With Roger Cook returned to Government amid a thumping win for Labor in Western Australia, aged care providers are preparing to build on the back of the party's $140 million worth of promises for the sector.
Russell Bricknell, CEO of WA Not For Profit aged care provider Juniper, is part of a working group of aged care operators that formed during the COVID-19 pandemic. They still meet today, and have developed a "strong collaborative arrangement" with the State Government and WA Health.
The group and the WA Government have "co-designed several initiatives" and have a "shared commitment" to improving outcomes for older West Australians, Russell told The SOURCE.
Juniper CEO
The Cook Government sees themselves as having a "key role in aged care", not just deferring the needs of older people to the Commonwealth, Russell said.
While still waiting on details of the $100 million low-interest loan facility Labor promised during the election campaign, Russell said "at face value" Juniper will be pursuing the opportunity.
"We have identified an offline facility to bring back online, this would not normally be an investable business case without a loan arrangement as announced by the Labor party during the election campaign," he said.
Russell recently told The SOURCE that demand for residential aged care in Perth is extremely high. In December 2024, Juniper had eight vacant beds in greater Perth metro region out of a total 850 beds.
Browse Juniper's residential care services in the #1 listings website agedcare101.com.au
