Retirement Villages' Residents' Council

Representing retirement village residents

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Kia ora,  Welcome... 

The Retirement Villages' Residents' Council is an independent body representing the collective interests of retirement village residents in Aotearoa, New Zealand.


We strive to be an inclusive environment where resident concerns can be addressed, opinions can be given, ideas can be shared, and decisions made.

We provide an opportunity for retirement village residents to share and express their independent views to retirement village stakeholders.

Retirement villages in numbers

452

The number of retirement villages  in Aotearoa, New Zealand

39,070

The number of units within retirement villages in Aotearoa, New Zealand

50,791

Estimated number of retirement village residents in Aotearoa, New Zealand

Council objectives

We have five key objectives for the Council - effective communication, supporting the the implementation of best practices, to put the interests of residents at the heart of every decision, to act as a conduit between residents, management and Retirement Villages Association members and to seek opportunities for positive change on issues that affect retirement village residents.

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Council structure

The Council currently has 11 council members plus an independent chairperson. 


Its terms of reference provide that the Council at any one time, can consist of between 10 and 20 residents who are interested in actively participating in representing their fellow residents of retirement villages.


Our Council members have all been selected by the Chairperson from candidates nominated  by retirement village residents' committees or other residents.

See our terms of reference

News

2 February 2026
Oversimplifying village residents’ voices won’t deliver fair reform , Carol Shepherd, Spokesperson for the Retirement Villages' Residents' Council There is rarely a single legitimate voice for any large and diverse group of people. Retirement village residents are no exception. More than 50,000 New Zealanders live in retirement villages. They come from different backgrounds, have different financial circumstances, different health needs and very different expectations about ageing. It should surprise no-one that they do not all speak with one voice — nor should they be expected to. Much has been written recently about who represents residents and what residents want. In that debate, it is important to understand who the Retirement Villages’ Residents’ Council is — and, more importantly, what we hear directly from residents themselves. Read full article HERE
10 December 2025
Our December Newsletter is available HERE . You can subscribe by emailing: info@residentscouncil.org.nz with the subject "Subscribe to Newsletter", we will then add you to our database for updates/newsletters.