Oakfield Rise Retirement Estate

Southern Cross Care (SA, NT & VIC) Inc owns and manages Oakfield Rise Retirement Estate. Oakfield Rise is a 186 villa retirement estate located in Mount Barker, South Australia. It includes significant community amenities which are shared by residents, family, friends and the general public.  

Southern Cross Care is a not-for-profit aged care and retirement living provider, providing quality aged care and retirement living services to the people of South Australia, the Northern Territory and Victoria since 1968. A manager is located on site 5 days per week to liaise with residents and to coordinate maintenance, services and amenities as required.

Oakfield Rise is designed for retirees over 55 years who are able to live independently. Living at Oakfield Rise enables you to enjoy all the normal aspects of living in your own home, but without the overwhelming burdens of home and garden maintenance that are required in your standard residential property.

Residents enjoy much more than just their architecturally designed, spacious villa. The communal facilities are available to enhance general health, wellbeing and social connectivity.

Southern Cross Care is committed to providing all residents at Oakfield Rise with a secure, peaceful, friendly environment within a vibrant, social atmosphere.

If you would like to secure a villa at Oakfield Rise you will pay an ‘ingoing contribution to Southern Cross Care. This ingoing contribution is paid as a deposit fee of $5,000 when an application for a villa is made and accepted, with the balance of the ingoing contribution paid at settlement date.

The amount of the ingoing contribution varies, depending on the villa size, number of bedrooms, floorplan style, location, lot size and aspect, etc. 

Nil. This is a considerable saving compared with a typical residential property or strata title purchase. Southern Cross Care is the owner of Oakfield Rise and, whilst residents have full occupation rights in respect of their villa under a lease arrangement, there is no transfer of title at the Lands Titles Office therefore no stamp duty payable.

Upon becoming a resident of Oakfield Rise you will be granted a licence to occupy the villa and will have those contractual rights set out in your Residence Agreement.

All residents living at Oakfield Rise occupy their homes under a leasehold arrangement, which is also referred to as a Licence to Occupy. Whilst Southern Cross Care will maintain the title ownership of the property, the Retirement Villages Act and the Residence Agreement protect the residents’ tenure.

Your interest in the villa is secured by a lifetime lease. The rights and obligations of residents are clearly set out in the residence agreement, and cannot be changed without the residents’ consent. This means that although residents do not have the title to their villa, they have the exclusive right to occupy their villa for his or her lifetime if they wish, subject only to certain exceptions set out in the Retirement Villages Act. Continuity of management is ensured by this form of contract.

As the owners and managers of Oakfield Rise, Southern Cross Care has a long term interest in the ongoing success of Oakfield Rise and is therefore committed to maintaining a high standard of amenities and services.

We recommend that you seek independent legal and financial advice prior to signing your Residents Agreement.  Fees for such advice will be an additional expense to you.

The maintenance fee is designed to simplify household budgeting by incorporating many of the typical household costs into one regular charge.

Additionally, it also funds the ongoing operation of the amenities and services provided at Oakfield Rise as detailed in your residence agreement.

The fee is levied to meet the cost of:

• Rates and taxes – e.g. council, water, emergency services levy
• Emergency call system
• Insurance (excluding contents of your villa) of all buildings, plant and equipment
• Public lighting - including streets and Community Centre
• Repairs, painting and maintenance of buildings, plant and equipment
• Gardening maintenance of common areas (including villa front gardens)
• Use of Community Centre
• Administration costs – wages for manager, administration, cleaning, gardening and maintenance staff
• Cleaning of common areas and rubbish removal

The maintenance fee is payable four (4) weeks in advance. The amount of the maintenance fee and the basis upon which it is calculated may vary from time to time.

You are responsible for internal cleaning, general housekeeping and the maintenance of the rear yard of your villa. You are also required to pay for your own electricity, telephone, contents insurance, and if required, pay-TV and internet services (cabling provided).

There are a range of services available at Oakfield Rise that will be provided on a ‘user-pays’ basis.

When a resident vacates a villa, the interest free loan (ingoing contribution) made to Southern Cross Care will be discharged by Southern Cross Care, who will pay the following amounts to the outgoing resident or the resident’s estate:

Villa vacated during:

• Settling-in period 100% of ingoing contribution
• First year *95% of resale price (next ingoing contribution)
• Second year *90% of resale price (next ingoing contribution)
• Third year *85% of resale price (next ingoing contribution)
• Fourth year *80% of resale price (next ingoing contribution)
• Fifth and subsequent years *75% of resale price (next ingoing contribution)

The balance of the above percentages is retained by Southern Cross Care and is commonly known as a Deferred Management Fee (DMF) or an Exit Fee.

The Deferred Management Fee enables residents to enjoy the lifestyle and amenities of Oakfield Rise without having to pay for them until the villa is sold at a later date. It also means residents have access to more of their funds earlier, rather than committing them to provide for their housing requirements. (Refer to Residence Agreement for full details).

*The following costs are deducted from this amount at settlement.

• A contribution to the Capital Replacement Fund of 1% per year, or part year of occupancy, calculated on the resale price of the villa (ie next ingoing contribution).  This amount is capped at 12.5% on and after 12.5years. The cost of periodic refurbishment of a villa or the communal areas is funded by Southern Cross Care from funds that are held in the Capital Replacement Fund. 
  • Residents are however required to reinstate their villa to original condition on exit, with respect to any additions and alterations made to the home and to rectify any damage or excess wear and tear. Residents are not responsible for ‘fair wear and tear’. 
• A remarketing fee of 1.5% of the resale price (i.e. the next ingoing contribution) of the villa is payable, to cover advertising, sales agent and administration costs in negotiating the sale of the vacant villa.

