In most instances, developers of retirement villages will need a property developer licence. A property developer licence is required to undertake building work on a regulated residential building. Regulated residential buildings are:
- residential dwellings constructed as part of a project to construct 3 or more dwellings
- class 1 or class 2 buildings, and buildings that contain class 2 buildings.
This definition applies to most retirement villages, meaning that property developers working on these projects will need to be licensed.
The Property Developers Regulation 2025 will exempt retirement villages where the property developer is an approved aged care provider that is also registered as public benevolent institution by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. These entities will not need a property developer licence when constructing retirement villages.
All other people and entities that conduct each of the activities that require a licence, as detailed in section 7 of the Act, will require a licence.
