What does an “Occupation Right Agreement (ORA)” mean?
It is important for intending residents of independent living units to be fully aware of the nature of their occupation and ownership of their Villa / apartment.

An ORA is the most common form of entry agreement in retirement villages in New Zealand.

An ORA gives residents the exclusive right to live in their Villa or apartment for as long as they are able to and to also enjoy and use the Village facilities according to the terms of the ORA.

While residents occupy their Villa / apartment under an ORA, the title to the land and building remains with St Andrew’s Village, and the ORA does not carry an entitlement to capital gain on termination of the agreement.

All Villages are governed by the Retirement Villages Act 2003 and its regulations. The Act requires the appointment of a Statutory Supervisor whose role it is to protect the rights of the Village residents, particularly so in the event of the Village operator failing to honour its obligations under the Act.

We recommend you get your solicitor to review both the Disclosure Statement and the ORA documentation and explain it to you if you have any queries – most solicitors are familiar with this type of contract as it is typical in the retirement village industry.

What payment do I make when I leave the village?
Payments to make on termination of the ORA are:

The Deferred Management Fee (DMF): This finances the village capital expenditure and costs not covered by the village levy. It is deducted on termination as a percentage of your original purchase price. It is calculated on a daily basis up to a maximum of 30%.

Any other amounts owed to the Village, for example the monthly village levy or accrued charges incurred in the restaurant etc.

A transfer fee (if applicable)

When will the balance of the ORA be repaid?
Within five working days of the Villa / apartment being re-licensed.

Can I bequeath my ORA to another family member or friend?
No. The ORA is not transferable.

Can a Family Trust purchase an ORA?
The ORA can only be issued in the names of the (maximum of 2) residents occupying the dwelling. However, the funds used to purchase the ORA can come from a Family Trust.

In this case it is recommended that you have a separate Deed drawn up between parties involved, to legally identify where the funds came from and where they are later to be distributed on termination of the agreement.

Will my independence and privacy be respected?
Your independence is encouraged. However, assistance is available if needed via both the Village Nurses and Concierge team. You will live in a community of like-minded people, of similar age with lots of different personal situations and personalities.

A wide range of activities and social opportunities are available within the Village – which you can choose to be involved in if you wish. If however, you simply wish to choose the quiet privacy of your own Villa or apartment; that is fine too. The choice is yours.

Am I able to have my pets living with me?
With the consent of St Andrew’s Village management suitable pets will probably be welcome. The only limitation to this is the possibility that your pet could become a nuisance to others in the Village and it may have to be removed.

Pets are not usually able to be replaced unless it is an assistance animal such as a blind or hearing dog etc.

What happens if I have an accident or get sick?
If you have an accident and need immediate attention, simply press one of the strategically placed emergency call buttons in your Villa/apartment. This will be received by a dedicated call centre and an ambulance will be despatched if necessary.

Where an illness is of a temporary nature – nursing, housekeeping and meals can be arranged to make your situation easier whilst you recover. These services are on a “user pays” basis and can be an enormous relief to your family if they are unable to be with you.

If your health deteriorates significantly, the Village Management team will work with you and your family to help you gain access to community services.

If at some point, you are assessed as needing full time clinical care (i.e. rest home, dementia or hospital care), then St Andrew’s has a full continuum of residential care options on our site. These encompass both a traditional care bed option, whereby the room and care services are paid for on a daily basis, and we are also just commencing the construction of a new care suite development that will incorporate 57 care suites. These care suites will operate under a hybrid model, whereby the apartment is purchased under a new ORA, but the care component is paid for on a daily basis similar to a traditional care bed.

As a resident of the Retirement Village, you will have priority entry to into our residential care centres should you be assessed as requiring those services.

Who is responsible for insurance?
St Andrew’s Village insure the buildings (including carpets and floor coverings, drapes and fixed chattels). You are responsible for insuring your own contents and personal effects, as well as your private motor vehicle. You will also be responsible for the repair costs or excess on any insurance claim arising out of any damage done by yourself or your guests to the dwelling or Village buildings.

Who is responsible for maintenance and repairs?
St Andrew’s Village will be responsible for the costs of maintaining the interior and exterior of your Villa / apartment and the chattels which were provided by us when you first moved in.

What if I want to redecorate my Villa / apartment?
This can only be done in consultation with the Village Management and would be at your own cost.

Under the ORA what payments will I need to make?
The payment you make when you move in:

• Licence fee – This is the full amount you pay for your Villa as agreed in the ORA with St Andrew’s Village.
• Payments you will have to make while living in the Village:
• Village Levy – this fee is charged monthly on a per dwelling basis and contributes to all costs, expenses and other outgoings incurred in operating the Village. (detailed below)
• Service charges (as used) – This can include a variety of items such as meals and drinks from our restaurants, hairdressing salon, some social events, specific clinical services such as wound dressings, injections etc.
• Your normal living expenses e.g. food, electricity, phone and internet, contents insurance.

