People are faced with many decisions as they age. One of the most challenging decisions can be those related to where to live. Moving to a retirement village or manufactured home park are two of the options that are available. These decisions are quite complex and require significant knowledge of the relevant legislation, as well as the implications for their future health and financial well-being.
COTA Queensland was contracted by the Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works together with 4 other organisations to provide a community education and referral program. The purpose of the Right Where You Live education program was to ensure that older Queenslanders had access to the details of The Housing Legislation (Building Better Futures) Amendment Act (2017), which had amended 5 previous housing related Acts including the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003 and the Retirement Villages Act of 1999.
A total of 70 information sessions about retirement living options was held in 2018-19, reaching 2036 attendees. The sessions were run by 12 specially trained peer educators around the state, including in Toowoomba, Wide Bay, Mackay, Townsville, and Cairns together with sessions in South East Queensland. Presentations were also made by the other partner organisations to a range of groups and individuals across the State.
The sessions used a range of resources to support people to think through the changes to the legislation and how it affects their rights and their decision making. Some of there were developed specifically for this education program. These are available for you to download and use for free on our website.
Looking for more information and specific resources for different retirement living options? Visit the Right Where You Live website.
Do you have a specific issue or legal question? The Queensland Retirement Village and Park Advice Service (formerly PAVIL) is a specialist service providing free information and legal assistance for residents and prospective residents of retirement villages and manufactured home parks in Queensland. Visit the QRVPAS website.
Download the summary infographic here. Access the Better Rights for Retirement booklet here.
