The Australian Retirement Village Accreditation Scheme (ARVAS), the new, unified accreditation scheme for retirement community owners and operators, is now open for business.
The ARVAS standards are now finalised following the consideration and evaluation of feedback received from industry and stakeholders. ARVAS is designed to be supported by the Retirement Living Code of Conduct, forming a new and robust quality framework for the operation of retirement communities.
ARVAS is co-owned by two organisations representing the retirement living sector, the Property Council of Australia and Leading Age Services Australia (LASA), and operated on their behalf by Quality Innovation Performance (QIP), an experienced not-for-profit provider of independent accreditation services.
Ben Myers, Executive Director - Retirement Living at the Property Council, said ARVAS has been designed to reflect current and future retirement village resident expectations.
"The seven ARVAS categories of standards reflect all elements of a resident's retirement living experience, from their signing of a contract to move in, until their eventual move out," Mr Myers said.
"Through our research and consultation, residents told us they would value a scheme that evaluated their community on their ability to provide safety and security, the quality of their village manager and staff, and the clarity of the community entry and exit procedures.
"ARVAS contains updated, modern standards relating to each of these, and residents can be confident that an ARVAS-accredited community delivers on its promise."
Sean Rooney, Chief Executive Officer at LASA, said care and personal services had been included in the retirement living sector's accreditation standards for the first time.
"With more retirement villages either providing or facilitating the delivery of care-related services, it made sense to ensure our accreditation scheme reflected this evolution in the retirement living sector," Mr Rooney said.
"A diverse and experienced group of industry professionals have consulted extensively on the development of these new standards, and we encourage the entire industry to take up the scheme.
"The fact that this scheme has widespread support in the industry demonstrates the commitment of operators to provide high quality services to older Australians."
Dr Stephen Clark, Chief Executive of Quality Innovation Performance Limited (QIP), the authorised accreditation provider against the ARVAS Standards, said that QIP is looking forward to supporting villages to achieve ARVAS accreditation.
"ARVAS accreditation will demonstrate that participating villages are meeting national industry standards, providing safe and quality living environments for residents, while working towards meeting relevant state or territory legislation," Dr Clark said.
"QIP's long standing reputation as an experienced, independent accreditation provider will give residents confidence that their village operates within good governance structures and the quality of their living environment is maintained."
Retirement community owners and operators are encouraged to visit www.arvas.com.au