What is the Village Levy and what does it cover?
The Village Levy (monthly fee) contributes towards the cost of providing the following types of services and charges:

• Exterior and interior building maintenance on your Villa
• Rates
• Utility costs not separately charged (e.g. water)
• Building insurance for your Villa / apartment
• Lighting to common areas, both inside and outside
• 24 hour security coverage
• 24 hour emergency call bell systems
• Maintenance of gardens and lawns of all units
• External maintenance of the Village’s walls and security fencing
• Rubbish removal
• Administration and management
• Use and enjoyment of all Village amenities
• Access to the Village nurse team for general assistance
• General maintenance to the exterior and interior of your Villa / apartment, including any chattels supplied by St Andrew’s Village upon entry.

It does not include items such as:

• Insurance on your furniture, clothes, appliances and personal belongings
• Utility costs (electricity, phone and internet)
• Pay per view TV such as Sky or other streaming services
• Purchase of personal pendants for use in conjunction with our emergency call system

Can the Monthly Fee change?
The Monthly Fee is a fixed amount advised to the Resident prior to entry into the ORA, and will not change during the term of the agreement (unless additional taxes become payable on that amount).

Who looks after the interests of the residents?
Under the terms of the Retirement Villages Act, a Statutory Supervisor is appointed who represents the interests of the residents.

At St. Andrew’s Village, the statutory supervisor is Covenant Trustees Services Limited.

St Andrew’s Village is registered under the Retirement Villages Act and is required to comply with the statutory Code of Practice designed to protect the needs/rights of residents.

St Andrew’s is also a member of the Retirement Villages Association (RVA) and is formally audited by external auditors to ensure continued compliance with both the Retirement Village Act and Code of Practice.

Can my family and friends come to stay?
Of course, this is your home. However, for Health and Safety reasons, we recommend notifying the concierge team if guests are staying with you.

You may have up to two guests stay with you for up to four weeks in any 12 month period. If you get our consent, you may have guests stay for longer or have a larger number of guests. We may require any guest to leave if we consider other residents’ enjoyment of the Village is negatively affected by their stay.

Is the Village safe and secure?
Your personal and general security is imperative to us. Our services include strategically placed emergency call buttons provided in each Villa / apartment and monitored 24 hours a day. A mobile security patrol visits every night, a Night Manager is on duty based in the Terraces development, and there are numerous CCTV cameras situated at strategic locations around the Village.

Do I have to maintain my lawns and gardens?
No. The grounds are beautifully landscaped to harmonise with the environment of the Village. There is no requirement that you participate in gardening unless you wish to do so.

What happens when I go on Holiday?
One of the great advantages of a Retirement Village is that there are always people to look after your Villa / apartment. Again, for Health and Safety reasons, we recommend advising the concierge if you are away.

Whether you go away for a week or a few months the Village Management team will care for your Villa and grounds and will securely hold your mail until your return.

Can I transfer to another unit within the Village?
Yes. Residents can transfer to another unit within the village if they so wish. Typically, such requests are received from residents who now wish to downsize to a smaller unit. In the event of a transfer, a ‘transfer fee’ will apply which is based on a flat rate of 5% of the original licence fee. This transfer fee will be deducted from the final exit payment that you receive when you eventually vacate the village and terminate your ORA agreement.

All other aspects of your original agreement with us, will remain the same.

Can I transfer to a care suite in the future?
Residents living independently within St Andrew’s will receive priority for Aged Residential care services such i.e. Rest Home, Dementia and Hospital care, following a formal assessment that 24/7 care is required.

In the event of a resident wishing to transfer from the Independent Village into a care suite, they will need to terminate their original ORA agreement for independent living and enter into a brand new ORA agreement for residential care.

If you have any other queries or would like to discuss any of the questions below please contact:
Francis Gacad (Admissions Manager) on 09 585 4018

What are the different levels of care that St Andrew’s Village offers?
St Andrew’s Village offer a full continuum of permanent residential care options on our site, as follows:

Rest Home – 57 apartments
Dementia ‘Memory” Care – 28 Beds
Hospital – 57 Beds
A dedicated palliative unit run in conjunction with Dove Hospice – 3 beds
Totalling: 145

To be eligible for a permanent care bed, you will need to be formally assessed as requiring full time care by the needs assessment team at Auckland District Health Board.

We also offer a range of short stay and respite options together with orthopaedic rehabilitation programme run in conjunction with Auckland Hospital.

How can I arrange for an assessment to be undertaken?
By phoning 09 367 0000 and asking to be put through to the Needs Assessment Team.

