gibson
Property Editor·NZ Herald·
28 Jul, 2019 08:09 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Troy Churton of the commission, concerned about time change could take. Photo / supplied

Troy Churton of the commission, concerned about time change could take. Photo / supplied

Retirement village operators have vowed to clean up their act on what a Government entity this month called "complicated" contracts but the slow speed of change remains a concern.

Troy Churton, Commission For Financial Capability retirement villages national manager, said he was encouraged by responses after he raised concerns about contracts so difficult that not even some lawyers could understand them.

The commission is worried about lack of clarity over village owner/operators marketing the independent living part of a village and the care facility.

READ MORE:
• Govt agency hits out at 'confusing' retirement village contracts, saying not even lawyers can understand them
• 'I would invest in Ryman, but not live there': board responds to shareholder questions at AGM
• Retirement boom: Ryman reveals plans for 20 new villages in 'record' expansion

But those two aspects operate under different regulatory regimes and different cost structures, Churton said: the independent living side is regulated by the Retirement Villages Act and monitored by the Retirement Commissioner but the hospitals in villages are under district health boards and monitored by the Health & Disability Commissioner.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Churton said a call this month for owner/operators to make that distinction clearer had met with a good response.

Retirement Villages Association executive director John Collyns had indicated his membership body had a working party looking at a response for its members to help improve front-end disclosure, Churton said.

He was pleased the association was looking at a new membership tool to improve the information for new residents, he said but he still has concerns about how long it might take.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It is important to the commission that we don't suspend actions that should bind all operators, including non-association operators, and benefit all residents. Regardless of whether the association produces a disclosure tool to us for feedback soon or not, it may take time for the use of that tool to become a mandatory association membership requirement," Churton said.

Troy Churton of the commission, concerned about time change could take. Photo / supplied
Troy Churton of the commission, concerned about time change could take. Photo / supplied

A few years ago, the commission suggested a template creating a one-page disclosure summary document highlighting key terms of all the documents that had financial implications. The association developed it and the commission provided feedback to ensure certain terms were referenced.

After an agreed summary sheet was made, the commission told the association to make it mandatory for its members but Churton said nothing happened.

"We have continued to ask when that will happen over the last two years. At the 2019 association conference and AGM, we were told once again the summary sheet's mandatory use will become a membership rule soon," he said.

Discover more

Aged care

Retirement boom: Ryman reveals plans for 20 new villages

24 Jul 10:35 PM
Business

Ryman won't rush into strong opportunity on Australia's eastern seaboard - CEO

25 Jul 01:41 AM
Aged care

'I would invest in Ryman, but not live there' - shareholder on nurse comments

26 Jul 05:58 AM

Around eight to 10 per cent of villages are not in the association, so the commission needs to consider making any disclosure improvements part of the regulatory framework for all operators, perhaps by a variation to the code of practice, he said.

On simplifying contracts about hospital care, Churton said some operators of big village companies agreed it was important to provide information about a resident's potential transition into care at the front end.

"They are making greater effort to provide more information about the aged care they offer," Churton said.

One chief of a village with a hospital in Northland had praised the commissions' work in bringing the issues to the forefront of the industry and public attention, he said.

Earlier this month, when the commission sought clearer contracts, association president Graham Wilkinson defended the sector and indicated the hospital aspect was not something some people wanted to think about when moving into villages.

"Contracts are clear. The owner-operators have done absolutely nothing wrong," Wilkinson said in response to the CFFC criticism of the sector.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"But when people move into villages, they know they might have future vulnerabilities and that there is a continuum of care available, should they need it. But they don't necessarily all want to know the details of that. The focus is not on that aspect when they move in," Wilkinson said in early July.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Aged care

Aged care

$336m Eastcliffe retirement village planned at Ōrākei, East Auckland

Premium
Property

Most of Ōrākei retirement village to be demolished, new $336m village to rise

24 Jun 05:00 PM
Premium
Property

'Significant reset': Ryman CEO Naomi James on latest year

28 May 11:18 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Aged care

$336m Eastcliffe retirement village planned at Ōrākei, East Auckland

$336m Eastcliffe retirement village planned at Ōrākei, East Auckland

Rebuild will demolish all but one building and create $336m village called The Point Mission Bay. Video / Eastcliffe

Premium
Most of Ōrākei retirement village to be demolished, new $336m village to rise

Most of Ōrākei retirement village to be demolished, new $336m village to rise

24 Jun 05:00 PM
Premium
'Significant reset': Ryman CEO Naomi James on latest year

'Significant reset': Ryman CEO Naomi James on latest year

28 May 11:18 PM
Premium
'Real stress': Labour MP Ingrid Leary on retirement village payouts

'Real stress': Labour MP Ingrid Leary on retirement village payouts

28 May 01:00 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP