About Us
The Retirement Villages Association (RVA) is a voluntary industry association that represents the interests of registered retirement village owners, developers and managers throughout New Zealand, as well as individuals and organisations who supply goods and services to the retirement village industry.
The RVA is a national organisation that works to represent, protect and promote the interests of its members and associates.
The RVA’s principal objective is to promote a quality living environment for its members and their residents. While this is achieved in a variety of ways, one important and unique role is our auditing and accreditation regime. Registered retirement villages are required to comply with a legislated Code of Practice set out in the Retirement Villages Act 2003, which establishes the day-to-day management of the village and provides a comprehensive suite of resident protections.
Every three years all RVA member villages are required to undergo an audit by external qualified auditing agencies for their compliance against the Code of Practice. When villages pass their audit they become “accredited RVA members” and receive a certificate of accreditation to that effect. We encourage accredited villages to display their accreditation certificate where it can be seen by all visitors. The certificate is the residents’ guarantee that the village is being run in accordance with the Retirement Villages Act.
The key areas of work undertaken by the RVA include :
- Lobbying and representation: As the RVA represents more than 95% of the registered retirement village industry by unit number we are well-placed to represent the industry on issues affecting retirement village operators, suppliers and residents. The RVA talks to central, regional and local government on a wide range of issues.
- Annual conferences and forums: The RVA’s annual conference is the industry’s shop window to the world. More than 250 delegates, exhibitors and partners gather in June each year to hear about new trends, ideas, products and services available to the industry. We also run an annual Not-for-Profit villages’ forum which considers issues and topics which are relevant for member villages in this sector, and a twice-annual Financial Sector Forum for members with an interest in finance, tax and compliance matters. Other forums include a regular one for independent villages and a Design and Construction forum looking at building and compliance issues.
- Information, education and publications: The RVA produces a fortnightly email newsletter which is available to members and associates only. We also hold regular Regional Meetings around the country for village managers to network, share ideas and listen to a guest speaker on a topical issue. From time to time we hold specialist education seminars on topical issues such as refreshers on the Code of Practice, managing dementia in a retirement village, long-term maintenance planning, etc.
- Bulk purchasing: The RVA is able to leverage its substantial collective buying power to obtain valuable discounts and benefits for its members and associates.