Retirement villages in Victoria generally involve three types of costs: an entry payment when you move in, ongoing maintenance charges while you live there and an exit or departure fee when you leave, depending on your contract. Victorian retirement villages are regulated under the Retirement Villages Act 1986, with Consumer Affairs Victoria overseeing the sector.
This guide explains the fees you may come across when considering retirement living communities in Victoria and what each one means for your overall costs.
It covers retirement villages only. Land lease and other lifestyle communities operate under different arrangements, so it’s important to understand the difference between a retirement village and an over-50’s community before comparing costs. Residential aged care fees are also separate and not included in this guide.
The rules for Victorian retirement villages changed on 1 May 2026, including new requirements around fees, contracts and exit entitlements. This means the date you signed your retirement village contract can affect which rules apply and what you may be required to pay.
Key points
- Entry payment: A one-off payment for the right to live in the village, typically under a lease or licence rather than ownership of the land.
- Maintenance Charge: A regular fee which covers the day-to-day running of the village. Each year the increase is usually capped at CPI.
- Exit fee (DMF): A percentage of your entry payment is deducted from your exit entitlement when you leave, based on the time you live in the village.
- Contracts from 1 May 2026: Maintenance Charges stop when you permanently leave and hand back the home, and your exit entitlement must generally be paid within 12 months.
Retirement village entry costs in Victoria
Entry costs are generally one-off payments you make when you move into a retirement village. However, the amount and type of payment depend on the village and your contract.
- Entry payment (also called an ingoing contribution): Paid on moving in and secures your contractual right to live in the home, normally under a lease or licence. It does not give you title to the land. In strata or freehold villages, owner residents instead pay a purchase price for their property. At Hayville Retirement Living Community in Box Hill, residents occupy their home under a licence arrangement, with entry payments ranging from $325,000 to $575,000 depending on the unit selected.
- Waiting list fee: Some retirement villages will charge a fee to join their waiting list. If there is a fee, the village’s information statement will tell you how much it is and whether it is refundable. Hayville does not charge a waiting list fee or holding deposit.
- Legal and financial advice: It’s worth having your documents independently reviewed before signing a retirement village contract so you understand the fees, your rights and your financial obligations. Any charge for this advice goes directly to your chosen legal or financial adviser and not to the retirement village.
For more information about how these costs work across Australia, see our guide to Retirement Village Fees Explained, including common entry, ongoing and exit costs.
Retirement village ongoing costs and maintenance charges
When comparing retirement village fees in Victoria, factor in ongoing costs because you pay them regularly for as long as you live there. In Victoria, the main ongoing fee is called a Maintenance Charge.
- Maintenance charge: Paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly to cover the day-to-day running of the village. The fee may include village management and staff, the 24-hour emergency call system, council rates, building insurance, maintenance of common facilities and grounds maintenance. At Hayville, the Maintenance Charge varies between $510.22 and $570.64 per month, depending on the unit, as of 30 June 2026. In Victoria, operators can generally increase the Maintenance Charge once a year in line with CPI. A larger increase requires resident approval by special resolution unless it relates to increases in award wages or rates, taxes and charges on the village land. Consumer Affairs Victoria provides more information about fees and charges while living in a retirement village.
- Electricity and gas: These bills are generally not included in the Maintenance Charge, and are charged according to your consumption.
- Home contents insurance: Residents are responsible for arranging and paying for their own contents insurance to cover their personal belongings. The building insurance included in the Maintenance Charge covers village buildings rather than residents’ possessions.
- Optional services: Services such as meals, cleaning and laundry may be available on a user-pays basis, meaning you only pay for those you choose to use. These types of additional services are more commonly associated with serviced apartments, which combine independent retirement living with extra day-to-day assistance. Personal care may also be arranged separately where available, rather than forming part of the standard Maintenance Charge.
Before moving in, check the village’s costs and contracts carefully so you know which expenses are included in the Maintenance Charge and which you’ll need to budget for separately.
Retirement village exit fees and the deferred management fee
Exit costs aren’t paid upfront when you enter a retirement village. Instead, applicable fees and charges are generally deducted from your exit entitlement, which is the amount returned to you or your estate after you leave the village.
- Deferred management fee (DMF, also called an exit fee or departure fee): This is calculated as a percentage of your entry payment for each year, or part of a year, you live in the village, up to the maximum specified in your contract. At Hayville, the DMF is 3.5% of the entry payment per year and is calculated on a daily pro-rata basis.
- Capital gain or loss share: Your contract will explain whether you share in any increase or decrease in the value of the home when it is resold. At Hayville, residents receive 0% of any capital gain and are responsible for 0% of any capital loss.
- Reinstatement costs: These cover work required to return the home to the condition it was in when you moved in, allowing for fair wear and tear. The amount will depend on the condition of the home when you leave.
- Documentation cost: An administration charge may apply when you leave the village. At Hayville, this is $3,000 and is payable when the exit entitlement is paid.
