Who Decides What a Retirement Village Unit Is Worth? Exit Entitlement Valuation Rules by State

When someone leaves a retirement village, a number has to be produced. It decides what the resident — or, very often, the estate — actually receives once the deferred management fee is taken out. Yet the resident rarely owned the unit outright, the operator controls the resale, and the contract, not the market, defines how the figure is calculated.

So who decides that number when the two sides disagree? It depends entirely on the state. We read four of the eight Retirement Villages Acts directly and took the other four from the regulators’ current guidance. Five jurisdictions write an independent valuer into the statute. Three contain no valuation machinery at all — no valuer, no valuation, not even the phrase “market value”.

Two of the five changed their rules during 2026, four months apart.

Quick reference — who determines the value, by jurisdiction

The two 2026 commencements

Victoria — 1 May 2026. The Retirement Villages (Amendment) Act 2025 is in force. Consumer Affairs Victoria states that “the maximum time for an operator to pay exit entitlements to a resident will be 12 months”, and that contracts “must not allocate residents a higher share of capital loss than capital gain”. The Act also requires “a clear process for appointing an independent valuer where the value of a premises or residence right cannot be agreed between an existing resident and the operator.”

Those last four words matter. CAV presents the new contractual requirements as applying to new contracts from 1 May 2026, but it does not restrict the 12-month cap or the valuer process to contracts signed after that date, and the valuer bullet expressly concerns an existing resident. Check the transitional provisions before concluding either way for an older contract.

Western Australia — 1 September 2026. Stage 1 of the Retirement Villages Amendment Act 2024 commenced five days before this article was published. Consumer Protection confirms operators “have up to 12 months to make mandatory exit entitlement payments”. Later stages run to 1 July 2028.

The Amendment Act also carries the most explicit valuer provision in the country. Where the operator and resident cannot agree within the prescribed time, the exit entitlement or value is “determined by a licensed valuer (as defined in the Land Valuers Licensing Act 1978 section 4)”. That valuer “must not have a pecuniary or other interest that could be reasonably regarded as capable of affecting” their determination, and is appointed by agreement or — failing that — by the Commissioner, reviewable by the Tribunal. Costs are borne “in equal shares”. Section 38 lets the Commissioner extend the compliance period by up to a further 12 months, so a 12-month cap can become 24.

⚠️ Implementation is staged, and Consumer Protection’s Stage 1 list names the payment obligation but not the valuer section. Check the department’s commencement table before relying on it.

New South Wales — the API appoints

NSW does not set a flat payment deadline. It sets a prescribed period — six months in metropolitan areas, twelve months in regional areas — after which a former resident may apply for an exit entitlement order. That order “is made by the Commissioner for Fair Trading”, not by a tribunal.

The clock is not what most people assume. It “starts 40 days after the following, whichever occurs first: the date the former resident’s premises are first advertised for sale; the date the former resident permanently leaves the premises and returns all keys to the operator, or the date the former resident gives written notice to the operator that they do not intend to move out of the premises while the premises are for sale.”

Where the parties cannot agree on value, an independent valuer decides it. The valuer must have “appropriate experience or expertise to undertake valuations” and be “independent; that is, does not have a conflict of interest.” If the parties cannot agree on who that valuer is, the President of the NSW division of the Australian Property Institute appoints them, and the cost is split equally.

The valuation is not optional and it is not last-minute: “the exit entitlement order application must include an agreed valuation. This valuation must have been made at least 30 days before the date of the application.” NSW also recognises the estate case directly — the prescribed period runs “where the executor or administrator of the person’s estate delivers up vacant possession of the person’s residential premises to the operator of the retirement village after the person’s death.”

Nor is the clock immovable: the operator “can apply to the Commissioner for Fair Trading to extend the prescribed period”, though only once per property in any 12 months.

Queensland — the only state that re-values on a clock

Queensland is the outlier, and the most demanding for valuers. The operator controls the resale. The former resident and the operator must agree a resale value within 30 days of the resident leaving. If they cannot, “the operator will need to get a valuation from a valuer within 14 days.”

It does not end there. If the unit is still unsold after three months, the parties “are to reconsider the resale value”, and on each disagreement another valuation follows within 14 days. Where no resale value was agreed in the previous three months, “the operator must have a registered valuer provide an independent valuation of the unit.” Queensland therefore builds a recurring valuation obligation into the sale process, not a one-off.

