No change to Meals

The Berrigan-based Amaroo Aged Care went into voluntary receivership earlier this year after it was revealed it owed $1.2 million to creditors.

It has led to speculation in recent weeks that the Deniliquin service would be stopped.

While discussions regarding what is required to save Amaroo have been ongoing since July, SV Partners director Richard Cauchi said services have remained unchanged.

He suggested there is no plan to divert from that plan as negotiations continue.

“The services have continued to be provided to the community at the same level and without change,” Mr Cauchi said.

“We are still in the negotiation stage of our process with an approved provider, with the expectation that we will have a clear way going forward which will provide for the continuation of all the services that are presently in place.

“We continue to communicate with all the stakeholders to ensure that they are aware of where matters are at.

“Obviously where we are carrying out negotiations with potential interests there is always a need for confidentiality.”

Mr Cauchi said he hopes to have a clearer picture of that pathway forward by this week.

Amaroo provides between 1200-1500 meals a month for Berrigan Hospital and Meals on Wheels, across both Berrigan Shire and Edward River Council areas.

It also has 27 independent living villas and a 30 bed hostel in Berrigan.

Amaroo was established by a group of local residents, keen to see aged care facilities available in Berrigan. It was initially partly funded by government and local people.

It took over the Deniliquin Meals on Wheels service in 2020.

In July’s announcement, Mr Cauchi said the board overseeing Amaroo was “well-meaning” and a not-for-profit organisation.

“It’s not a matter of wrongdoing necessarily, it’s a matter of what has gone on over the last two to three years during the COVID period which has created a few hurdles that in a larger organisation may have been easier to overcome,” he said at the time.

Voluntary administration is a formal restructuring process designed to maximise the chances of a business, or part of a business, continuing its operations, or to result in creditors receiving a better return than would result from an immediate closure and liquidation.

In the initial notice to creditors, SP Partners advised “we are presently assessing the financial position of the company (Amaroo) and we are responsible for controlling the company’s assets, investigating the company’s affairs, reporting and providing opinions to creditors and other stakeholders, as well as holding meetings of creditors to make decisions on the future of the company”.

Creditors who are owed money include local electrical, plumbing, hardware, supermarket, vehicle and stationery businesses and the Australian Tax Office.