Wyanga, Uniting to partner on new home in Redfern

A council car park in Redfern is set to be transformed into a 50-bed, not-for-profit, Aboriginal-run residential care facility.

Wyanga Aboriginal Aged Care and Uniting NSW.ACT will partner on the design and construction of the new home, located in Sydney’s inner-city region.

In the long-term, Uniting NSW.ACT will hand over ownership and operation of the facility to Wyanga so it can be fully owned and run by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

Uniting NSW.ACT director of First Nations strategy and outcomes Gavin Mackey said they are proud to be working alongside Wyanga to create a place where elders can age with dignity, care and cultural safety, in the heart of Redfern.

“It’s a powerful recognition of the vision Wyanga and Uniting share, to provide aged care that is led by community and shaped by self-determination,” he said.

The two not-for-profits received approval from the City of Sydney Council in August and once they finalise their partnership, the $20 million site will be handed over by the City of Sydney for a nominal $1 – with one of the conditions being that it must be used for aged care purposes in perpetuity.

 Wyanga chief executive officer Jarin Baigent said the much-needed initiative builds on the three decades that Wyanga has been operating in the community and that it will have a lasting and positive impact in Redfern.

“We are glad the City of Sydney identified this critical need in our community, such an important decision that will positively impact our people for generations,” she added.

The 55-space car park will be moved underground as part of the development and will remain open for public use.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the new facility will be a culturally safe home designed and run by First Nations community members so that local elders can stay connected to Country and close to their families and community to share their knowledge.

“This is a project firmly centred on self-determination and cultural safety with long-term benefits for the local First Nations community,” she said.

“Having a place for elders in Redfern that is led and run by people with a deep understanding of culture speaks volumes about respect and dignity, not only for the elders but their entire extended families and community.

“We’re doing all we can to create different types of homes for people in our local area at all stages of life and I’m really excited to see this innovative project come to fruition in the years ahead.”

Ms Baigent said local elders deserve to age with dignity, and be surrounded by the community, culture and families they helped build.

“In proud partnership with Uniting, Wyanga will lead the way in delivering culturally safe residential care that supports self-determination and keeps Elders connected to community,” Ms Baigent said. 

Part of the recommendations presented after the royal commission included the need for Aboriginal-led, culturally safe care, and the need for the government to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations to expand into aged care. But peak body National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation had noted in their March 2025 report that this had stalled.

The news of Wyanga and Uniting NSW.ACT’s partnership signals a step in the right direction, as does the news that Perth will soon be welcoming its first Aboriginal aged care home, after Hall & Prior Health & Aged Care Group received development approval this week.

Hall & Prior will develop the Perth home in partnership with the Sister Kate’s Children 1943-1953 Aboriginal Corporation, an organisation founded by former residents from when the home housed Aboriginal children of the Stolen Generation.

Have we missed an expansion or opening? Send us the details and an image to editorial@australianageingagenda.com.au