Supplier FAQs

AgedAdvisor.nz aims to be New Zealand's most comprehensive directory of retirement villages, lifestyle villages, and aged care facilities. Every registered village and care facility across the country is listed to ensure older Kiwis and their families have access to transparent, reliable information when making important lifestyle and care decisions.

Your village or care facility is listed as part of this mission to give people a full picture of their options - regardless of size, location, or ownership. We believe in empowering people with the tools to compare services, read real reviews, and make informed choices.

Being listed also helps your facility gain visibility with prospective residents and their families who are actively searching for trusted care and lifestyle options online.

The founders of the site initially started working on a not-for-profit project called 'LIFEfriends' - a volunteer visiting programme for people in aged care that wouldn't normally get to see many visitors. After piloting the programme, and talking to resthome and aged care facility managers, it was clear that there was a real need to expand this nationally. However, to do that was going to require some form of funding. 

With previous and recent experiences of helping family move into various retirement and aged care facilities (due to changes in health), it became clear that the retirement villages and aged care facilities varied greatly in environment, activities, workplace culture and management approach. Although there was audit information available on each of the facilities - this primarily covered health systems and processes. There was no where that you could go to compare retirement villages and aged care facilities, or read reviews from residents, friends and family or other people that visited or worked there. 

One of the sites founders commented how their experience of the care offered within a facility was great, but "It was sometimes very difficult to have simple requests actioned that would help improve the quality of life for our parents (or even other residents)... or when facility promotional material and 'Audits' said that there were weekly van outings, but in reality the residents that we came in contact with hadn't been taken out in a van in the 15 months that we had been visiting there."

Yet, overseas there were review sites specifically for aged care or retirement villages. In the UK, one website alone has over 80,000 comments from residents on their first-hand experiences - many of them sharing how great the care is. 

So with the desire to see all residents have regular visitors combined with the need of firsthand testimonials on what retirement and aged care facilities were doing well at, and what good be improved - AGEDADVISOR was developed.  A site for us to 'share our experience' - the good, the bad, and what really goes on, so that others can make informed decisions on where they or their loved ones can best plan to spend the next stage of their lives.

With over 1100 reviews on almost 300 facilities - people can now read about the great things that are going on at many of the facilities around New Zealand, and make better informed decisions - thanks to the very people that live, visit or work there.

We understand that some reviewers may want to post 'honest' feedback, but fear retribution for posting comments about the facility that either they, a family member or friend might be staying in. They need to be able to share their experience without any fears.

This is why we allow names to be 'withheld'.

NOTE: For any reviews to be submitted, we still require the users first and last name and at least one form of contact whether this be email or a phone number, so we can ensure we only post verifyable comments and reviews. Not all the reviews we receive are posted, for this reason.  From time to time, we may contact you via email to keep you updated on news, events, and information that we provide that supports our members and those seeking transparency in the village & care sector. You will always be provided with an opportunity to unsubscribe from these emails.

No. We appreciate people may want to remain anonymous (for various reasons) while posting a comment. We do require at least a name and a contact number or email address (which we use internally only for verification purposes). We will only show your first name - unless you have requested an anonymous name - then no first name will show. Also, we do not share contact details or email addresses with any facilities, suppliers or advertisers.

On AgedAdvisor.nz, some facility listings include more detailed information, images, videos, and ORA availabilities because those facilities are on an upgraded plan. These plans allow facilities to enhance their listings, giving them the opportunity to showcase what makes them unique and provide more helpful details for potential residents and families.

All registered retirement villages and care facilities in New Zealand are listed on AgedAdvisor.nz to ensure a complete and transparent directory - but those on an upgraded plan have the ability to personalise and expand their listings for better visibility and engagement.

We have a "3 Stage Moderation Process" in place. When a review is posted the following happens;

INTERNALLY:
• Our Admin receive immediate notice of the review being posted.
• Initial moderation happens at an Admin level (first tier). Standard checks are performed to edit / remove;

     - Individuals names  -  Grammar  -  Inappropriate language  -  Gross generalisations etc.

• Comments that are deemed outside of general moderation are then escalated to a Management level (second tier) for moderation.
• Comments flagged by Management as outside of second tier review are then passed to Legal (third tier) for review.

