On 13 June 2025, the Residential Services (Accreditation) Regulation 2018 (Q) (RSA Regulation) was amended to permanently exempt registered retirement villages from potential additional regulation under the Residential Services (Accreditation) Act 2002 (Q) (RSA Act). The previous temporary exemption had been due to expire on 30 June 2025.
What is the RSA Act?
The RSA Act creates a separate system of mandatory registration and accreditation, intended to govern boarding houses, hostels and similar residential complexes. This regime is separate to the Retirement Villages Act 1999 (Q) (RV Act) under which retirement villages are regulated in Queensland.
Potential for dual regulation
Despite its main focus being boarding houses, hostels and the like, the scope of the RSA Act was broad enough to potentially also cover many retirement villages. This could have required a retirement village to become registered under the RV Act and registered and accredited under the RSA Act, together with ongoing compliance obligations under two different regulatory regimes.
Retirement villages that were most at risk of also being regulated by the RSA Act were villages where, under or in the course of providing accommodation services:
- residents occupy units that are not self-contained (e.g. serviced apartments); or
- a food service or personal care service is provided to residents.
Previous temporary exemption
Prior to 13 June 2025, the RSA Regulation temporarily exempted all registered retirement villages from the RSA Act. The initial temporary exemption was granted until 2020, but was extended a number of times, most recently to 30 June 2025.
The intention was that, once the temporary blanket exemption expired, only retirement villages accredited by a “recognised accreditation body” (i.e. one recognised by the regulator) would enjoy ongoing exemption. Â It was also intended that, subject to evaluation by the regulator, the Australian Retirement Village Accreditation Scheme (ARVAS) would become recognised for that purpose.
New permanent exemption
On 13 June 2025, the RSA Regulation was amended to make the blanket exemption applying to all registered retirement villages permanent, whether they are accredited under ARVAS or not.
In doing so, the Government recognised that the RSA Act is not an appropriate scheme for regulating retirement villages because it focuses on a different form of housing. They also noted existing protections and remedies for residents receiving food or personal care services, including:
- general contract law;
- the Health Ombudsman Act 2013 (Q);
- the Food Act 2006 (Q);
- the Australian Consumer Law; and
- for food or care services provided through the Commonwealth aged care system – Commonwealth regulation under aged care legislation.
Further, the Government’s expressed policy objectives for the amendment refer to their intention to:
- provide ongoing certainty to stakeholders about the application of the RSA Act to retirement village schemes;
- provide an appropriate and proportionate response to issues associated with food and personal care services in retirement villages; and
- contribute to delivering a legislative and regulatory environment built on stability and certainty (including for retirement villages), which will deliver strong investor confidence in Queensland.
Further thoughts
The permanent exemption of registered retirement villages from potential dual regulation under the RSA Act (particularly after years of uncertainty arising from multiple temporary extensions) represents a victory for common sense.
In making this change, the Government has emphasised its focus on delivering stability, certainty and investor confidence in Queensland.Â
Retirement village stakeholders would no doubt be able to identify a long list of other regulatory impediments they would like to see addressed.  As an example, the existing complexity of redeveloping retirement villages would no doubt be high on that list. Given the Government’s expressed focus, perhaps the time is right to lobby for more balanced regulation in this area. Â
