From Steve's desk

Thanks to YOU, 2024 has seen our 16,000 strong team and organisation come together under the Bolton Clarke name as Australia’s Heart of Positive Ageing.

An extraordinary milestone that has only been possible as a result of your tenacity and dedication.

This achievement is the tip of the iceberg in a year of MANY highlights:

• Exceptional operational results with record high home care packages and occupancy rates across our residential care homes and retirement villages.
• Maintaining full compliance across our services and continued benchmark-setting workplace health and safety performance.
• Welcoming the RCA Villages team and residents into the Group. The four retirement villages on the Mornington and Bellarine peninsulas complement our existing Europa on Alma and Callisto Place communities. All are located in areas where there is strong demand for connected services including residential aged care and home and community support.
• Historic sector reform with progression of the Aged Care Act through Parliament to provide more certainty for the sector demonstrating what customers, providers and policymakers can achieve when they work together.
• National and international recognition for us through a raft of awards such as operator of the year and employer of choice.
• Recognition for our recruitment team named mobility team of the year for their successful recruitment, training, placement and orientation of 98 PALM workers.
• HIV Aids specialist, Dr Liz Crock, awarded the HESTA Nurse Practitioner of the Year. Well-deserved acknowledgement of a career spanning many decades of leading contribution in this field across Australia and internationally.

In this edition of Montage, read more about the stories, milestones and achievements from 2024. This includes the latest cohort of nurses and personal care workers to complete our graduate programs, innovative allied health and social connection programs led by our frontline teams, and our new sustainability strategy, along with plenty of celebratory team moments.

Heading into our 140th anniversary year, we continue to make great strides supporting our not-for-profit purpose and growing to provide more connected care and living options across Australia. Something we can all be proud to be part of. It is my personal honour to have now served this exceptional organisation for 1/10th of its history.

Wishing you and your families a safe and relaxing time together over the festive period. As always, my deep appreciation is particularly with all team members who will keep supporting residents and clients with the utmost kindness and care throughout the holidays.

My thanks to each and every one of you for making 2024 a year to remember.

Take care,

Steve