Payment falls due on the date stated in the contract, or within 14 days after settlement, or “on the day that is 18 months after the termination date (for units that remain unsold)”. Past that point the mandatory buyback applies: “if your freehold property or leasehold or licence right to reside, doesn’t sell within 18 months, the operator will be required to enter into a contract to purchase your unit.”

Executors should read the buyback date carefully, because it is the latest of three dates, not simply eighteen months: “18 months after the right to reside was terminated”; “if the former resident has died — 14 days after the village operator is shown the probate of the former resident’s will or letters of administration of their estate”; and “the day fixed by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT)”. A slow grant of probate pushes the operator’s deadline out, not in.

South Australia — the fastest payment clock, once it starts

Under the Retirement Villages Act 2016 (SA), the entitlement becomes payable when specified conditions under the residence contract are fulfilled, or “12 months have passed since the end of the 30 business day period after the resident vacated the premises”, or the operator agrees to pay earlier. Once it is payable, the operator “must pay the exit entitlement within 10 business days”.

Ten business days is the shortest payment window in the country — but read it with the trigger. Thirty business days is about six weeks, so the second limb alone puts the entitlement roughly thirteen months out before that fast clock begins to run. SACAT can extend the twelve months in special circumstances.

On valuation: “a resident who does not agree with the operator’s determination of the market value may require the operator to obtain an independent valuation (with the operator entitled to recover half of the cost).”

The three jurisdictions with no valuation machinery

Australian Capital Territory. The Retirement Villages Act 2012 (ACT) contains no instance of “valuer”, “valuation” or “market value”. Instead, section 13 defines the resident’s capital gain as “any increase between the amount the resident paid for the residence right for the residential premises and the amount that the next resident pays for a residence right for the same premises”, excluding the costs of the subsequent sale or lease.

Read that carefully. In the ACT the resident’s gain is not measured against value at all. It is measured against whatever the operator achieves on the next sale — and the operator runs that sale. No statutory valuation sits between the two.

That is an absence of valuation machinery, not an absence of machinery — the ACT’s payment rules are among the firmest in the country. Section 235(2) requires an operator to pay a former registered interest holder “within 14 days after the earliest” of five events, chiefly the arrival of an incoming resident, and non-compliance is a strict liability offence carrying 50 penalty units. For former occupants who were not registered interest holders, section 238(2)(h) sets a hard backstop: “the day that is 6 months after the day the former occupant otherwise delivered up vacant possession of the premises to the operator”, regardless of whether the unit ever resells. Sections 237 and 239 let ACAT order a recalculation, and section 240 covers payments to executors and administrators.

Tasmania. The Retirement Villages Act 2004 (Tas) likewise contains none of those three words. Its discipline is temporal instead, and for an estate it is the strongest provision in this article. Section 12 requires the operator to refund the amount owing “to the resident or the resident’s personal representative” within a race of three periods — “(i) 6 months after the resident dies, or any extended period granted by the Director under section 13; or (ii) 6 months after the operator or resident receives notice of termination of the residence contract, or any extended period granted by the Director under section 13; or (iii) 30 days after the resale or reoccupation of the resident’s residential premises — whichever first occurs”. The penalty is a fine not exceeding 350 penalty units.

So Tasmania gives an executor a fixed six-month deadline from the date of death, whether or not the unit has sold. The qualification is section 13: on the operator’s application, where repayment “would cause serious financial hardship”, the Director may extend the period by up to a further 12 months.

Northern Territory. The Retirement Villages Act 1995 (NT), as in force at 20 November 2020, contains no instance of “valuer”, “valuation”, “market value”, “capital gain” or “ingoing contribution”.

Why this matters beyond the village gate

Most of the people who need this figure are not residents. They are executors.

A village unit routinely lands in a deceased estate, and the exit entitlement has to be quantified for probate, for distribution between beneficiaries, and — where it includes a share of capital gain — for tax. In a jurisdiction with statutory valuation machinery there is a defined path to an independent number. In the ACT, Tasmania and the Northern Territory there is not: those Acts discipline when the money must be paid, not how much it should be. The same gap appears in family law matters and in retrospective valuations, where the relevant date is the date of death rather than the date of resale.

The practical point for an executor or adviser: a contractual exit entitlement and a market value are different numbers on different bases, and they can be a long way apart. Which one your jurisdiction requires — and whether anyone independent gets to determine it — is the first question, not the last.

