Shock claims revealed about Palmville Group Homes at Ipswich
Shock claims have been made in court about an Ipswich NDIS housing contractor which provided assisted living homes for the community’s most vulnerable people after it was revealed it operated unregistered for years.
Ipswich
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A court heard an Ipswich company which provided assisted care living for the community’s most vulnerable residents had been operating while unregistered for years.
Palmville Group Homes PTY LTD pleaded guilty today, Wednesday, April 13, to conducting a residential service at an unregistered premises between 23 July 2018 and 22 February 2021.
Palmville Group Homes directors Brett Gordon Emblem and Diane Christine Payne appeared in Ipswich Magistrates Court on behalf of their company.
Emblem and Payne themselves were not charged.
Crown prosecutor on behalf of the Queensland Government Pitkeathly said the issue first came to light after an investigation following a resident’s alleged complaint on January 13, 2021.
“The complaint outlined various (alleged) issues with the operation of the premise that included: the defendant was keeping possession of a key cards so no purchases could be made; no proper medication management or medication training; residents not allowed to use airconditioning; staff not turning up on time or lazy; the food was inadequate; the general premise property was subpar and not in good shape; and residents were not allowed to use the landline,” Ms Pitkeathly said.
Ms Pitkeathly said six residents were living in the unregistered care facility at Edith Drive North Ipswich – three people per duplex.
“The defendant had in place residential service agreements for each tenant and provided basic meals, basic cleaning services, and laundry, and they also provided medication management and financial assistance,” she said.
“The (relevant law) had been previously explained to the defendant during an investigation in 2017-18 – they knew the premises had to be registered.”
The court heard the process had been explained to Palmville Group Homes months before they purchased their third assisted care living home in 2018.
Palmville Group Homes’ two other homes were properly registered — one at 36 Thorne Street, Ipswich and the other at 60 Helen Street, North Booval.
Ms Pitkeathly said the pair also took steps to reclassify the home as a boarding house through the Ipswich City Council and were given a list of requirements.
“The objective of the act is to protect the health and safety and basic freedom of residents and encourage service providers to improve … (and) to protect more vulnerable members of the community that require budget accommodation … who are more susceptible to violations,” she said.
Solicitor Christy Louden said the NDIS complaints made about her clients were allegations and only relevant as they triggered the charge before the court.
Ms Louden said there was no evidence to suggest Palmville Group Homes had not been complying with regulation for the entirety of the time frame.
“They were originally doing hostels and subsequently moved into individual accommodations to help those who are vulnerable in the community,” she said.
“It is a mistaken understanding of the legislation.
“The confusion came because they have two different strata titles in relation to the (duplex) land parcels … and they were interpreting the act by themselves without legal advice.
“They had ongoing contact with the department throughout the years … and at no point were they told they weren’t compliant.”
The court heard Emblem and Payne thought the dwelling only had to be registered if they had more than three residents per duplex.
Acting Ipswich Magistrate Rob Turra noted the company made efforts to rectify the issue and had now changed their business model to run as NDIS accommodation to ensure ongoing compliance.
Magistrate Turra said it was a serious breach and fined Palmville Group Homes PTY LTD $19,500.
Magistrate Turra noted the company had no previous convictions and the directors were of good character.
No convictions were recorded.
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