A group of senior retirees evicted from their residential community are headed to arbitration with the company that owns their facility. For five years the group has battled community leaders in an attempt to avoid eviction. The NSW Civil Administrative Appeals Tribunal (NCAT) ordered the mediation and is reserving its decision regarding whether or not the residents will have their case heard if mediation is unsuccessful

The retirees are living in Hastings Point and have been on the verge of homelessness for going on six years. The problems began when TriCare purchased the park on which their homes were built and issued them an eviction notice. TriCare intended to develop the land for another use.

The residents argued for fair compensation throughout the court system, claiming the money offered by TriCare was not sufficient to help them move elsewhere. Those familiar with the case have called it complicated and have stated the residents are unlikely to get a resolution any time soon.

Now, the residents and the developer are headed to a directions hearing to discuss the mediation process. The hearing will allow the parties to present further evidence before the tribunal and determine a compensation package or figure for the residents. Mediation will then allow both side to negotiate the details of the package. The tenants union representing the retirees are hoping this serves as a test case for other residential parks. A review is underway in Western Australia concerning residential parks and whether or not the government needs to improve protections offered to residents.