Murray Gardens residents' battle with Retire Australia steps up

A legal fight looming between Murray Gardens Retirement Village residents slugged by skyrocketing fees, and the estate's operator has stepped up.

Residents fear the personal emergency response system (PERS) proposed in a budget prepared by village owner Retire Australia would endanger residents.

This system sends an alert to the owner's Brisbane office, which then sends a request back to NSW to dispatch an ambulance.

Residents are bracing for a NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal hearing to determine whether the operator's budget - which jacks up general fees by 32 per cent and may propose the new monitoring system - will pass.

Retire Australia told The Border Mail it was in the process of seeking an "alternative solution" to the new monitoring system and "will keep residents updated".

But residents have sought an assurance from Retire Australia that they won't have to fight a 1385 per cent increase in PERS fees for the new system.

The existing monitoring system, which directly alerts onsite village carers to an emergency, costs $3000 a year to maintain but the proposed system that was to be introduced under the 2023 budget would cost $33,000 a year, contributing significantly to the 1385 per cent rise.

The battle between the pensioners and the owner was sparked in May when residents voted unanimously to reject the proposed budget, but they are now fearful Retire Australia will win in its bid to push it through, including the PERS hike.

Resident Ian Anderson, who will represent the residents at the NCAT hearing expected to be held in September, said negotiations between the village committee and Retire Australia had ground to a standstill.

"The old monitoring system has worked fine for 40 years, no one has ever died from it and it's a hell of a lot cheaper," Mr Anderson said.

"On August 1 there was a special resolution to oppose the updated monitoring system, there's no need to spend that much money.

"With the proposed new system, personal care assistants are cut out entirely to independent living unit residents and you have to wait for an ambulance to respond.

"Ambulance response times are not certain and cannot match our personal care assistant response. Under the existing system, which works fine, carers will be at the door in two minutes, which is vital if someone has collapsed.

"They've (Retire Australia) said we now want their budget approved and just left it, they've not updated it or communicated with us."

A Retire Australia spokeswoman told The Border Mail the firm was in the process of seeking an alternative solution.

"The current PERS system is operated internally where when a resident is in distress they hit their emergency device and a staff member responds," the spokeswoman said.

"We consulted with the resident committee earlier this year and advised them that we'd like to adopt a new system, which is externally monitored, particularly after hours, to ensure our care and processes maintain at a global standard.

"The system we recommended is widely used within the industry, and we've been implementing this system across a number of our villages.

"The residents were opposed to the proposed update to the current PERS system.

"Retire Australia are in the process of seeking an alternative solution and will keep the residents updated when further information is available."

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