Retirement Village Manager

A retirement village manager runs a retirement village, where older people usually live in their own unit or villa and share the village's facilities. The job covers managing residents' agreements and notices under state or territory retirement village laws, welcoming new residents, and making sure the village meets hygiene and safety rules. A retirement village manager also hires and trains staff, sets budgets, works with the residents' committee, and may run village transport, social clubs, dining and recreation facilities. Retirement villages are not the same as residential aged care homes, which run under separate aged care laws and are covered by a separate ABS occupation.

Plan and coordinate the running and administration of the village. Manage residents' agreements and notices in line with state or territory retirement village rules. Welcome new residents and explain how the village works. Check that the village meets hygiene, safety and other required standards. Hire, train and supervise staff, and set the standard of service to residents. Plan budgets and approve spending on maintenance, services and activities. Meet with the residents' committee and respond to residents' questions and concerns. Organise village transport, social clubs, dining and recreation facilities.

The standard entry pathway requires a diploma, advanced diploma or associate degree (ABS skill level 2). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.

You answer both to the village owner, who wants the village to run within budget, and to residents, who live there and expect a say in how it runs. Disputes about fees, maintenance and village rules can be hard to settle, and the law sets out how some of them must be handled. Many villages have a small team, so the manager may also cover admin, maintenance problems and after hours callouts. You will also support residents and families through ill health and loss.

Retirement villages are spread across capital cities, suburbs and regional centres, with many in coastal areas popular with retirees. Employers include private operators and not-for-profit organisations, some of which run many villages. The job is on site, because the manager needs to be available to residents.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 1419, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.

This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.

Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.

• Active Listeningcore
• Adaptability and Flexibilitycore
• Attention to Detailcore
• Complaint Handlingcore
• Conflict Resolutioncore
• Cultural Awareness and Sensitivitycore
• Customer Needs Assessmentcore
• Empathy and Emotional Intelligencecore
• Feedback Collection and Actioningcore
• Incident Reportingcore
• Multitaskingcore
• Problem Solvingcore
• Record Managementcore
• Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
• Risk Identificationcore
• Rostering and Scheduling Supportcore
• Supplier Communicationcore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Written Communicationcore
• Basic Arithmetic and Numerical Accuracy
• Digital Literacy

• ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
• ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
• ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.

Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.

Where our numbers come from.

Last updated: 10 October 2026