Town wins fight to keep aged care community owned

In short:

An ownership transfer of Proserpine Nursing Home to Respect Aged Care has been voted down by the Proserpine Nursing Home Association.

More than 150 people voted on Monday after the nursing home management committee announced a deal had been struck with the national provider last month.

What's next?

The nursing home will remain a community-owned charity, and at least one management committee member will step down at an upcoming annual general meeting.

On a still night in Proserpine, former aged-care worker Cheryl Raiteri emerges from the light of the rural north Queensland community's only aged care facility.

Steam plumes from the sugar mill in the distance as the 82-year-old walks down the driveway, beaming.

"I'm ecstatic," she said.

Locals had just successfully fought to keep the community-owned Proserpine Nursing Home (PNH) out of the hands of a national provider.

PNH is a 100-bed aged care centre in the small cane farming community 120 kilometres north of Mackay.

It was built on a donated cane paddock in the 1980s through fundraised money.

The facility is a registered charity run by a general manager who is answerable to an elected volunteer management committee, which reports to the broader Proserpine Nursing Home Association (PNHA).

In August, after much community speculation, management committee chair Marie Dickens announced a deal had been struck to transfer ownership of PNH to Respect Aged Care.

The Tasmanian-based provider is a rapidly growing not-for-profit, which acquired its first eight Queensland nursing homes last year.

The deal was subject to a PNHA vote on Monday.

The vote

In the months leading up to the vote, before and after the deal was announced, concerns were being raised about Proserpine losing control of its community asset.

At a community meeting in July, attendees worried about the quality of care and the culture changing if the home was taken over by an entity from outside the community.

Former PNH employee and association member Allana Van Niekerk said she became a voice for the campaign because current staff feared speaking publicly.

"I have a whole community behind me," she said.

A recruitment drive resulted in the PNHA, which boasts about 30 members, receiving hundreds of applications.

On the evening of the vote, about 120 members packed into the nursing home to cast their ballots. Dozens more proxy votes were also entered.

More than two hours later, they re-emerged with the news that about 70 per cent of voters had said "no" to transferring ownership of the centre.

"There were tears of joy," Ms Van Niekerk said.

Ms Raiteri, who helped fundraise to build the centre and began nursing there a year after it opened, said it "means everything" to her to keep the centre in community hands.

"I've just loved [working there]," she said.

Board member steps down over future challenges

When Ms Dickens proposed the transfer publicly, she cited reasons including increased costs, tightening regulations and hiring struggles.

Federal government reporting says the number of aged care providers in Australia has decreased by more than 16 per cent from financial year ending (FYE) in 2020 to FYE 2025.

A report released in June said the number of aged care providers in Australia decreased by almost 30 to 707 over the financial year ending June 2025, largely due to market consolidation.

A new Aged Care Act also came into effect in November, prompting fears it could expose key personnel, boards and management committees to additional risk.

After the Proserpine vote count, management committee member Konrad Kangru said he would be stepping down.

"This [PNHA] membership is now well aware just how tough the legislation's regulation and compliance standards … are," Dr Kangru said.

"I personally am not going to be able to meet that level of governance required, so I wish the membership all the best going forward."

Proserpine resident Peter Simpson, whose mother used to stay in the centre, voted in favour of the transfer, saying the regulation changes influenced his decision.

"I could see the writing on the wall," he said before the votes were counted.

"[If we don't transfer], two years down the track, I think we'll be closed up."

Ms Raiteri said she thought the PNHA was ready to deal with future challenges, but would need all the new members to stay engaged.

"What they all have to do now is believe that we can still operate as we are and all those people who have signed up from the community, we need them now," she said.

Respect chief executive Jason Binder said if the community was confident it could continue delivering great care to the older people of Proserpine, he was happy to see that happen.

"I'll be cheering them on and genuinely wish them every success," he said.