Yes, absolutely, this is quite common.Our recommendation is to seek an appraisal of your home by experienced real estate agents in your local area, prior to progressing with your application. By doing this you will gain an understanding of the potential value of your home, the market conditions and expected time frame required to prepare and sell your home. Plus, it will assist you in choosing an agent you feel comfortable with.

As a general rule, we will give you approximately 3 months to sell your property.

Yes. You have 90 days from when you move in to decide if you like the Oakfield Rise lifestyle. If you do not, we refund your money in full, less market rent for the time that you have occupied the villa, and less any other expenses incurred by Southern Cross Care ‘conditions apply’. Note: Payment of refunds are in accordance with the South Australian Retirement Village Act and Regulations 2016.

Yes, you may choose to withdraw from the arrangements within 10 business days after signing the Residence Agreement, provided written notice is given to Southern Cross Care. Southern Cross Care will refund in full any money paid by you.

We acknowledge that the villa is your home, however, for securing reasons, we would appreciate receiving advice from you, if you intend to be absent from your villa for an extended period, being greater than one month.

When you permanently depart Oakfield Rise, an estimated exit entitlement will be provided to you or your Power of Attorney(s) or Executors of your Estate.

This will outline the estimated resale price, exit fees and timing of the refund. Currently in accordance with the SA Retirement Villages Act, payment will be within 10 business days of relicensing your villa or at 12 months, whichever should occur first.

You may be eligible for earlier repayment should you need to cover aged care costs (under the grounds of hardship). Terms and conditions are in accordance with your residence agreement and the SA Retirement Villages Act and Regulations.

Yes, of course. Your family and friends can visit you in the same manner that you are used to. Overnight guests are also welcome, however prior written consent needs to be provided by Southern Cross Care if those guests plan to stay with you for more than 10 days in a 12 month period.

Domestic pets are welcome at Oakfield Rise as long as prior written consent has been provided by Southern Cross Care. The organisation reserves the right to withdraw such consent should any pets cause inconvenience and annoyance to others, and the consent will automatically lapse upon the death of the pet.

Yes. However, in each villa there must be at least one retired person. This means that at least one resident in each villa must have attained 55 years of age and be retired from full-time employment.

Your villa comes complete with floor coverings (i.e. carpets, floor boards), Smeg wall oven, cooktop and range hood and Miele dishwasher; ducted heating and cooling; as well as other fixtures and fittings as outlined in your Residence Agreement.

Each villa has been architecturally designed to provide optimal living spaces. Much thought and planning has gone into each villa so we do not expect there to be much demand for variations or additions.

Consent is required for variations or alterations, such as additional power points, TV points, ceiling fans, pergolas and solar panels etc. Conditions may apply and may also be subject to approval in accordance with statutory or local government authority requirements.

Yes. Oakfield Rise includes a wide range of in-house amenities and services for you. You will be warmly welcomed and encouraged to make use of these fabulous amenities as often or as little as you like. Our state-of-the-art Community Centre includes a resident-run café, lounge, library, billiards room, craft room and a multi-purpose activity room with wi-fi for gatherings and private functions hosted by residents. You will of course be invited to participate in any activity that is planned by the Oakfield Rise community. 

A Health & Fitness Centre offers health, fitness and wellbeing classes and services such as a range of allied health services (scheduled fees apply for these services).

Oakfield Rise also features several outdoor ‘green spaces’ for exercise, socialising and general enjoyment, health and wellbeing. One of which is a community garden which residents have access to.

We encourage everyone to continue their usual activities, including entertaining with friends and family as you would in your previous home. There are also many restaurants in the nearby vicinity.

From time to time, resident functions will be organised, with catering provided at the cost of those participating. Residents are also encouraged to use the café facilities for private functions.

When the need arises, Southern Cross Care will work with you to understand your care needs. We will use our best endeavours to assist you to have priority access to ongoing care in Oakfield Lodge, a Southern Cross Care Residential care home adjacent to the village, or one of Southern Cross Care’s other existing Residential Care homes. Any admission will be subject to care needs, Government requirements at the time, assessment by the Single Assessment System Workforce and a vacancy.

Oakfield Lodge Residential Care also offers short-term respite care (subject to availability).

Oakfield Rise is ideally located within walking distance to several shopping precincts including Gawler Street, Victoria Crescent and Mt Barker Central. Here you will find a range of supermarkets such as Foodland, Coles, Woolworths and Aldi, along with variety store K-Mart and a wide range of specialty stores, financial institutions and food outlets.

Mt Barker Community Library, Wallis Cinemas and Tavern and historic Auchendarroch House, are also just a short stroll from the village.

Fuel outlets, Bunnings and several cafés and hotels are a short drive away, as is the entrance to the South Eastern freeway which takes you to Adelaide within 30 minutes.

There is a bus stop located 500m from Oakfield Rise on the corner of Hawthorn Road and Adelaide Road, servicing Hahndorf, Stirling and Adelaide. 

The Dumas Street Park n’ Ride is located within five minutes walk to the rear of the village and also services Adelaide and Mt Barker, and several Adelaide Hills towns.

Keoride (a local) ‘on demand’ transport service is also available to Oakfield Rise residents.