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The exit clock · seven states and territories

Senior homes and the retirement village clock

Every retirement village contract starts a clock. A few days after signing, the right to cool off runs out; months after leaving, the law says the money must be paid. This guide, published by Dotto, sets each state’s clock to its own Act and reads it one part at a time.

General information, not legal or financial advice. Each state’s consumer regulator, linked under “Where each state’s rules live” below, is the place to check, and a solicitor can read your own contract.

The row of clocks

Seven dials, each set by its own state

Each dial shows a state’s longest payment deadline after a resident leaves, with its condition. One full turn is 18 months. Below it is the short clock at the start: cooling-off.

  1. New South Wales

    6 months

    For residents who are not registered interest holders: if the unit is not re-sold or re-occupied, NSW Fair Trading says the refund is paid 6 months after moving out, unless the contract says otherwise. The Retirement Villages Act 1999 lets a contract set an earlier date, not a later one.

    Cooling-off, s 32Ends at midnight 7 business days after the day the resident’s signed copy of the contract reaches the other party. It is waived if the resident moves in.

  2. Victoria

    12 months

    After the resident permanently vacates, under section 32I, for contracts signed on or after 1 May 2026, unless an earlier day comes first: a day set under the retirement village contracts, or a day agreed with the resident.

    Cooling-off, s 26XUp to the end of 7 business days after signing a residence contract.

  3. Queensland

    18 months

    After the termination date, or a later day the tribunal fixes, under section 63, if no earlier day in the section’s list comes first. If the former resident has died, it is 14 days after the operator is shown the probate or letters of administration, where that is later.

    Cooling-off, ScheduleA 14-day period starting the day the contract is signed, or later where the contract waits on a later event or another contract.

  4. Western Australia

    12 months

    After the resident permanently vacates, under section 29(1) of the Act as it stands at 1 September 2026, if no earlier day in the list comes first. Residents who left before 1 September 2026 are covered by a separate section of Consumer Protection WA’s exit entitlements page.

    Cooling-off, s 147 working days after the date of the contract, or 17 working days after the documents are given if section 13(2) was not complied with. The right ends once the resident moves in.

  5. South Australia

    12 months + 30 business days

    From vacant possession, under section 27, even if the residence has not been relicensed, unless the resident chooses to wait for relicensing or SACAT gives the operator more time. The shorter timing started on 2 February 2026 and applies to all residents. However, the previous section 27 still applies to a resident who, before 2 February 2026, moved out of the village or gave the operator notice under section 27(2)(b)(ii).

    Cooling-off, s 24(3)10 business days after the day the contract is signed, unless the resident waives it under section 24(4).

  6. Tasmania

    6 months

    Consumer Affairs Tasmania says the operator must refund the part of the ingoing contribution a resident is entitled to within the first six months after the resident leaves.

    Cooling-off, s 6(7)Within 5 business days after the date of the contract, or, if documents section 6(3) or (4) requires were not given, within 5 business days after one of them is given. Notice goes to the operator in writing.

  7. Australian Capital Territory

    6 months

    After vacant possession, for former occupants who were not registered interest holders, under section 238, if no earlier day in the list comes first.

    Cooling-off, s 53Ends at midnight on the 7th business day after the resident receives a copy the operator has signed, or, where the operator is not the other party to a residence contract, after the day that contract is entered into. It is waived if the resident starts living there.

The Northern Territory is not set on a dial here.

How to read a dial

The hand shows the latest day, not the usual one

A large wall clock with an open iron face and Roman numerals, hung on a sunlit rendered wall
Every dial has more than one hand. Photo by VariousPhotography on Pixabay

Most of these laws do not name one deadline. They name a list of days and say the money is due by the earliest of them.

Queensland’s section 63 is a clear example. The operator must pay on or before the earliest of the day the contract sets, 14 days after the sale settles, 18 months after the termination date (or a later day the tribunal fixes), and, in one kind of termination, 14 days after an agreed resale value is set. So a sale that settles quickly can stop the clock long before the hand on the dial would.

Two things can move the hand the other way. A tribunal or a regulator can give an operator more time in several states, and in Western Australia a resident can give that extension in writing. The guide to being paid when you leave sets out each state’s full list.

The contract matters as much as the Act. Consumer Affairs Victoria puts it plainly: buying into a village “is a lifestyle decision, not an investment to make money.” What comes back is worked out by a formula in the contract and can be reduced by the operator’s fees and other charges.

The five guides

Each guide reads one part of the clock

  1. The first daysCooling-off and settling-in periodsTime to change your mind, before and after moving in.
  2. The long turnWhen you leave: how long until you are paidEach state’s list of payment days.
  3. A clock resetVictoria’s 2026 reformsWhat changed, from when, for which contracts.
  4. When it stopsDisputes and who decidesThe body each state names.
  5. A different clockA village is not aged careWho regulates which, and where they meet.
About

Where each state’s rules live

Senior Homes is a guide to retirement village contracts in plain words, published by Dotto. Each page reports what a state’s Act and official pages say, whose rule it is and who it covers. These are the state bodies that publish them.