New South Wales Consolidated Acts

RETIREMENT VILLAGES ACT 1999 - SECT 118C

118C Annual consent by residents for appointment of auditor

(1) The operator of a retirement village must seek the consent of the residents of the village to the appointment of a person who is a qualified auditor as the auditor of the accounts of the village in the following way--

(a) the appointment consent may be sought together with the consent for a proposed annual budget (or an amended annual budget) or separately,

(b) the operator must give each resident a written notice (a
"consent request notice" ) stating the following--

(i) the name of the person proposed for appointment,

(ii) the qualifications of the person,

(iii) the address of the person,

(iv) the proposed period of appointment,

(c) if audit fees are to be paid by the residents, the fees must be included in the consent request notice and itemised in the proposed annual budget (if any),

(d) the consent request notice may be included in the notice required by section 112 (4) if the appointment consent is sought together with the consent for a proposed annual budget (or an amended annual budget),

(e) if the appointment consent is sought together with the consent for a proposed annual budget (or an amended annual budget), the appointment consent must be sought by means of a separate vote to the consent for the budget.

(2) The consent must be sought each calendar year unless consent is given for a longer period of appointment (not exceeding 3 years).

(3) Within 30 days after receiving a consent request notice, the residents of the retirement village must--

(a) meet, consider and vote on--

(i) the proposed appointment of the person as the auditor, and

(ii) if the proposed period of appointment is more than 1 year--the proposed period, and

(b) give the operator notice in writing (a
"consent response notice" ) that the residents consent, or do not consent, to--

(i) the appointment of the person as the auditor, and

(ii) if the residents consent to the appointment but not the proposed period of appointment--the period of appointment to which the residents consent.

Note : Section 114 also provides for the residents of a retirement village to meet, consider and vote on a proposed annual budget within 30 days of a request for consent to the proposed budget.

(4) If the residents of a retirement village do not consent to the appointment of the person as the auditor--

(a) the residents must, by notice in writing given to the operator, propose a qualified auditor as an alternative person on whom the residents have agreed by a vote for appointment, and

(b) if the alternative person is appointed, the audit fees of the auditor must be paid by the residents as part of the annual budget.

(5) A notice under subsection (4) may be given--

(a) in the consent response notice, or

(b) in a further notice in writing given to the operator, but only if--

(i) the intention to provide the further notice is indicated in the consent response notice, and

(ii) the further notice is provided within 30 days after the consent response notice is given to the operator.

(6) The residents of a retirement village are taken to have consented to the appointment of the following person as auditor of the accounts of the village--

(a) the person proposed by the operator (but only for a period of 1 year if a longer period was proposed by the operator), if the residents do not advise the operator of the village of their decision as required by subsection (3) (b) or (4),

(b) the person proposed by the residents, if the operator of the village agrees to the appointment of an alternative person proposed by the residents under subsection (4).