Cobar Aged Care Facility Upgrades

Challenge

Lilliane Brady Village is Cobar’s residential aged care home, run by Cobar Shire Council in far western NSW. The need for it is only growing: by 2036, one in four people in the region is expected to be 65 or older.

Fifteen of its ensuites were the originals, built to the standards of their day. Council wanted to replace them with modern, accessible bathrooms, but could not fund the works on its own.

Approach

We moved quickly to meet the program’s deadline. In three weeks we scoped the project with Council’s team, prepared its application to the Australian Government’s Aged Care Capital Assistance Program, and worked with everyone involved to fit the supporting documents to the program’s requirements.

We built the case around residents’ independence and dignity, and tied the new ensuites to the National Aged Care Design Principles and the stronger standards of the new Aged Care Act. The application also showed the project was ready to go, with designs done, a development application under way and costs from a quantity surveyor.

Outcomes

Secured the full $1,524,613 requested from the Aged Care Capital Assistance Program, confirmed in September 2025.

• All 15 ensuites will be rebuilt with non-slip floors, grab rails, better lighting and contrasting colours that make fittings easier to see.
• Residents gain bathrooms designed around their needs, and the staff who help them a better place to work.

The only residential aged care home within 130 km.