EXTERNALLY:
• Facilities & Provider HO's are offered the opportunity to opt-in (for free) to receive an automated email as soon as a review is posted. This can be sent to either the facility, head office, or both.
• They may report a comment that they dispute or believe want moderated. They provide a reason and the comment is automatically removed from online and replaced with a "Sent for moderation" message.
• Depending on the comment either one or both sides will then be contacted for additional information. The 3 tier process is then applied where necessary. The comment will then be either re-posted without editing, or edited. Once moderated, the 'Report this Comment' option is removed from online and any further approaches need to be made directly with Aged Advisor via our Contact Us page.

If someone posts a review that does not meet our comment guidelines or is untrue in nature, then the facility manager, or another user or Aged Advisor may flag the post for moderation, by clicking 'Report this Comment' next to the review. This will remove the comment from displaying on the site, for our Moderation Team to then review.

If the review is found to not meet our guidelines, or the private contact details are invalid, or for any other reasons that Aged Advisor deems necessary, the comment may be;

   1. Permanently removed ...or ...

   2. Edited ( with any content removed showing [EDITED] ) and then reposted. 

The review will then display 'Moderated', and the 'Report this Comment' button disabled. Any additional concern on the posting will then need to be sent through to Aged Advisor via the Contact Us page.

An aged care facility or retirement village can respond to a comment that has been posted about them only if they have upgraded from a free listing to a paid plan. We see this as a valuable tool for facilities to let our readers know that they are taking an active role in listening to what people are saying about them. It gives the facilities an opportunity to thank reviewers for any positive / encouraging comments, or to respond to any changes that have or are being implemented, thanks to peoples feedback.

No, facilities cannot have their free listing removed from AgedAdvisor.nz.

AgedAdvisor.nz exists to provide a complete and transparent directory of every registered retirement village and aged care facility in New Zealand. Our goal is to ensure that older New Zealanders and their families have access to accurate, unbiased information when researching or comparing care and lifestyle options.

By maintaining a full list - including both free and enhanced listing - we create a fair platform where people can read and leave reviews, compare services, and make informed decisions. Removing listings would compromise the integrity and usefulness of the site for those who rely on it during a critical life stage.

While facilities cannot opt out of a basic listing, they do have the option to claim and enhance their listing through one of our subscription plans. This allows them to share more detailed information, images, and updates - helping them stand out while still supporting the transparency our users value.

We have sponsors and businesses that support the site through advertising. We make sure that all our sponsors are not direct owners or head offices for aged care facilities or retirement villages. We also allow retirement villages and aged care facilities to upgrade their listing from a free listing for a monthly fee, with a portion of profits going to support a LIFEfriends visitation programme into Aged Care facilities.

Note: Unlike some other services, we are fully independent and receive no government or DHB funding, nor we are not affiliated with any Retirement Villages or Aged Care providers.

Facilities that upgrade to a paid monthly plan gain access to enhanced features that significantly improve their visibility and presentation on the AgedAdvisor platform. Compared to basic (free) listings, which offer only minimal information, upgraded listings provide a far more comprehensive and engaging profile.

Upgraded listings include:

• Display of the company logo
• A photo gallery showcasing the facility
• Full contact details, including phone and email
• A direct link to the facility's own website
• Embedded YouTube or promotional video content (for Retirement Villages)
• Facility logo shown alongside any reviews
• Priority placement above free listings in the 'default' sort view
• The ability for Facility Owners / Managers to publicly respond to reviews and comments

Basic listings typically include only the facility name, address, and community reviews - with no branding, imagery, contact details, or ability to respond to feedback.

And that's just the beginning - upgraded plans also unlock exclusive tools, enhanced moderation options, priority marketing visibility, and SEO support to help your facility stand out even more.

Because these listings are more informative and visually appealing, they consistently attract more views and enquiries.

Want to know everything that comes with an upgrade? Get in touch with us via the Contact Us page - we'll walk you through the full benefits tailored to your facility.

If you have posted a review and you notice a mistake then you will need to advise us via the contact us page.

If the facility has since changed the way they do things then we suggest you post a new comment / review and mention your 'update' to say if and what has changed / improved. This way viewers get to hear about the changes / improvements.

Unlikely, especially if it's the truth. We recommend you follow our review policy when posting a comment. We have clear systems for ensuring facilities are kept informed of any comments posted relating to them. They also have the opportunity to flag it for moderation. Should someone feel the need to sue anyone we would point them to a phenomenon called the 'Streisand Effect'.

In the event a comment is posted that the facility disagrees with, or it falls outside of our review policy, the facility owner (or anyone else logged in) may 'Report' the comment for moderation, giving the reason for why they have reported it.