* September 2025 *
Homelessness Week Outcome
We were surprised and delighted by the response to our first ever Homelessness Week Food Drive in August.
With the Veteran Empowerment Program at the V Centre focusing our attention on veterans who are homeless or on a trajectory towards homelessness, this subject is close to our hearts. The economic situation is affecting people all around us and we greatly appreciate your support to help those who are struggling with the realities of an empty fridge.
Thanks to the generosity of our community, we were able to provide much-needed pantry items to a range of organisations that work directly with people who have recently been sleeping rough or at risk of homelessness: this included the City of Melbourne’s ‘Make Room’ initiative run by Unison Housing and Cohealth and Community Support Frankston. Your donations made a real difference in the lives of people doing it tough.
Thank you.
Staff Saluting Excellence Awards
I’d also like to thank all those who submitted a nomination for the staff Saluting Excellence Awards. We received over 500 nominations! The Awards will be announced at the annual Saluting Excellence Staff Conference in November.
New Aged Care Act
In our previous issue, the new Aged Care Act and strengthened Standards were due to come into effect on 1 July. However, the Federal Government postponed this until 1 November.
While our Residential and Community Care teams had been working diligently towards the initial date, the extra time has been valuable to the entire aged care sector and we are no exception.
You may be aware that the Government recently announced the early release of 20,000 Home Care packages to address the increasing number of people who have been assessed and are waiting for a package. According to the ABC News, the wait list had grown from 87,000 in March to 108,000 in July, with a further 121,000 older Australians waiting for an assessment.
These 20,000 are part of the already-promised 83,000, with a further 20,000 due to be released between 1 November and the end of the year, and the remaining 43,000 due in the first half of next year.
The new Aged Care Act is a response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, with the primary goal of ensuring the older person in aged care is at the centre of the system. There will be a new Support at Home
program to replace the existing Home Care Package Program, strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards, stronger powers for the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and a new Statement of Rights for older people.
More detail on the changes affecting residents, clients and their families can be found here. We commend this to you: and do follow the links for more information on the various topics.
Major Step forward for New Development
We are progressing our plans for the Integrated Living Development at Frankston South. We have not undertaken this lightly and it is a major project for our organisation that will take place in stages over the next seven to ten years.
We will be sharing more about our plans for the project before Christmas with regular updates via our usual communications channels and multiple opportunities to find out more and provide feedback.
I would like to take this opportunity to assure our community that our residents’ and clients’ needs always come first and this is something we have made a priority with our designers, architects and contractors.
Tour de V Centre − 12 to 16 October
Our very first Tour de V Centre, regional bike ride to support homeless veterans is coming soon! Launching in Warrnambool on Sunday 12 October, riders will visit Ararat, Ballarat and Geelong, completing
460km to finish at Box Hill on Thursday 16 October.
We are delighted to be working with a committed group of supporters and sponsors to make this happen and to help us raise awareness of the issues faced by veterans of all ages, and the services available to support them − including the innovative Veteran Empowerment Program of course.
We encourage everyone along the route to join us for the launch event in Warrnambool and the event dinners each night with some inspirational speakers. Do book your tickets to reserve a spot!
Janna Voloshin
Chief Executive Officer