PM reveals operator of promised NT aged care home
Visiting Darwin on Tuesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the Government has appointed an experienced Queensland operator to build and operate the $60 million Northern Territory aged care home of up to 150 beds.
Ozcare, which operates 19 aged care homes in Queensland and has a “strong track record” building large facilities, has been nominated as the preferred provider for the new facility in Palmerston, 25km east of Darwin’s centre.
The land has been provided by the Northern Territory Government and is adjacent to Palmerston Regional Hospital.
A long-awaited facility
The NT Government first promised a new aged care facility in June 2024, committing $12 million and seeking Federal backing. Nine months later, during the 2025 Federal election campaign, then-Aged Care Minister Anika Wells pledged $60 million via the Aged Care Capital Assistance Program.
The Federal Government opened an Expression of Interest (EOI) campaign to design, build and operate the home in November 2025, setting a three-year time limit on construction.
The outcomes of the EOI was announced at a press conference at Charles Darwin University on Tuesday (27 January), where the Prime Minister also welcomed the first cohort of medical students.
In announcing the aged care developer, Albanese said the development will strengthen the aged care sector in the Northern Territory.
The facility was originally planned as 120 beds, but the PM’s statement suggests the numbers have been revised higher.
Following the brief announcement, there were no questions from journalists about the aged care development as the press conference turned to the marking of Australia Day and the Port of Darwin.
80 NT patients waiting on aged care beds
Yet, the aged care sector is in crisis in the NT.
Aged care bed shortages are leaving about 80 long stay patients living in NT hospitals because there are no beds available in residential aged care, a NT Government spokesperson told The Weekly SOURCE earlier this month.
“On average, NT Health facilitates the transfer of about two older people into residential aged care per week,” they said.
The Palmerston aged care home could welcome its first residents within five years from conception if the EOI conditions are met – well short of the seven years often cited to deliver a new aged care facility.
But for patients currently living in hospital while they wait for residential aged care, even five years is too long. The sooner Ozcare can build and open the Palmerston facility, the better.
