Bolton Clarke retirement villages earn full ARVAS accreditation
Bolton Clarke’s 24 retirement villages are among the first in Australia to be awarded Australian Retirement Village Accreditation Scheme (ARVAS) accreditation.
The decision places the organisation, a Foundation signatory of the Retirement Villages Code of Conduct, as the largest scale provider to achieve full accreditation across all villages.
The voluntary accreditation scheme, endorsed by the Property Council of Australia and Leading Age Services Australia, is only open to villages who are signatories to the Retirement Living Code of Conduct. The program launched in October 2019, with the first villages earning accreditation over the past month.
To achieve the three-year ARVAS accreditation, villages undergo a rigorous independent assessment process based on criteria aligned with the code including community management, human resources management, resident entry and exit, resident engagement and feedback, community environment (services and facilities), safety and security and resident care.
Quality assessors measure performance on set criteria for each category, and all criteria must be met.
“I am pleased and proud that all 24 of our villages across Queensland and NSW are now fully accredited under the ARVAS,” Bolton Clarke General Manager Retirement Living Kim Teudt said.
“Our teams have worked so very hard with our village communities over the past year to undertake the rigorous process and achieve this excellent result.
“The decision is a credit to our village teams and demonstrates Bolton Clarke’s commitment to best practice in retirement living.”
LASA CEO Sean Rooney said Bolton Clarke was to be congratulated for its hard work in meeting the rigorous standards needed to achieve ARVAS accreditation.
“With ARVAS accreditation retirement village residents, and those who are thinking of moving into one, can be confident they are living in retirement villages that meet the highest standards of safety, security, management and general living environment,” Mr Rooney said.
“Congratulations to Bolton Clarke for being among the first to achieve ARVAS accreditation and for setting the standard for the rest of the industry.”
Retirement Living Council President Marie-Louise MacDonald said the announcement was good news for the scheme and for the retirement living industry.
“During my time as the Retirement Living Council’s President, I have had the pleasure of witnessing the development and implementation of the Retirement Living Code of Conduct and ARVAS since the Council conceived these ideas,” she said.
“I am thrilled with the progress that the ARVAS Accreditation Scheme is making. A huge congratulations to Bolton Clarke on obtaining their Accreditation as this has been an enormous effort by their team!
“The commitment shown by Bolton Clarke to ensure they meet the standards of service through the whole resident experience is what makes our industry so great. I hope to continue seeing more operators investing in their staff and communities to help residents live their best possible retirement lifestyle.”
