Complaint and Dispute Resolution Benetas Retirement Living

Our Policy

This policy applies in relation to resolution of disputes between:

1. A resident and the operator; or
2. A resident and another resident.

This policy represents our Retirement Living portfolio; we also provide individual retirement village policies with contact details specific to that village.

We invite residents to make comments or complaints in relation to the services or accommodation at the Village. We suggest that if you have a comment or complaint about the Village or about another resident, that you notify us in the manner set out below.

We encourage residents to use the on-site complaint/dispute process in order to establish communication between the parties and to actively resolve the complaint/dispute without mediation or court action.

We agree to handle your comment or complaint in the strictest confidence, respecting your rights and privacy, without discrimination or bias. We will only act on your complaint with your consent.

The Retirement Villages Act 1986 (‘Act’) and the Retirement Villages (Records and Notices) Regulations 2026 (‘Regulations’) Part 7 – Dispute Resolution require the management of the Village (‘Management’) to establish and maintain a procedure for dealing with complaints made by residents against Management, or by residents against other residents.

1. Complaints against Management

If you have a complaint against Management, you may choose any one of the following:

• 1.1.  use our internal complaint/dispute resolution scheme which is as outlined in this document;
  
• 1.2.  seek advice from Consumer Affairs Victoria (‘CAV’). The contact details of CAV are as follows:
  • City Office: 121 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, 3000; or
  • Postal address: GPO Box 123, Melbourne, 3001.
  • Helpline telephone no: 1300 55 81 81
  • Website: https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au
    

  CAV may refer your complaint/dispute to the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria. Their contact details are as follows:

  • City office: 4/456 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
  • Helpline telephone no: 1300 372 888
  • Website: http://www.disputes.vic.gov.au
• 
  1.3.  seek assistance from the Victorian Civil & Administrative Claims Tribunal (‘VCAT’). Details of VCAT are as follows:
  • 55 King Street, Melbourne 3000
  • Telephone no. 1300 018 228
• 1.4.  seek assistance from the Retirement Living Code Administrator by emailing complaints@rlcode.com.au; or
• 1.5.  seek independent legal advice or use another external service or dispute resolution body.

2. Complaints against another resident

If you have a complaint against or a dispute with another resident, you may choose any one of the following:

• 2.1.  use our internal complaint/dispute resolution scheme which is as outlined in this document;
• 2.2.  resolve the matter with the assistance of the residents’ committee of the Village (if there is one);
• 2.3.  conciliate their dispute under Part 6E of the Act;
• 2.4.  seek independent legal advice;
• 2.5.  seek assistance from VicAssist Retirement Villages:
  • Helpline: 1300 528 994
  • Online contact form: Retirement village dispute support | vic.gov.au
• 2.6.  seek assistance from CAV. Details of CAV are as follows:
  • Street address: 121 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, 3000; or
  • Postal address: GPO Box 123, Melbourne, 3001.
  • Helpline telephone no: 1300 55 81 81
  • Website: https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au
• 2.7.  If you choose to use our internal complaint/dispute resolution scheme, you must note that Management cannot take any action to resolve the dispute if:
  
  • 2.7.1.  all the relevant parties do not consent to Management’s involvement; or
  • 2.7.2.  the dispute is already being dealt with by the residents’ committee of the Village (if there is one).

How to make your comment or complaint

You may make your comment or complaint:

• 3.1.  in person by contacting a staff member or the Village Manager by telephone, email or in person;
  
• 3.2.  online by completing a contact form on our website www.benetas.com.au;
  
• 3.3.  by placing your comment or complaint in the resident suggestion box;
  
• 3.4.  by contacting the resident’s committee at the Village (if any); or
  
• 3.5.  in writing by completing a complaint/dispute notification form (available on our website and at Reception).

4. How will your comment or complaint be handled?

4.1.  Upon receipt of your comment, we will:

• 4.1.1.  consider the comment or suggestion;
  
• 4.1.2.  establish an electronic or physical file relating to the dispute; and
  
• 4.1.3.  report back to you as to whether we accept your comment and the action taken as a result of that comment.

4.2  Upon receipt of your complaint we will:

• 4.2.1.  acknowledge your complaint and provide you with a written summary of our understanding of your complaint and the outcome you seek; and
  
• 4.2.2.  record the details of the complaint or dispute in our complaints register.

4.3.  If your complaint is against Management (“management complaint”), we will:

• 4.3.1.  with your consent, investigate the complaint by interviewing any relevant staff and reviewing any documents you have provided to us; and
  
• 4.3.2.  advise you in person and in writing of the outcome of our investigation, and any action which we propose to take so as to address the subject of your complaint.

4.4.  If your complaint is against another resident (“resident dispute”), we will:

• 4.4.1.  with your consent, advise the other resident of your complaint and request that the resident provide us with their response to your complaint within 7 days;
  
• 4.4.2.  if the other resident agrees to provide a response, we will, with that resident’s consent, notify you of their response;
  
• 4.4.3.  we may facilitate a meeting between you and the other resident to attempt to resolve the dispute, if you both agree to attend the meeting;
  
• 4.4.4.  we will advise you in person and in writing of the outcome of our investigation, including the outcome of any meeting between you and the other resident. If we do not believe that the dispute can be resolved through our assistance we will advise you of this and suggest that you seek external assistance or the assistance of the Village resident’s committee.

4.5.  Where possible and reasonable, we will endeavour to resolve complaints and disputes at the community level within 10 working days of receiving your complaint, provided we have sufficient details to understand the nature of the complaint. A resident may agree to a longer time frame to obtain further information or undertake an investigation. If a later time is agreed upon, we will keep you informed of progress on a regular basis.

4.6.  We will follow a cascading complaints handling procedure which allows complaints to be escalated in a way that seeks to resolve them in a cost effective and efficient manner that is fair and reasonable to all parties. Escalation options may include:

• The Village Manager of the retirement village.
• Business Manager Retirement Living: Craig Green – craig.green@benetas.com.au
• Retirement Living Code of Conduct Compliance Officer: Kate Wilson – katherine.wilson@benetas.com.au
• General Manager of Strategy, Infrastructure & Housing: Bruce Webb - bruce.webb@benetas.com.au
• An external independent dispute resolution service or mediator
• Where appropriate the Code Administrator
• Consumer Affairs Victoria.

4.7.  We will co-operate with the Code Administrator, independent mediator or any regulatory authority during any investigation and abide by any agreement we make.

4.8.  We are required to retain complaint and dispute records for 7 years.

4.9.  You may inspect these records by prior arrangement with us unless there are special circumstances which would make this unreasonable.

5. Can you be represented by another person?

You may be represented throughout the resolution process by another person.

We will respect and cooperate with an intermediary or representative in the same way we would with the residents themselves.

6. Reporting

6.1.  Management is required to report to the annual meeting of residents on the following matters:

• 6.1.1. the nature of any dispute or complaint and the action taken to resolve the complaint or dispute;
• 6.1.2.  the number and types of complaints or disputes handled in the year;
• 6.1.3.  action taken to resolve the complaints or disputes and their outcomes.
• 6.1.4.  any changes made or proposed to address any issues identified as requiring a broader response.

6.2.  We are required to maintain confidentiality; for that reason, the report will be general in nature and will not identify specific parties.