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Are you ready for Retirement Living?


Retirement Villages can offer social engagement and a close-knit community atmosphere


Deciding where to live in your retirement years requires a lot of thought and sound professional advice. Older Victorians decide to move for a variety of reasons, including health, social interaction, safety and security. It is important to understand why you want to move as this can help you determine what you are looking for in your new retirement living option. Maintaining your independence is essential as you make the transition from your working life to retirement. Your home location should take into account not just your financial situation, but also lifestyle needs in your senior years and to make your decision based on your own personal circumstances, and what matters to you.


You may choose a retirement village to meet new, like-minded friends, or down size your home and seek peace of mind that you might not find elsewhere living independently. Community living is a focus for retirement villages and the balance is up to the resident, as they may want to be as instrumental as possible in the community or as private as a hermit while still benefiting from the advantages of a close-knit community. More than 187,000 senior Australians call a retirement village home, and this number is expected to rise over the next few years.


Retirement/Independent living villages gives you more choices and control over how you live your life and a low-maintenance, hassle-free home. Combine this with the opportunity to be part of a supportive community and you may find an overall improvement in your well being.


What are you looking for within a Retirement Village?


Write your wish list for a Retirement Village before you start looking.

Deciding where you want to live in your retirement can be daunting. No one knows what the future holds, so you need to make sure you take into account various situations that may arise.


Have you considered?

- Your level of health now and in the future

- What sort of services you want in the village

- Location, how close the village is to public transport and other services such as shopping, medical and entertainment centres?

- Accessibility issues

- Financial Options

- The age of residents you would like to live with

- Whether you want to live near family


It is important to understand how a village is operated, how your lifestyle is likely to change along with in-going, on-going and exit fees. Entering a retirement village should be seen as a lifestyle decision, not an investment to make money. Some people presume they are making a capital investment when they buy into a retirement village and expect their investment to increase in value over time, just like other property investments. This is generally not the case.


Retirement villages are unique and each offer a range of different contract and tenure types, unit types and facilities and services. The cost of entering and leaving a retirement village varies. There are also fees and charges to consider, plus other arrangements that will be new to you.

The Retirement Villages Act 1986 (Vic) requires all Village Managers to provide certain documents to interested parties before entering into a village contract. This includes a Fact Sheet providing general information about the proposed village, and a Disclosure Statement containing more detailed information and financial figures regarding a specific unit. These documents will assist in understanding your entitlements when researching the retirement village options.


So what can I expect to Pay?


It's more affordable than you think

Carinya Retirement Living operates as a not-for-profit organisation, currently offering a loan/lease arrangement to occupy our one and two bedroom units. When entering occupancy within the village an In-going Contribution is payable. When vacating a residence, a Departure Fee that is calculated on and deducted from your In-going Contribution, this is 5% per year of residence and not exceeding a maximum of 30% deduction, a 1% Administration Fee and 1% Long Term Maintenance Fund fee are also deducted from your In-going Contribution. Please see example below.


Whilst residing within the village a Fortnightly Maintenance Fee is required to cover costs including building insurance, rubbish removal, lawn mowing, garden maintenance, pest control, smoke detector maintenance, unit maintenance (fair wear & tear), street lighting, staff & management costs.


Financial Structure Example (based on occupancy of 6 years and over ) :

In-going Contribution 2 bedroom unit: $250,000

30% Departure Fee : $ 75,000

1% Administration Costs: $ 2,500

1% Long Term Maint. Fund: $ 2,500

Remaining balance available $170,000

Additional fees

Fortnightly Maintenance Fee: $ 200

*please note the above figures are estimates only*


So many Australians have discovered the myriad of benefits of Retirement Village living. As you progress through life, happiness and relaxation become a priority and life in a retirement village may be the right solution for you. You cannot underestimate the benefits of living among a community of like-minded individuals, at a similar stage of life. You may share similar values and history, enjoying the social contact, interaction, relaxation, companionship and physical and emotional security that it provides.


Two bedroom Carinya Retirement Village Unit

Further Information


For further information regarding the independent living units available at Carinya Retirement Living, please contact our Village Manager Michelle Burgess:



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