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Researching living options in retirement can be a minefield of new terms and acronyms, so we’ve put together a retirement glossary to make sense of the jargon. We’ve split the glossary into four relevant sections, covering: • living options • care and support options • finances • legal rights
If you don’t know your RACs from your ILUs, this useful glossary will bring you up to speed by explaining common retirement village terms – and pointing out which terms are used interchangeably. Bookmark for later, so you’re armed with useful knowledge before you visit any villages.
(interchangeable with residential aged care, RAC and nursing home)
An aged care facility is for those who need full-time care and are unable to live independently. The move into aged care often follows a significant health event or decline in mobility.
At RetireAustralia, we offer private care apartments at Glengara Care on the Central Coast, which is a premium, positive alternative to traditional aged care.
See serviced apartment.
At RetireAustralia, we offer custom-built, private aged care apartments at Glengara Care on the Central Coast.
This is a genuine alternative to traditional aged care, allowing residents to age positively with dignity, respect and control.
You can even progress from low to high care without moving out of your care apartment. Small pets and partners are welcome too!
Independent living units in broad-acres communities (sometimes called villas) and apartments in mid-rise vertical villages are designed with over 70s in mind. Homes range from one to three bedrooms with one to two bathrooms, and private outdoors areas.
At RetireAustralia, we have independent living options available in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. They are ideal if you want to enjoy the freedom and independence of life on your terms with the safety net of a like-minded community and support you can count on.
Also known as ‘over 55s lifestyle communities’, ‘manufactured home estates’ and ‘resort communities’, land lease communities grew out of the caravan park industry and offer a gated estate were you buy the physical structure of your home and rent the land it sits on. In most estates, because of the caravan park heritage, your home is required to be manufactured off site, usually in a factory, and trucked in to its final location.
If you’re interested in understanding the differences between retirement villages and land lease communities read our blog Different retirement living options explained.
See aged care.
Retirement villages are the most common and well-known retirement living option in Australia. A major feature of this style of retirement living is the sense of community, with residents creating an informal support network and social groups.
Retirement villages are especially popular with both singles and couples aged over 70 years who want more security and support while continuing to live independently.
All RetireAustralia communities are designed to offer you independence, social connection, and peace of mind, knowing you can access care and support should you ever need it.
Serviced apartments are available in retirement villages and come with support that makes life easier. They’re perfect if your care needs are increasing, and you want to keep doing what you love.
At RetireAustralia, our trusted team takes care of housekeeping, maintenance, and nutritious meals every day, so you have the freedom to maintain your independence and make the call on what matters most to you.
Serviced apartments are located in the heart of a retirement village so you have easy access to community amenities and social activities too.
Across New South Wales and South Australia you’ll find RetireAustralia communities offering both serviced apartment and independent living options.
If you’ve applied for a Home Care Package subsidised by the federal government or if you are moving into a government funded aged care facility, you will need to be assessed by an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) assessor. They will review how much support you need with daily tasks and activities. The level of care you need determines whether you’re eligible to receive subsidised care services at home or in a government funded aged care facility.
The good news is you don’t need an ACAT assessment to move into a RetireAustralia serviced apartment or respite care.
Home care is professional care delivered in the comfort of your own home.
RetireAustralia offers home care in the majority of our villages, and where we don’t, we can connect you with a reputable local provider. Our reliable and experienced team can help with a broad spectrum of care and support – from cleaning and meal preparation all the way through to medication management and wound care.
Home care can be funded privately or through an approved government-funded Home Care Package (HCP).
If you need care and support on an ongoing basis, you may be eligible for government support via a Home Care Package. There are four package levels, covering basic, low, intermediate, and high care needs (1–4 respectively).
My Aged Care is your starting point for accessing government-funded aged care services, including home care. You will need to be assessed to see if you’re eligible for financial support from the federal government. This depends on the type of help you need and your financial situation.
The system can be confusing to navigate and there is often a wait time to be assessed. Our RetireAustralia team can help you navigate Home Care Package approval through the My Aged Care website .
