BaptistCare, Baptcare and Baptist Care SA merger set to shake up aged care’s hierarchy
Published on 14 November 2024
Three of Australia’s faith-based care providers, BaptistCare, Baptist Care SA and Baptcare will merge in 2025 to become Australia’s 10th-largest residential care provider and the third-highest funded home care provider.
The organisation said it will be Australia’s third-largest integrated care and services provider with a combined $1.2 billion in revenue.
Key points
- KPMG’s Aged Care Market Analysis 2024 listed BaptistCare as the 11th largest residential aged care provider and ninth-largest Home Care Package provider by government funding following the merger of NSW & ACT and WA organisations in 2023
- BaptistCare has 3,056 beds according to 2023 Financial Year data, while Baptcare (VIC, SA and TAS) brings 1,679 residential aged care beds
- The combined total of 4,735 beds would make the organisation the 10th largest residential care provider in Australia (Note: the organisation states it has 4,400 aged care residents)
- BaptistCare received $111.3 million and Baptcare $92.4 million of government funding for Home Care Package delivery in FY23 with the combined total of over $200 million only surpassed by four other home care service providers
- Baptist Care SA does not provide any aged care services
With more than 4,700 aged care beds and roughly 15,000 home care clients on its books, the new yet-to-be-named organisation will have one of the largest aged care footprints in Australia. This includes operating across 49 aged care homes and 32 retirement villages.
The organisation will also continue offering services in retirement living, community housing and family and community services to over 38,000 customers nationwide.
The boards and executives of all three organisations announced the decision to merge on Thursday morning. Subject to approvals, the merger is expected to be completed in March 2025.
The executive and board structure will retain many existing leaders from all three organisations.
- BaptistCare Chief Executive Officer Charles Moore is the CEO-elect of the merged organisation
- Baptist Care SA CEO Sue Raw will remain in her role leading the South Australian arm, with further details to come regarding the position
- Baptcare CEO Geraldine Lannon will be on annual leave until March before she reportedly departs from the organisation; Leanne Beveridge will operate as Acting CEO in the meantime
- As for the board, Baptcare Chair Tim Farren will step up as the new organisation’s Chair while BaptistCare Chair Robert Dunn will be Vice Chair
“Strategically, this merger will create a stronger organisation by combining our resources, expertise, and market reach. This will further enhance our services to our customers, drive innovation, amplify our mission and provide a greater breadth of career opportunities for our workforce,” Mr Moore said.
“I’ll be working with our teams to integrate the best aspects of each organisation – respecting each other’s strengths, skills, cultures, communities and contributions.”
Mr Farren said the decision to unite allows the organisation a chance to enhance services, provide greater choice, flexibility and diversity of services, and increase advocacy for vulnerable people and communities.
“As Baptist faith-based organisations, we have a shared mission to strengthen communities by valuing people and supporting them to have hope, dignity and a fullness of life. Coming together will help us to continue to deliver that mission, while staying true to our legacy,” he said.
“We know that the sectors we operate in are under increasing pressure with greater demand for care and services and often fewer resources. In coming together, we can unlock operational efficiencies, synergies and innovations that will help to navigate these challenges and deliver real value and benefits to our workforce and our customers.”
The merger completes a busy two-year period for the aligned faith-based organisations. The BaptistCare NSW & ACT merger with Baptistcare WA proved to be the starting point as the move elevated BaptistCare NSW & ACT from its position as the 22nd largest residential care provider to the 11th largest.
While the latest move will only see it rise one place, it has overtaken Catholic Healthcare (3,088 beds) and closed the significant gap between Arcare (4,814) and the team of Blue Care, Wesley Mission Queensland and Australian Regional and Remote Community Services (4,852).
As per KPMG data, the merger reflects an aged care market where the overall number of providers is decreasing. The top 25 residential aged care providers operated 44% of the total operation places in FY23, up from 42% in FY22.