Aveo Group is an Australian company, and a leading owner, operator and manager of over 90 retirement and aged care communities across Australia. The retirement communities are located in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, SA, Victoria and

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, and as of 2021, Aveo provides senior living choices for over 12,000 residents. Its head office is located in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, with corporate offices in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. In November 2019, shareholders approved a $1.3 billion takeover offer by

Brookfield Asset Management Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. is a Canadian-American alternative asset manager. The company was founded in December 2022 as a spin-off of the asset management operations of Brookfield Corporation. At its inception, the company was headquarter ...

and Aveo was delisted from the ASX. Brisbane's first integrated retirement living community, Aveo Newstead, won the Nettletontribe Award for Design Award at the 2018 Property Council's Retirement Living Awards. In 2017, a class action was lodged against Aveo alleging its resident contracts involved unconscionable and misleading conduct. The class action attracted publicity when the lead lawyer, Stewart Levitt, was accused of misleading the residents and the law firm running the class action, Levitt Robinson, was ordered to remove their ads promoting the class action. It was the first-ever case where a Contradictor (similar to an

Intervenor In law, intervention is a procedure to allow a Party (law), nonparty, called intervenor (also spelled intervener) to join ongoing litigation, either as a matter of right or at the discretion of the court, without the permission of the original lit ...

) was appointed as an amicus over an opt-out notice. The barrister appointed as Contradictor advised clients not to join the class action. Aveo vigorously fought the allegations. The matter was settled in March 2023 with Aveo agreeing to a payment of $11 million, without making any admission of liability. Levitt Robinson released a statement withdrawing the case and acknowledging that "the introduction and implementation by Aveo and its related entities of Aveo Way contracts were lawful, in accordance with industry standards" and expressing "regret for any distress or anxiety which Aveo residents and staff have experienced as a result of or incidental to the Aveo class action litigation." Federal Court Justice Bernard Murphy subsequently described their handling of the case as "seriously derelict" and "beggaring belief", ruling that Levitt Robinson failed to act "with the efficiency and care

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

was legally required" and that this prevented an earlier settlement being reached. Murphy reduced the fees Levitt Robinson could retrieve from the settlement by $2.5 million, and commented that "the unfortunate reality or the plaintiffsis that their case was weak and always likely to fail."

References

External links

* {{Official, https://www.aveo.com.au/ Real estate companies of Australia Brookfield Corporation