You can also ask a social worker or an organisation such as Age Concern on 04 801 9338 or email national.office@ageconcern.org.nz to contact an Assessor for you.

How much will it cost to stay in the Care Centre?
The government set the prices annually (by region) for each of the three main levels of care, i.e. Rest Home, Dementia and Hospital.

Therefore, the price for a standard room will be the same at any facility across the Auckland Region. The only price variable would be if a resident wishes to choose a premium room, in which case there would be an additional premium charge.

A full list of charges is available from the Admissions Manager.

What is the difference between a premium and a standard room?

Across St Andrew’s we have a wide range of Premium and Standard rooms.

Premium rooms are categorised based upon a variety of reasons, ranging from size, en-suites, enhanced outlooks with external decks, plus internal fixtures and fittings such as Smart TVs, through to specialist clinical areas where the staffing ratio would be higher than normal for that particular level of care.

Across the site, the additional premium charges currently range from $60 to $245 per day. These premium charges are fixed on the day of entry and will not increase for the duration of your time with us.

For those residents who simply want a standard room option, approximately 20% of our total beds are allocated as standard rooms, ensuring some choice for incoming residents.

Can I change between premium and standard rooms after entry?
Yes, of course, subject to the following criteria.

If you initially chose a Premium room on entry into St Andrew’s, the government contract under which we operate will allow you, after a period of 18 months, to give us 6 months’ notice that you wish to transfer to a standard room.

This means that if you choose a Premium room at the outset, you are committed to paying that fee for at least the first 24 months.

If you do choose to transfer to a standard room at any point, the additional premium fees will cease at the end of the six-month notice period, and we will work with you to organise your transfer to a standard room as soon as one becomes available.

If you initially moved into a standard room and wish to transfer to a Premium room, this can be done at any time subject to availability. You will then be committed to the same 24-month time frame as outlined above, should you ever want to subsequently move back to a standard room again.

How do I know if I am eligible for a fee subsidy?
Some residents may be eligible for a government subsidy towards the cost of their care. This is based upon a means test.

For more details, please either contact the Social Worker at the hospital or Senior Line on 0800 725 463 or go to https://www.seniorline.org.nz/.

Can we retain our own doctor?
Technically, yes, you can.

However, this does not really work in practice as there are very few community based GPs who would agree to providing 24/7 care and making on site visits.

If you are moving into our care centre as a permanent admission, we strongly recommend that you transfer to one of our panel of visiting Doctors or Nurse Practitioner, who visit our site on rotation throughout the week, and also provide emergency 24/7 cover as required.

Can I leave the site to go out with family and friends?

Of course.

Please discuss this with the Clinical Team first, so that they know what is planned.

Do you offer physiotherapy?
St Andrew’s Village has a well-equipped Physiotherapy department located in the main Care Centre. Evaluation and planning of treatment is assessed by a consulting Registered Physiotherapist and we have a team of trained Physiotherapy Assistants to carry out the treatment plan.

What are the visiting hours?
10am to 7pm.

When is the main meal served?
Our main meal is the evening meal which is served around 5.00pm.

Are there church services available?
Yes. These are arranged on a weekly basis and are interdenominational.

Are activities provided?
Yes. There are a wide range of activities and entertainment for residents each week, which are conducted in both smaller and larger groups.

We also host a range of themed activities throughout the year to coincide with special calendar events such as Mother’s Day etc.

Can I bring my own furniture?
St Andrew’s Village supply a bed, bedside table and an armchair.

We are more than happy if the resident wishes to bring their own chair and a small piece of furniture. There are also fixed shelving units in each room for you to display any personal ornaments, photographs or other memorabilia that you would like in order to help make the room feel ‘your own’.

Do you supply a television?
No. We would recommend that you bring in a small TV (no larger than 32”) that we can set up for you.

Our ‘Premium Plus’ rooms are the only ones that are already fitted with a smart TV, and these are linked to streaming services so that you have a wider choice of viewing options.

Do you supply a telephone?
No. You will need to contact a Telecom provider such as Spark or Vodafone etc., if you wish to have a land line installed. All of our rooms have a phone jack point available for that purpose, if required.

Can I have the NZ Herald delivered?
Yes. Contact NZ Herald directly to add your order to the bulk delivery which they drop off to our care centre reception each day. For the residents who have ordered the Herald, this will then be delivered to their room by our staff.

Do you have a laundry service?
Yes. However our washing machines are industrial machines and so we ask all residents to only bring easy care garments with them. If any resident wishes to have delicate or woollen clothing, then they will need to arrange for a family member to take those items home to launder. All items of clothing must be labelled and we offer a labelling service, if required.

