Fitzgerald Aged Care faces funding roadblock due to location

Not-for-profit aged care provider Fitzgerald Memorial Aged Care says its future is under threat after its approved plans for a new 24-room expansion hit a roadblock — it is not eligible for government funding due to its location. 

Fitzgerald Aged Care is located in Windsor, a peri-urban suburb nestled on the very northwestern edge of Sydney’s sprawling metropolitan roots. It is part of the Hawkesbury City Council, an area that was once largely rural but now comprises suburbs like Windsor in the south, alongside farmlands and national parkland.

With roughly 24 people per square kilometre, compared to 8,660 people per square kilometre in the City of Sydney, it is a region that many would not define as metropolitan.

“Clearly, the Hawkesbury is not a typical urban region, yet it is excluded from many government funding programs which would address critical needs for services and community development,” Fitzgerald Aged Care Chairperson Rhonda Hawkins AM told the Hawkesbury Post. 

“It makes no sense that the Hawkesbury is considered to be the same as metropolitan Sydney.”

Unfortunately, as per the Modified Monash Model (MMM), Windsor and neighbouring suburbs such as Richmond do not share the same rating as the bulk of Hawkesbury: while the majority of the region is MM 2 (regional), Windsor is MM 1 (metropolitan).

“This is clearly wrong and lacks an appreciation of the reality of peri-urban region such as ours. There is no doubt that it is inherently unfair to areas such as the Hawkesbury. This must change,” Ms Hawkins added.

With roots stretching all the way back to 1818 — the facility is the last remaining part of the Hawkesbury Benevolent Society — it is ready to update and expand its services to support a region that is growing.

This would be an invaluable opportunity to meet local demand. Overall, demand for residential aged care beds is set to double in the next 20 years, although the percentage of providers rebuilding or upgrading is declining year on year.

In 2018-19, 1.2% of providers were rebuilding and 5.3% upgrading facilities. By 2022-23, just 0.4% were rebuilding and only 1.9% upgrading.

Denying Fitzgerald Aged Care the opportunity to expand is another hit to aged care development in regions that need it the most. 

“Unless there is a change in the way in which the Hawkesbury is classified in funding models by governments, many current services will either fail or substantially reduce their services,” Ms Hawkins added. 

Ms Hawkins said without government funding and the opportunity to grow, the home could be forced to shut down. 

“Due to its size and location, Fitzgerald must grow to survive. Even with increased operational funding under the new model, unless Fitzgerald is funded to grow, it runs the very real risk of having to close,” she said.

“The Hawkesbury matters. It is not just a pale shadow of metropolitan Sydney. Fitzgerald is the embodiment of all that is good in the Hawkesbury and it is vital that the development is funded to proceed now.”

Fitzgerald Memorial Aged Care holds a strong 4-star Overall Star Rating and has done so since May 2023.