168Auditing of accounts

168 Auditing of accounts (1) The operator of a retirement village must ensure that the accounts of the village are audited annually by a person qualified to audit accounts under the Corporations Act. (2) If the audit fees are to be paid by the residents of the retirement (a) the fees must be itemised in the proposed annual budget (if any); and (b) the item must include the name of the auditor to be appointed; and (c) if the auditor to be appointed did not audit the village’s accounts for the previous financial year—the residents’ consent to the auditor’s appointment is required in the same way that it is required under section 162 (1) to (7) (Residents consent to spending) for the expenditure of the fees.

(3) The operator of a retirement village commits an offence if the (a) fails to give, not later than the prescribed time after the end of each quarter, a copy of the village’s quarterly accounts for the quarter to the residents committee for the village; or (b) if there is no residents committee—fails to display, not later than the prescribed time after the end of each quarter, a copy of the village’s quarterly accounts for the quarter on the common property of the village in the way prescribed by regulation. (5) Subsection (3) does not apply if the operator of the retirement village need not give the residents of the village a copy of the quarterly accounts for the village under section 171 (Quarterly accounts need not be given to residents in certain circumstances). (6) If, more than 28 days after the end of the quarter to which the quarterly accounts relate, a resident asks the operator for a copy of the quarterly accounts, the operator must give the resident a copy of the accounts within 7 days after receiving the request. (7) The quarterly accounts need not be audited. (8) In this section: prescribed time means— (a) the time prescribed by regulation; or (b) if no time is prescribed—28 days.