There are other forms of retirement living that are different to retirement villages but provide the same kind of lifestyle with Community Centres and over 55 age group, security, gardening etc. They are known as residential parks, and come under the Residential Parks Act of each state rather than the Retirement Villages Act. The main difference between the two types of villages is that in a residential park the resident owns their own house, but has no ownership of the land, they pay a fortnightly rent for the land, part of which is rebated by Centrelink as rent relief. There are no exit fees or deferred management fees, the resident is free to sell the house through the agent of their choice and takes full proceeds including any capital gain, only restriction being they have to sell to the same age group of 55+. The houses within these parks are generally considered to be transportable/mobile homes, and they can very in quality, but the better ones are just as good as any retirement village house.
Disclaimer - My family owns two such parks in SA.
Disclaimer - My family owns two such parks in SA.