VIC Govt completes regional aged care home for $2M per bed

The Victorian Government has completed its new Mansfield aged care facility – with a total project cost of $62.8 million.

The Mansfield aged care facility, located in the town of Mansfield nearly 200km north of Melbourne, replaces the former Buckland House Nursing Home with single rooms with ensuites grouped into small households with shared kitchen, lounge and dining areas.

The facility has also been purpose-built to cater to the needs of residents living with dementia, with landscaped gardens and courtyards easily accessible from each household.

The co-located 42-bed Bindaree Retirement Centre is currently undergoing refurbishment, including updating bedrooms, a new entrance, community rooms, and a café.

Buckland House will also be refurbished and repurposed for community use, including offices and activity rooms.

These works are due to be completed in 2027.

Mansfield District Hospital will operate the care homes. ClarkeHopkinsClarke Architects were partners with the Victorian Government on the product, along with builders A W Nicholson. Both have worked previously on Victorian Government aged care projects.

The Mansfield project is part of the State Government’s $108.2 million Rural and Regional Public Sector Residential Aged Care Services Revitalisation Strategy Stage 1, which is expanding and refurbish public sector aged care homes in Mansfield and Orbost, 375km east of Melbourne.

Victoria has more than 170 public aged care facilities, more than any other state. Mansfield is not the first to cost around $2 million per bed.

By comparison, Melbourne-based, family-owned builder/operator Arcare Aged Care recently submitted plans for a 132-bed home in Berwick, 41km southeast of the Melbourne CBD, with an estimated total project cost of $32.5 million – or $246,000 per bed.

You must ask the question: is the State Government getting value for its taxpayer dollars?