Arcare’s 1,000-bed pipeline defies aged care’s doomsayers
Arcare expands pipeline with new Wynn Vale and Bonbeach aged care projects
- Pipeline growth: 138-bed Wynn Vale approved and 101-bed Bonbeach lodged
- National expansion: South Australia entry alongside continued Victorian growth
- Development momentum: 733 beds opened in 2025 with 526 more due in 2026
- Supply gap: 10,600 beds needed annually versus just 802 delivered
Builder-owned Arcare is cementing its position as Australia’s most prolific residential aged care developer with another two projects in planning.
The operator, which is owned by family-owned builder The Knowles Group, opened 733 aged care beds in 2025, and is set to open 526 beds across four homes through the remainder of 2026. Its development pipeline now sits at approximately 1,000 beds.
Arcare has received planning consent from City of Tea Tree Gully local council for a four-storey, 138-bed aged care home at Wynn Vale, 3km north of central Adelaide.
Consent has been granted with 23 conditions, including the addition of privacy screens, the addition of bus zone signage, and the timing of planting. The development will be Arcare’s second aged care home in South Australia, with the first facility expected to open in July (see below). The plans were lodged in January.
Arcare has also lodged plans for a $60 million, 101-bed aged care home in Bonbeach, 30km southeast of Melbourne’s CBD. Arcare already has 37 aged care homes in Victoria. The plans were filed with the Victorian Permits Register in March.
Long-term design partners VIA Architects were architects for both projects.
Other projects in the operator’s development pipeline include:
- A DA lodged for a 133-bed, three-storey aged care home at 724-728 Whitehouse Road, Mitcham, 20km east of the Melbourne CBD
- A DA lodged for a 176-bed, four-storey home at 10-16 Alverna Grove and 85-93 Wilson Street in Brighton, 11km southwest of the Melbourne CBD
- A DA lodged for a 132-bed home at 24-28 Harkaway Road, Berwick, 41km southeast of Melbourne’s CBD
- A project in Prahran, on the site of the iconic German Club Tivoli, 5km southeast of the Melbourne CBD, is in planning
- State Significant Development approval has also been secured for the 96-bed Huntlee Arcare, within the Huntlee New Town masterplanned community, 170km north of Sydney
- Construction of the 124-bed Arcare Gold Creek, 12km north of Canberra’s centre, is also set to begin shortly.
In addition, the developer is set to open four aged care homes this year, including:
- The 118-bed Arcare Hove, 12km south-west of the Adelaide CBD – marking the operator's entry into the SA market – expected to open in early July
- The 118-bed Arcare Mount Waverley, 16km south-east of the Melbourne CBD, due to open in August
- The 136-bed Arcare Sunbury, 40km north-west of the Melbourne CBD, expected to open in October
- The 154-bed Arcare Boronia, 30km east of the Melbourne CBD, set to open in December
Forecasts put Australia's projected need for residential aged care beds at 10,600 beds annually for the next 20 years – yet only 802 beds were built in 2025-26.
Arcare is playing a leading role in expanding the sector’s capacity and addressing the shortfall, but closing the gap will require more operators with the capacity to build.
