Council is not considering closing Warrawee Community — residential aged care will continue at this site. There are no immediate changes to care, staff or day-to-day life at Warrawee Community. Residents will continue to receive the care they know and trust, and staff will continue to support them as they do now.

Earlier this year we engaged with Warrawee Community staff, residents and families and the broader Glen Eira community about their thoughts as we reviewed our role in providing residential aged care. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts with us.

Through this process, we heard that continuity of care, trusted relationships with staff, and access to local aged care services are highly valued — and are central to the experience of many residents and families. We also heard that people expect Council to make fair, transparent decisions that consider both the needs of vulnerable residents and the long-term sustainability of services for the whole community.

This feedback has shaped Council’s decision to explore the transfer with providers assessed against criteria informed by community and staff feedback, including:

• ability to deliver high-quality care

• approach to continuity of care and resident wellbeing

• workforce transition arrangements

• alignment with Council’s values

We will begin a formal Expression of Interest and Request for Tender process to identify a registered aged care provider that can meet the requirements of the service. These requirements will be informed by what we’ve heard from residents, families and staff — including the importance of quality care, continuity, trusted relationships and maintaining the home like environment at Warrawee.

A further Council decision is required before any transfer proceeds. Any transfer would also be subject to approval by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.

1. Quality of care (87%)
2. Familiar / trusted staff (63%)
3. Council oversight (50%)

1. Continue to run Warrawee (91%)
2. Deliver programs and activities (70%)
3. Stewardship / oversight (51%)

1. Continue to operate despite deficit (38%)
2. Balance care and finances (34%)
3. Prioritise financial sustainability by selling (10%)

1. Not‑for‑profit (62%)
2. Member‑owned (24% )
3. No preference (9%)

• 52 mentions - Quality of care and resident wellbeing
• 40 mentions - Retain staff, staffing levels, conditions
• 39 mentions - Maintain current facility, activities, services, amenity community feel and meal standards
• 24 mentions - Affordability (fees, bonds, costs, capped fees)

1. Somewhat / very familiar (64%)
2. Not very familiar (16%)
3. Not familiar at all (9%)

1. Deliver programs and activities (89%)
2. Connecting community (71%)
3. Stewardship / oversight (62%)

1. Balance care and finances (35%)
2. Continue to operate despite deficit (30%)
3. Prioritise financial sustainability by selling (27%).

• Not‑for‑profit (40%)
• Member‑owned (36% )
• No preference (14%)

Warrawee Community is a residential aged care facility located at 854a Centre Road, Bentleigh East. It has 90 beds and is currently home to around 73 residents. It provides a full range of residential aged care services, including:

• 24-hour nursing and clinical care

• 24-hour care staff to assist with daily living

• Physiotherapy and allied health programs

• Hospitality services, including food service, laundry and housekeeping

• Lifestyle, outings, and intergenerational programs

• Chef prepared meals

• Facility maintenance and administration services.

There are currently about 135 staff employed at Warrawee with a mix of full-time, part-time and casual staff.

Council has been managing the site since January 1995.

Warrawee comprises of seven households — six accommodation households of 15 rooms each and an administration household — all linked through internal corridors. Each household has a courtyard, dining room and lounge areas for residents to enjoy. The accommodation provides residents with individual rooms with ensuites (some with a private courtyard).

Council supports older residents through a range of community-based services delivered by Bayside Care and Support on Council’s behalf. These include social groups and activities, in-home and social support services, transport assistance, and education sessions.

Council’s Healthy Ageing team provides information, support and advocacy to help older residents live and age well in Glen Eira. Council also supports a range of senior citizens’ clubs and recreation programs at its leisure centres, helping older residents stay active, connected and involved in their local community.

Beyond direct services, Council also plays an important stewardship and advocacy role by actively monitoring changes in aged care services and policy, identifying emerging issues, and advocating to ensure the needs of older people in Glen Eira are understood and addressed through planning and decision making.

• That our residents continue to receive the care they know and trust
• That our staff are consulted and supported through any potential change
• That the community has a meaningful say in shaping the outcome.

National aged care reforms introduced in November 2025 bring stricter governance, reporting and clinical requirements. These reforms aim to improve care quality, which Council supports as it is positive for residents, but they also make it more complex and costly for smaller providers like Council to continue operating sustainably. Meeting these standards requires ongoing and increasing investment.

Our analysis shows that continuing the service in its current form will result in a projected budget deficit of $5.5 million in the 2025–26 financial year alone.

To ensure Council can continue delivering valued services to the community now and into the future, we need to carefully weigh both the impact of sector reforms and the importance of responsible financial management.