Methodology

• Statutes read directly: Retirement Villages Act 2012 (ACT), republication R25 (RI), effective 26 November 2025; Retirement Villages Act 2004 (Tas), the current consolidation on the Tasmanian legislation register; Retirement Villages Act 1995 (NT), as in force at 20 November 2020; Retirement Villages Amendment Act 2024 (WA), as-made text on the WA legislation register. Absence findings for the ACT, Tasmania and the Northern Territory were established by searching the full text of each Act for “valuer”, “valuation” and “market value” and finding no occurrences. An absence in the Act is not an absence in law: regulations, the residence contract and general law may still apply.
• Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia are stated from the current regulator guidance — Consumer Affairs Victoria, the NSW Government’s exit entitlement orders guidance, the Queensland Government’s reselling guidance, and the South Australian Law Handbook — and quoted in their own words.
• Where a regulator’s page is silent on a point, this article says so rather than filling the gap. Cost allocation for Victoria and Queensland was not established. No payment deadline was established for the Northern Territory.
• Extension mechanisms are noted wherever they were found, because every one of them runs in the same direction: WA section 38, SA’s SACAT power, Tasmania section 13, and the NSW operator’s application to the Commissioner all lengthen the period a former resident or an estate must wait.
• Commencement status was checked separately from enactment for both 2026 reforms, because an Act that has passed is not necessarily an Act in force.

Frequently asked questions

Who decides the value of a retirement village unit when the resident and operator disagree?

It depends on the jurisdiction. In New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia the legislation provides for an independent valuer. In the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania and the Northern Territory the Retirement Villages Act contains no valuer or valuation provision at all, so the figure comes from the contract and the resale process.

How long can an operator take to pay an exit entitlement?

There is no national rule. Victoria sets a maximum of 12 months under reforms in force from 1 May 2026. Western Australia allows up to 12 months under provisions that commenced on 1 September 2026, extendable by the Commissioner for up to 12 months more. Queensland requires payment within 14 days of settlement, or on the latest of three dates — 18 months after termination, 14 days after probate is produced, or a date fixed by QCAT — if the unit is unsold, at which point a mandatory buyback applies. South Australia requires payment within 10 business days of the entitlement arising, though the entitlement itself may take around thirteen months to arise. Tasmania is the firmest for estates: six months from the date of death, whether or not the unit has sold.

Is an exit entitlement the same as the market value of the unit?

No. An exit entitlement is a contractual amount, typically the ingoing contribution less a deferred management fee and adjusted for any agreed share of capital gain or loss. Market value is what the premises would sell for between willing parties. The two are calculated on different bases and are frequently a long way apart.

Who appoints the valuer in New South Wales?

The former resident and the operator appoint one by agreement. If they cannot agree, the President of the NSW division of the Australian Property Institute appoints the valuer, and the two parties split the cost equally.

Does the ACT require a valuation of a retirement village unit?

No. The Retirement Villages Act 2012 (ACT) contains no valuer or valuation provision. Section 13 defines a resident’s capital gain by reference to the amount the next resident pays for the residence right, not by reference to an assessed market value. The Act does regulate payment: 14 days after the earliest of five events under section 235(2) for registered interest holders, and a six-month backstop from vacant possession under section 238(2)(h) for those who were not.

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Sources:

• Retirement village reforms — Consumer Affairs Victoria
• Leaving a retirement village: exit entitlement orders — NSW Government
• Reselling a unit — Queensland Government
• Retirement village law reforms — Consumer Protection WA
• Retirement Villages Amendment Act 2024 (WA) — WA legislation register
• Exit entitlement — South Australian Law Handbook

Operative detail in Victoria and Western Australia sits partly in each jurisdiction’s Retirement Villages Regulations — WA’s valuer section turns on a “prescribed time” fixed by regulation — and neither set was read for this article.

• Retirement Villages Act 2012 (ACT) — ACT legislation register
• Retirement Villages Act 2004 (Tas), current consolidation — Tasmanian legislation register
• Retirement Villages Act 1995 (NT) — NT legislation register

This article is general information about retirement village legislation as it bears on valuation. It is not legal, financial or tax advice, and it does not summarise any Act in full. Exit entitlements are governed principally by the residence contract, which varies between operators and can be more generous than the statutory minimum. Confirm your position with your solicitor. Last verified 6 September 2026. We update this article when the legislation changes.

See also: Property Valuation for a Deceased Estate: An Executor’s Guide · Estate Valuations · Retrospective Valuations · Family Court Valuations · Capital Improved Value vs Market Value · Property Valuation Cost by State