When Daniel Manley and Brett Sandy went to their community in Cunnamulla, 800km west of Brisbane, floating the idea of opening an aged care facility in the town, they received 47 applications in 10 minutes and had to take the proposal down from the internet.
"It's something that they desperately need out there," Daniel, who has an accounting background, told The Weekly SOURCE.
"People basically get forced out of town once they get to that stage of their lives and it's pretty sad, really, given that you've got to move away from everything you know just because there's nothing there in town to support you at that stage of your life. We're hoping we can alleviate that to some degree."
Daniel and Brett operate Gwandalan Support Services Australia, a disability services provider based in Dalby, 600km east of Cunnamulla.
The pair have now opened a disability service in Cunnamulla at Yapunyah Lodge, previously an aged care home owned by Paroo Shire Council and operated by Churches of Christ, which closed in 2020.
The only other aged care facility in Cunnamulla is a Government-run Multi-Purpose Service with just 10 beds.
Faced with limited options and caring for his 11-year-old child with a disability, Brett decided to step up and fill the gap himself.
Strong demand for aged care
Daniel and Brett hope to begin delivering aged care services at Yapunyah Lodge within 70 days. The original plan was to offer six disability beds and six aged care beds, but strong demand for aged care has prompted them to consider shifting the balance in favour of more aged care places.
The accommodation is ready, helped by the expertise of Brett, who owns a construction company.
Aged care registration is expected to come through shortly, but according to Brett, "the biggest hurdle is getting funding, convincing Federal Government to subsidise.
"Because if we can't get subsidy, it's not feasible," he said.
Watch this space then.
