Latest news with #Annecto
ABC News
08-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Aged care, disability and veterans care provider Annecto in voluntary administration
Aged care, disability and veterans care service provider Annecto Incorporated has entered voluntary administration, putting entitlement payouts for hundreds of staff in doubt. Last month Annecto, which has more than 1,000 employees and 4,400 clients across four states, announced it would stop its community services by the end of July. On Monday, the Annecto board put the organisation into voluntary administration, saying the organisation was either insolvent, or was likely to become insolvent in future, according to administrators McGrathNicol. In a letter to staff, the administrators said all staff would be made redundant, and if there were insufficient funds to pay all wages, entitlements or redundancy packages, they would be paid on a pro rata basis. If the organisation went into liquidation, McGrathNicol said employees could apply for payouts under the federal government's Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act. An Annecto carer based in Melbourne, who asked to remain anonymous out of concern for future job opportunities, said no precise stop work date had been given to staff, but work hours were dropping off as clients transitioned to new providers. They said as a result, Annecto support workers were under financial pressure and stressed about their futures. Most of Annecto's support workers look after all three categories of customers — aged care, NDIS and veterans affairs. The Melbourne-based Annecto employee said important relationships between support workers and clients were ending abruptly with workers offered jobs by other providers only able to continue contact with some of their clients. "The veterans' clients have already [been transitioned to other providers] — they're gone," the worker said. The carer said they were lamenting the prospect of having to choose which client base to try and follow and which to farewell. "You build a rapport, you build a routine, you know where you're going every day," they said. "It's very jarring for people to break that routine and go into a bunch of different houses and have to restart." Peter Smith is a Melbourne-based Annecto client who has a team of more than five support workers from the company. He said he had specific needs due to a long-term brain injury and post-polio syndrome and fears he will lose contact with support workers who understand his needs when he changes to a new provider. "I feel devastated," Mr Smith said. "I have multiple disabilities and my support team … I've trained them up to be aware of my needs. In an interview before the voluntary administration announcement, Annecto Incorporated interim chief executive Tyrone McCuskey said it was up to the service providers taking on Annecto clients to keep those clients connected to their former support workers. "The opportunities for staff to move with any of the clients they look after is really up to the new provider to assist with that transition," Mr McCuskey said. "The clients all have choice and control and they have a choice in provider and choice in the individuals who support them." He said Peter, for example, could speak to his new provider about continuity of care and keeping specific people in his support network. "That's definitely possible, because there's so much choice and control that the clients have," he said. "There's a lot of flexibility about how they can require their services to be met going forward in this day and age."
ABC News
12-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Annecto shutdown leaves aged care, disabled clients scrambling for alternatives
Clients of a major aged and disability care service that is set to close next month say they have not been told who will be taking its place. Annecto Incorporated supports more than 4,400 clients across 19 locations in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory. The charity announced on Wednesday it would be closing before the end of July due to "financial challenges". Mildura resident Anne Berry said the charity had not contacted her or her husband Denis. "I'm not in a position to help Denis shower or anything, so if there's a lag between the changeover we're going to be in trouble," she said. Ms Berry said the couple relied on Annecto for daily support with personal care and weekly help with cleaning and shopping. "We were upset last night to think what was going to happen, because at the moment we couldn't cope without the extra help," Ms Berry said. First Choice Care Plus co-owner Raelene Houston said her company subcontracted to Annecto in the northern Victorian town of Robinvale and supported 26 aged and disability care clients. She said none of her clients had been notified by the charity of its impending closure. "For the elderly people it puts worry to them about who is going to provide their services," Ms Houston said. She said she was scrambling to find alternative providers for her clients and was prepared to work for free to make sure they were not left alone. "We will continue in the interim – even if it means doing that for nothing – until another provider comes on board and takes on their packages," Ms Houston said. Annecto interim chief executive Tyrone McCuskey said the organisation was confident it would find other providers to take on its clients. "We will reach out to customers in due course and make sure they understand what the transition process means to them and make sure there's no interruption of services," he said. Mr McCuskey said the "incredibly difficult" decision to close the organisation was the result of increased costs associated with recommendations from the aged and disability care royal commissions. "The board's made the decision that for the future benefit of our participants, and for our staff, that services would be better met by other trusted organisations," he said. Elder Rights Australia chief executive Debra Nicholl said it was disappointing to see any provider withdrawing services, particularly with the federal government's aged care reforms due to come into place on November 1. She said while it would be "tricky" to find alternative support services for all of Annecto's clients. "We can't have a situation where an older person is left without care and services because of a business decision made by Annecto," Ms Nicholl said. The Department of Health it was encouraging Annecto clients to get in touch if they needed support. "The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, the National Disability Insurance Agency, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and the Department of Veterans' Affairs are working closely with Annecto to ensure every person receiving care is informed about any changes impacting them," a spokesperson said in a statement.