- Outstanding Maintenance Charges: Any Maintenance Charges that remain unpaid up to the date you hand back the home may also be deducted from your exit entitlement.
For residents moving from retirement living into residential aged care, the exit entitlement may help cover some of the expenses involved. Our guide to the Cost of Aged Care in Melbourne explains the main fees you may need to plan for.
Deferred management fee example at Hayville
The example below shows how the deferred management fee and other exit costs could affect the exit entitlement for someone who has lived at Hayville Retirement Community (pictured below) for five years. These figures are illustrative only. The actual amount a resident pays will depend on the terms of their individual contract and any other applicable charges when they leave.
| Item | Example |
|---|---|
| Entry payment | $400,000 |
| Time lived in the village | 5 years |
| DMF (3.5% per year x 5 years = 17.5%) | $70,000 |
| Documentation cost | $3,000 |
| Capital gain or loss share | Not shared (0%) |
| Estimated exit entitlement before any outstanding charges | $327,000 |
In this example, $73,000 is deducted from the original $400,000 entry payment for the DMF and documentation costs, leaving an estimated exit entitlement of $327,000. Any outstanding Maintenance Charges or other amounts payable under the resident’s contract would also need to be taken into account.
Changes to Victorian Retirement Village Fees from May 2026
Significant reforms to Victoria’s Retirement Villages Act 1986 came into effect on 1 May 2026, representing the biggest changes to the Act since it was introduced. Several rules affecting retirement village fees in Victoria now depend on when the contract was signed, so existing residents should check their contract to understand which arrangements apply to them.
Here are some of the main changes affecting retirement village costs:
| Change | Applies to | What it means for residents |
|---|---|---|
| No Maintenance Charges after vacant possession | Contracts from 1 May 2026 | Maintenance Charges stop once you permanently leave and hand back the home. Under older contracts, some residents may continue paying them until a new resident signs or moves in, for up to six months. |
| Exit entitlement paid within 12 months | Contracts from 1 May 2026 | The exit entitlement must be paid no later than 12 months after you permanently leave, even if a new resident has not moved in. Earlier payment can apply in some circumstances. |
| DMF calculated daily | Contracts from 1 May 2026 | The deferred management fee is calculated according to the actual time you lived in the village and stops accruing when you hand back vacant possession. |
| Capital loss share cannot exceed capital gain share | Contracts from 1 May 2026 | Your share of any capital loss cannot be greater than the share of any capital gain you would receive. |
| Standard form contract | New contracts from 1 September 2026 | Villages must use the prescribed standard contract, making costs and contract terms easier to understand and compare. |
| Annual contract check | All residents | Each year, the operator must provide a financial snapshot showing an estimate of what you would receive and what you would owe if you left the village. |
These changes make it particularly important to check when your contract was signed rather than assuming the same fee rules apply to every Victorian retirement village resident.
How to compare retirement village fees in Victoria before you sign
Before choosing a retirement village in Victoria, look beyond the advertised entry price and consider what you’ll pay while you live there and when you leave. Every village must have an information statement, and you must receive this and other required disclosure documents at least 21 days before signing a contract. The information statement includes important costs such as the entry payment, Maintenance Charge, deferred management fee (DMF), capital gain arrangements and fees that may apply when you leave.
When comparing villages, put these costs side by side and consider how they could add up over the time you expect to live there. A village with a lower entry payment, for example, may have a higher DMF or different arrangements for sharing capital gains. Looking at the full fee structure gives you a clearer picture than comparing entry prices alone.
New retirement village contracts also have a seven-day cooling-off period. If you withdraw during this period, the operator can retain an administration fee where applicable, but other money you have paid must be refunded.
It’s also worth having the contract reviewed by an independent solicitor and seeking financial advice before you sign. This gives you an opportunity to understand your obligations, ask questions about anything that’s unclear and consider how the costs fit with your longer-term plans.
You can speak with the TriCare Hayville team to learn more about available homes, current fees and how its retirement village contracts work.
FAQs
Do you pay stamp duty on a retirement village in Victoria?
TriCare retirement living residents generally don’t pay stamp duty on their home because they occupy it under a licence or lease rather than purchasing freehold land. This differs from arrangements where a resident purchases and owns the property.
Do you have to pay to renovate your unit when you leave?
Reinstatement and renovation are different. For contracts signed from 1 May 2026, residents are required to leave their home reasonably clean and in substantially the same condition as when they moved in, allowing for fair wear and tear. Renovation is only required where the resident and operator agree to it in writing, including how the costs and any resulting capital gain or loss will be shared.
Does moving into a retirement village affect the Age Pension?
It can. Centrelink considers how much you pay to enter a retirement village when determining whether you’re treated as a homeowner or non-homeowner for Age Pension purposes. Read our guide to how moving into a retirement village can affect your pension for a more detailed explanation.
