Co-operatives: A new model for sustainable care in Sydney

16 October 2025

The Committee for Sydney’s 2025 report, Raising Sydney’s Care Factor, shines a spotlight on the urgent need to rethink how we deliver care – and points to co-operatives and community-led models as a powerful solution. 

The problem: A care system under strain

The report warns that “the dominant private provider model is under increasing strain, with many services struggling to remain financially viable.” Smaller operators, especially in regional areas, face “mounting compliance costs that make it difficult to stay open” (p.162).  

Without change, the Committee says, “promising experiments will remain niche, and smaller services will continue to close” (p.163). The result? More gaps in essential services, fewer local jobs and declining access to care – particularly outside major cities. 

The solution: Co-operative and community-led models 

In its reform roadmap, the Committee calls for policymakers to “explore alternative models of operation and service delivery” and specifically to “expand co-operative and community-led models of care” (pp.162–163). 

Co-operatives, it explains, “offer an alternative that can share resources, reduce costs and keep services local.” Beyond economics, these models “build stronger community ownership, improving accountability and resilience” (p.163). 

To scale these solutions, the report recommends governments: 

• Pilot co-operative and community-led care models in areas where market failure is most acute 
• Provide start-up funding and legal support to establish co-operative governance structures 
• Evaluate outcomes and scale successful models nationally 
• Enable co-operatives to access concessional capital through a new Care Investment Class (p.163) 

Case Study: MACN Co-op, a Care Together co-operative 

One standout example is the Murrumbidgee Aged Care Network Co-operative (MACN Co-op), a Care Together project in the Murrumbidgee area, New South Wales – a regional aged care provider highlighted in the report. 

Seven regional aged care providers in the Murrumbidgee area established the MACN Co-op to provide shared back-end services across seven independent facilities. “By sharing resources, the model reduces costs that would otherwise force small providers to close, ensuring services remain available in rural areas.” 

The results have been tangible: “Facilities have stayed open, local jobs have been retained and residents continue receiving care close to home.” 

As the report concludes, “The co-operative model shows how community-led governance can address market failure in regional care. It demonstrates that alternative ownership structures can stabilise services, preserve local employment and keep care embedded in communities.” (pp.163–164) 

Why it matters 

The Committee for Sydney’s findings confirm what many in the co-operative sector already know: ownership matters. When communities have a direct stake in their local care services, those services are more likely to be stable, trusted and sustainable. 

By championing co-operatives alongside traditional providers, Sydney can build a care system that is not only more resilient – but fairer, more inclusive and grounded in local connection. 

Sources: 
Committee for Sydney (2025). Raising Sydney’s Care Factor: The critical role of care work to Sydney’s productivity and prosperity. pp. 162–164.