Sky News AU
12-06-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
More than 3000 Aussies to be hit as financially challenged aged care, disability services company Annecto collapses
More than 3000 Australians will need new homes or new carers as an aged care and disability services company has collapsed. Annecto is shuttering its doors from July after 70 years as financial challenges and shifts in the aged care and disability sectors have forced the company to close. 'As a result, it was identified that Annecto would be unable to continue providing services in the future,' the company states on its website. Aussies at Annecto locations across Victoria, NSW, Queensland and the ACT will be helped by the company as they search for other care facilities. 'Our focus now is working together to transition the people we support and the services they receive to other trusted providers who can continue delivering the support they need and deserve,' Annecto said. The company is working with various government agencies to transition its patients – including the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the National Disability Insurance Agency and the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Annecto said it remained committed to prioritising the welfare of its patients as they transition out of the company's homes. 'We are committed to the people we support and all Annecto staff during this time,' the company said. 'We are committed to compliance and ethical service delivery, ensuring our transition process aligns with customer, employee, and regulatory expectations.' Annecto chair Colleen Furlanetto thanked the company's founders and community for their contributions to the company. 'As we approach this next chapter, we do so with the same spirit that inspired Annecto's beginnings—ensuring that every person has access to the support they need, delivered with dignity and respect,' Ms Furlanetto said. The collapse comes after Labor passed its Aged Care Act which will change how different types of retirees in aged care are billed. The major change is the lifetime cap will rise from about $82,000 to about $130,000. Australia's aged care sector is not currently a profitable industry, but the changes in billing could lead to further investment into the growing sector as the ageing population grows.
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Annecto Incorporated closes: Major disability and aged care service provider makes shock announcement
A long-term care company closed after more than 70 years of business, leaving thousands of seniors and people with disabilities just three weeks to find a new provider. Annecto Incorporated, based in Melbourne 's Footscray, will cease support for those with high-care needs in Victoria, Queensland, the ACT and NSW from July 1. The not-for-profit on Wednesday announced it will close due to 'financial challenges facing the organisation into the future'. 'We deeply appreciate the support of our community over all these years and the dedication of our staff and partner to high quality of support standards,' Colleen Furnaletto OAM, Annecto chair, said. The closure will affect some 3,000 customers and 1,000 employees.
News.com.au
12-06-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
National aged care and disability provider Annecto announces shock closure
National aged care and disability services provider Annecto will close in July, putting the care of more than 3000 patients in limbo. The business announced the shock closure on Wednesday, citing 'service model shifts and financial challenges' for the breakdown. 'This difficult decisions follows careful deliberation and extensive stakeholder consultation which considered the service model shifts and financial challenges facing the organisation into the future,' the company said in a statement. The provider supports more than 3000 people with disabilities, members of the veteran community and older adults across Victoria, NSW, Queensland and the ACT. 'Our focus now is working to transition our customers and services to other trusted providers who can continue delivering the support and assistance our customers expect and deserve.' The company said it was working with the Department of Health, the NDIS and the Department of Veterans' Affairs and 'other key stakeholders' to ensure 'the seamless transition' of its customers and staff to 'trusted and quality accredited providers'. The business ran for some 70 years. Annecto chair Colleen Furnaletto OAM said the decision to shut down the enterprise 'was not made lightly'. 'We deeply appreciate the support of our community over all these years and the dedication of our staff and partners to high quality of support standards,' she said.