Do we need to bring in bed linen and towels?
No. Sheets and towels are supplied but you may like to bring in a bedspread, if you have a particular favourite.

How do I give feedback or make a complaint?
We welcome feedback on our services in the form of suggestions, compliments, concerns and complaints as they help us to keep improving our services. Compliment/Feedback and Concern/Complaint forms are available at Reception and all Nurses stations and when completed can be handed in to Reception.

Success Stories At St Andrew’s Village

Ed Budomo

Ed Budomo joined St Andrew’s 15 years ago as a Clinical Assistant when he migrated from the Philippines. Ed holds the role of Support Services Coordinator responsible for the procurement, distribution and management of all the Village’s supplies and equipment. He also works as a Senior Clinical Assistant in Hector House one day a week. Ed trains and assesses newly appointed Clinical Assistants and as a Careerforce Assessor he guides and mentors staff through their qualification pathways. Ed serves on a range of committees and workgroups at St Andrew’s Village contributing hugely to the organisation’s goal to offer excellence in aged care and retirement living.

Ed is an accomplished artist and his works grace the corridors of the Care Centre. When considering immigration opportunities for him and his family he decided to train as a clinical assistant. “Caring for the elderly is deeply rooted in my culture’s values system and so caregiving seemed like a natural choice for me,” says Ed. “Artists paint canvases with their hands and caregivers paint lives with their hearts.”

“I feel hugely blessed to have been sent to work at St Andrew’s by a recruitment agent in my first month of landing in New Zealand. They have supported me to develop professionally and given me many opportunities to grow and contribute. The management also worked long and hard to help me (and many others) to get permanent residency for which I am eternally grateful.”
Ed is also an important advocate for migrant workers, sharing the story of his own stressful immigration process with the media and in a policy paper to the government authored by St Andrew’s HR Manager Lee Keegan and Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit’s Alan Johnson.

“Being a part of St Andrew’s management’s fight to secure residency for migrants is one of the most significant and memorable achievements of my career. However what I love most about working at St Andrew’s Village is the privilege, honour and joy of looking after our beloved residents.”

Sam Mathew

Sam Mathew is a Diversional Therapist and Team Leader of Stirling Lodge Memory Care Unit.
Growing up in India with parents who both worked in hospitals influenced Sam’s decision to study to become a Diversional Therapist in aged care. St Andrew’s assisted with Sam’s immigration and have encouraged and supported him to continue with his professional development.
“I feel really blessed to work at St Andrew’s. It is a beautiful environment and everyone is valued for the contribution they make. My team and I feel privileged to be able to work to create a loving and safe home for women living with advanced dementia.”

Rod Manguera

Rod Manguera is a Diversional Therapist and Physiotherapy Assistant working in the St Andrew’s Care Centre. He works with the Diversional Therapy Team to design, plan, coordinate and implement a safe and varied recreational activities programme to support, challenge and enhance the psychological, spiritual, social, emotional and physical wellbeing of the residents.

“My role is to evaluate and assess our residents’ interests, needs, strengths and weaknesses and their ability to carry out a range of tasks that encourage interaction with others.”

As a Physiotherapist Assistant, Rod supervises patients involved in exercise and therapy programmes prescribed by the St Andrew’s registered physiotherapist and runs daily exercise groups to rehabilitate and strengthen residents.

Rod has been serving the St Andrew’s community for 5 years. He hails from the Philippines where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy and worked in this profession for 6 years before coming to New Zealand. Rod holds a Level 3 New Zealand Certificate in Health, Disability and Aged Support and a Level 4 Certificate in Diversional Therapy. “I am hugely grateful to the management of St Andrew’s Village who supported and encouraged me to achieve these extra qualifications” says Rod.

“I love to help residents improve their physical abilities while growing their emotional resilience. The best part of my day is to see residents smiling and appreciating my work.”

Rod certainly brings smiles to many as he shares his compassion, kindness, a great sense of humour and his beautiful singing voice. He is the Village’s unofficial “rock star”! His dulcet tones can often be heard coming from the physiotherapy rooms and he is a favourite Karaoke leader at our Friday afternoon “Happy Hour”.

Bhaona Prasad

Bhaona Prasad loves her role as a Clinical Assistant in Hector House – a unit of the St Andrew’s Care Centre. She chose her career path over 10 years ago because of her desire to contribute to society by looking after and caring for the elderly. Bhaona applied to work at St Andrew’s Village on personal recommendations from friends who worked here. She has been serving the community of St Andrew’s for 5 years and loves the working environment, the friendly management and staff and the feeling that she belongs to an extended family.
“We love our residents and we all work together to create a happy home for them. And when I need help my “SAV family” my co-workers and management are there for me too. There’s also always a chance to learn more and our ideas our valued too.”