Community
19 November, 2025
Aberlea sets sights on upgrades
CREATING a stronger connection with the community tops the list of priorities for Aberlea as expansion, the addition of new directors and stability through progressive action loom amidst an optimistic future.
Leading Healthcare – which manages Aberlea – is set to provide insight to a range of upgrade plans at both Aberlea sites in Mortlake and Timboon at next week’s annual general meeting.
Managing director Adam Sevdalis said the vision for Aberlea was to be proactive in adapting to what the needs for aged care will be rather than reactionary as needs arise.
“It’s been a challenging time, but financially we’re solid so we know we can do what we do, and we can keep doing it,” he said.
“But need comes from where we know aged care is going.
“We can’t deliver in ten years’ time what we’re delivering now because we know people need small cottages and units, more information, being more open to the community so they will know more about Aberlea, and we know people will want more time with families as we live longer and healthier.
“We’ve done a lot of research and we know a lot of people in their 70s or 80s will one day come to the service of Aberlea because they all want to remain in Cobden, Timboon Camperdown and Mortlake.
“People want to stay in the town they grew up in, where their friends and family live because these existing networks are everything in senior care.”
Among the approaches will be the expansion of the Aberlea Timboon independent living units, which will be rolled out in two stages over the coming years.
“For over four years now we have been doing feasibility studies and now we have lodged a planning submission for our independent living project in Timboon,” Mr Sevdalis said.
“We’ve submitted the application for a sixth unit at Timboon, alongside the five units and community centre.
“It will open in about 12-to-18 months.
“The Timboon area is in desperate need of small accommodation so we’ve been looking at ways to bring that to the market.”
Mr Sevdalis said further study was underway to explore the long-term expansion of the site which could see further units added at the adjacent Baxter Street site.
“The second stage of that will be an additional six-to-eight additional units,” he said.
“We’re currently running a detailed feasibility study which, in time, could bring our independent living operating to something in the order of 12-to-14 units in Baxter Street, just one street away from the medical centre and two blocks away from the hospital.
“We love the Timboon project – it has been difficult, but we really think it is well positioned for Aberlea to continue to grow in the region.
“We have a bulk of the funding and will look at avenues for community funding.”
For its operations in Mortlake, an update will be provided on the years-in-the-making Strategic Masterplan, which is designed to provide a roadmap for the future of Aberlea’s Mortlake facilities for the next decade.
“We are acutely aware of the value we have on our hands in Mortlake because it is actually irreplaceable,” Mr Sevdalis said.
“No private investor, let along government, would replace the 40-beds at $700,000-per-bed development cost.
“It wouldn’t happen tomorrow, yet we’ve got it – so we have to hold it carefully.
“The masterplan work which we’ve done over the past two years to get to this point has been created on the theme of shaping the future.”
Among the measures which will be detailed at the annual general meeting is renovation works for the Dan Brumley Homes on Mount Road.
“The board has approved full renovations on two of the existing units which have been empty,” Mr Sevdalis said.
“We’re certainly going to embark on a refresh and a redevelopment of all of them, over time, but these are just two.
“They’ll be a slightly different price to make it fair for everyone on-site, but work is about to begin and the contract is signed.
“It’ll be a three-to-six-month process, including shutdown over Christmas and the new year, but we expect it all to be done well before the end of the financial year.”
The annual general meeting will also provide the opportunity to welcome three new directors, pending board approval.
“One of the key items is we’ve spent nearly 12 months on a board renewal process,” Mr Sevdalis said.
“We’ve looked at skills, experience, acts of Parliament and where the sector is going to identify the gaps.
“We’ve procured three new directors (Maria Collins, Nicole Standfield and Angela Oaten) for Aberlea who have very different skillsets and experiences.
“We looked for people who match the sector requirements moving forward – looking across the country for people with phenomenal value alignment.
“They will add enormous value to the volunteer board we have now.”
Mr Sevdalis said, moving forward, there would be a renewed focus on trying to amplify what Aberlea has done, what it is and what it will do to highlight its importance as a community-owned, not-for-profit entity which enriches the towns in which it operates.
“The community owned aspect includes being not-for-profit, being deductable-gift-recipient focused and the core premise of being of and for the people,” he said.
“It doesn’t distribute dividends to shareholders because it has no shareholders.
“If it were to be sold one day, the proceeds would have to go back to a like-community-purpose in Mortlake.”
The annual general meeting will be held at Soldier’s Memorial Hall in Mortlake on Monday, November 24 at 3pm.
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