Primary care is the first contact you have with the health system, outside a hospital setting or emergency situation. It refers to the range of health services you access in the community to manage your health, including having regular health checks and treating acute and chronic conditions.
In many RetireAustralia villages, we have a consultation room on site which is available to residents to use for their medical appointments if they prefer.
Additionally, RetireAustralia also facilitates on-site visits from primary care providers (GPs, physios, podiatrists and pharmacists). These are tailored to the needs and preferences of each resident community, and can include, for example, a monthly podiatry clinic and/ or coordination of medication ordering and delivery and medication reviews with the local pharmacist.
Put simply, respite care is short-term care. It’s a great way to access extra support over a set time period – particularly useful if you’re recovering from illness, injury, surgery, or a hospital stay. At RetireAustralia, you can stay in a private, fully-furnished apartment for as little as 14 nights or up to six weeks. And you don’t require an ACAT assessment to do so.
Respite care is available in select RetireAustralia villages on the NSW Central Coast and in Adelaide.
Buyback means the retirement village operator buys back a home in a retirement village from a resident if it hasn’t sold after a set period.
It is mandated by state legislation, which gives you extra protection. In the unlikely event your home hasn’t sold within 6 months (New South Wales) or 18 months (Queensland and South Australia) in a leasehold or licence village, RetireAustralia will buy it back from you.
This doesn’t apply to resident contracts in strata title villages. For more information specific to strata villages click here.
There are different types of contracts you might come across when researching retirement villages.
At RetireAustralia, our sales contract offers a simplified financial process and a high level of financial clarity. In short, there are no hidden costs and you’ll know exactly what you’ll need to pay at every stage.
The most common types of agreement in RetireAustralia villages are leasehold and licence, where you purchase a long-term lease (usually 99 years) to live in your home.
(also known as the deferred management fee or DMF)
See exit fee.
Before you move into a retirement village, you will need to pay an entry payment, which gives you the right to reside in your new home. At RetireAustralia, this is typically 80% of the median house price in the local area. This payment is relative to the local property market and demand for homes in the retirement village. Unlike most property transactions, you will not have to pay stamp duty on your new home. This equates to a significant cost saving on entry.
Your exit entitlement is paid to you when you leave a retirement village. At RetireAustralia, your exit entitlement is fixed, regardless of what happens outside the village such as real estate market fluctuations or unexpected events like natural disasters or COVID-19. This means we will incur any capital loss or gain.
Your exit fee is paid to you when you leave a retirement village.
At RetireAustralia, this fee allows us to keep our entry prices as competitive as possible. The fee is effectively an ‘enjoy now, pay later’ scheme, which helps reduce the cost of moving into a retirement village. It funds capital replacement works, maintenance of communal facilities, and village upgrades.
If you move into a retirement village, you will need to pay service charges. While these vary by village, they are set at a cost-recovery rate only. By law operators can’t profit from these fees, but use them to cover the costs of operating the village such as council rates, water rates, building insurance and staff salaries. Any fee increases beyond the Consumer Price Index (NSW and Qld) and beyond a reasonable level (SA) must be approved by residents. For further peace of mind, village finances are audited by an independent party each year.
The Retirement Living Council is the peak industry body representing the retirement living sector. As a dedicated national division of the Property Council of Australia, it’s focused on retirement village and seniors housing. It champions policies that deliver more age-friendly homes and services in retirement communities.
RetireAustralia is a proud member of the Retirement Living Council.
Developed by peak bodies Retirement Living Council (RLC) and Leading Aged Services (LASA), the Retirement Code of Conduct aims to set and maintain high standards in the marketing, selling and operation of retirement communities, including complaints and dispute management procedures.
RetireAustralia is a proud signatory to the Retirement Living Code of Conduct.
All retirement villages are governed by a Retirement Villages Act. This is state-based legislation, which protects the rights of residents and promotes fair trading. It sets out rules around contracts, charges, disputes, and so on.
It’s important to note that land lease communities are legislated under the same laws as manufactured home parks and caravan parks, which means your right to remain in your home isn’t protected if the land lease operator ceases to exist.
