RVA is the abbreviation of the Retirement Villages Association. The RVA is the professional body which represents most Retirement Villages in New Zealand. Members of the Association pay a fee to belong. The Association works on behalf of their members in a number of areas. One important area is to lobby politicians and help them understand the sector and to raise the profile of Retirement Villages and the benefits they may offer. They also offer training and workshops for those who work in Retirement Villages.
Another important role is supporting formal dispute resolution (which is outlined by legislation, you can view the legislation here). Whilst the RVA are not a legislated part of the process, they have a disciplinary tribunal in place for their members, and can help if you, or someone you’re supporting, has a complaint about a member village. To understand more about making a complaint in a Retirement Village read this article.
Members of the RVA are independently audited against relevant legislation (Retirement Villages Act 2003) and the Code of Practice (Retirement Villages Code of Practice 2008). This provides a level of confidence if you’re considering moving into an RVA village and is key to the RVA goal of ensuring a high standard of living for those who live in Retirement Villages.
Not all registered Retirement Villages are members of the RVA. This means that as a consumer if you are thinking about moving into a village which is NOT an RVA member you need to ‘do your homework’ to ensure that the village is operating in a compliant manner and meets your personal standards.
You can see more about the RVA here. They also provide the Retirement Life website which contains ‘good news’ stories about village living.
Updated: 28 Mar 2023