Sarina Aged Care transfers ownership to Ozcare

The community-owned aged care provider had been going since 1991, but new legislation made it too tough to continue. Here’s what happens now.

Generic aged care.

Fallout from the federal government’s new regulations on aged care has hit the long-running Sarina Aged Care, with the board transferring ownership of the small community-owned provider to Ozcare to preserve its service in an era of rising complexity.

Chairman Ralph Johnson said demands around choice and decision-making for residents made it increasingly difficult for small operators to exist.

“It is really the tensions around dignity of choice and engagement and you know that in summer it might not be wise for somebody to go downtown, walking downtown because of all the risks of a fall, of dehydration,” he said.

“But if that is their stated intention, then that is what they must be supported to do and we have got to find ways to support them.

“If someone decides they want to pursue a certain choice, we have to find a way to support them and that becomes far more complex.”

He said the new standards added responsibilities his board members could not comfortably meet.

“(The changes have) markedly increased the responsibilities and liabilities of volunteer directors,” he said.

“So the actual viability of the company is not only a financial thing, and luckily we are profitable, it is also in the governance side of things, it is becoming absolutely a different level of difficulty to try to have the right governance for everybody to be able to sleep at night.”

Consolidation in the aged care sector is growing across Queensland.

Ozcare, a larger Catholic provider with 16 aged care facilities across Queensland, will take control of the not-for-profit 48-bed and 13 independent living unit enterprise.

Ozcare CEO Tony Godfrey said he was committed to a “seamless transition”.

“We would like to assure everyone that it will be business as usual for residents, families and staff,” he said.

“Safeguards will remain in place to protect the tenure of all residents and all staff will be made offers of continued employment under no less favourable conditions.”

The licenses for the 48 beds will also remain in Sarina, Mr Johnson said.

The move comes as small operators buckle across the state and consolidation in the sector grows.

Mr Johnson said up to 50 aged care homes similar to his own operation had folded or transferred ownership to larger operators in just the past year.

Community Business Australia principal consultant Patrick Herd helped organise the Sarina Aged Care transfer and said pressure was building on rural and regional providers across the country.

“One of the options is to become part of a larger, more resourced organisation,” he said.

“We are seeing that across the country.”