We're committed to transparency, so we've created a summary of the Council report which includes the information we can release. This is available on this page in the Document Library section below and includes the full report except for sensitive commercial and staff information.

Council is seeking feedback on two options:

1. Continuing to operate Warrawee Community as a Council-run facility OR

2. Transferring ownership of Warrawee Community to a registered aged care provider.

Closing Warrawee Community is not an option.

Many councils have exited residential aged care over the past decade due to rising complexity, costs and legislative changes. Glen Eira is now the only council in Victoria still operating a standalone residential aged care facility.

No. This engagement is genuine.

Council has not made a decision and will use resident, community and Warrawee staff feedback to help inform the final recommendation.

Warrawee Community continues to operate as usual.

Community feedback is a critical part of the decision and a summary of all feedback received will be presented to Council. Councillors will consider feedback alongside financial, regulatory and operational realities. A decision needs to be made about the future of Warrawee Community. We haven't made this decision yet.

We’re exploring this option. Undertaking this review is needed because new national standards and a $5.5 million annual operating loss make it important to understand what’s sustainable long term.

Leasing standalone residential aged care facilities is uncommon. Our market research suggests that there is low interest from aged care providers and that leasing it isn’t a suitable option. Continuing to run the service or transferring ownership to an aged care provider are the options.

Council officers will be meeting regularly with residents and their families and Warrawee Community staff throughout the engagement and consultation process to answer questions and hear their views and gather their feedback.

We understand these concerns. This review is about ensuring high quality, local aged care continues under strengthened national standards continues at the site. We are not exploring closing it, however a decision needs to be made about the future of Warrawee Community. We don’t know what this is yet. Council will make a final decision in June 2026.

A range of accessible engagement materials and activities will be delivered to support older residents to share their views and actively participate in the engagement process. These will be designed to meet diverse needs and abilities, ensuring participants have meaningful opportunities to provide feedback in ways that are comfortable and appropriate for them.

Community feedback is a critical part of the decision and a summary of all feedback received will be presented to Council. Councillors will consider feedback alongside financial, regulatory and operational realities. Council will make a final decision in June 2026.

In Australia, all aged care providers must follow the same rules, no matter who owns them. This includes not‑for‑profits, for‑profits and government providers. Every provider must:

• Be registered with the Australian Government
• Meet national quality and safety standards
• Report regularly
• Provide 24/7 registered nurse coverage
• Follow strict incident and safety rules.

If they don’t meet these standards, their registration can be removed. The Australian Government also publishes Star Ratings on My Aged Care so families can compare providers based on care quality, resident experience, staffing and compliance. In short: what matters is the quality of care a provider delivers, not just who owns it.

Australia’s aged care system has changed. These reforms aim to improve safety, staffing, reporting and quality of care. While these changes are positive, they also mean aged care homes have higher operating costs and increased complexity to run. Warrawee is expected to run at a $5.5 million loss in 2025–26. Across the country, independent data shows more than half of aged care homes operate at a loss. Larger providers with many homes can spread costs and run more efficiently, but smaller, single‑site homes like Warrawee cannot.

Cost pressures include:

• Rising staffing and clinical care costs
• 24/7 registered nurse requirements
• More reporting and compliance
• Investment needed in buildings and systems
• Greater financial sensitivity when occupancy drops.

Large providers can spread these costs across several sites. As Glen Eira’s only home, Warrawee must carry them alone. This is one of the challenges we are considering when looking at long‑term sustainability.

If Council ever transferred ownership of Warrawee, residents would keep their existing agreements. The Aged Care Act protects residents through something called “security of tenure”. This means:

• Residents cannot be asked to leave because the provider changes
• Fees, accommodation agreements, and care arrangements continue in accordance with the legislation
• Any new provider must meet all national standards, clinical requirements and reporting rules.

A change in provider does not affect a resident’s right to stay in their home.

We can’t publicly share the full detailed breakdown because it is commercial in confidence. However, our budget reflect the forecast deficit Glen Eira City Council Budget 2025–2026

In 2025–26, Warrawee is budgeted to:

• Receive around $11.3 million in income, mostly from resident fees and Commonwealth aged care funding.
• Spend around $16.9 million on staffing, clinical care, food services, maintenance, compliance and running the facility.

That means Council must subsidise the net cost of around $5.5 million for the year — meaning we have less money to spend on other essential Council services like roads, footpaths, parks and libraries.

This reflects the higher staffing, clinical, infrastructure and compliance costs required under strengthened national aged care standards.