Dozens of families of residents at an aged care respite home in Melbourne’s south-east have lost thousands of dollars in fees.
The ABC has learned Mentone Gardens collected large deposits from some families.
Mentone Gardens went into administration in June this year, with debts of more than $ 4 million.
The case has been referred to the corporate regulator by the administrator. Families have been told their money will not be recovered.
Mentone Gardens is a Victorian Government-regulated Supported Residential Service (SRS) providing respite and occasional care for the elderly.
Leonie Roberts and her siblings placed their mother in Mentone Gardens last year.
Her mother Teresa Scarff was 92 when she moved into the facility full-time.Â
Mrs Roberts says the family was presented with a number of payment options and they agreed to pay part of a larger deposit until they were able to sell their mother’s home.
“We paid $ 30,000 down payment on a $ 250,000 deposit,” Mrs Roberts said.
The family thought they were paying a bond into a trust account for their mother’s care.
The family also paid $ 3,500 a month in fees until Mrs Scarff passed away three months later.
The family asked for a refund of the deposit, but they have since been unable to get in touch with the owners of Mentone Gardens and trace what has happened to the money.
“No, we’ll never get our money back,” Mrs Roberts said.Â
“My mother would have been very very upset, ‘how dare they’ she would have said.
“I hope Mentone Gardens can keep running because I think it’s a great facility, the staff there are wonderful, and a lot of people there, it’s their home, and you can’t just close something so I hope it stays running.”
The ABC has spoken to one family that has paid $ 400,000 in deposits and another that paid $ 150,000.
Questions raised over regulation of care facilities
The ABC approached the owners of Mentone Gardens through their lawyer and the administrator.
Both said they would not comment until the facility is sold, which could be next week.
Charmaine Crowe from the Combined Superannuants and Aged Care Association says the situation points to the failings of regulation in the sector.
“This is of huge concern and it absolutely underscores the need for consumer protections, particularly in this area of essential care and services,” she said.
“I think the families and the residents… have every right to ask, why did the Victorian Government not pick up on this facility’s failings earlier?”
Under Victorian law, any lump sums paid for in care facilities should be placed in a trust account.
Investigations so far suggest Mentone Gardens did not do that in many cases.
The Victorian Health Department has confirmed it has investigated complains in relation to the non-refund of trust monies paid by residents no longer at the facility.
“The administrator is presently finalising investigations into the financial matters of the company in accordance with the requirements of the Corporations Act 2001, and is expected to provide a report to creditors shortly on the specific circumstances at Mentone Gardens,” a spokesman told the ABC.
“The administrator has provided some initial advice indicating that the proprietor has not met their compliance obligations.Â
“It is an offence under the SRS (Private Proprietors) Act not to put money – eg. security deposits – into a trust account and maintain records in relation to each resident’s funds.”
Ron Carroll runs Aged Care Connect, which helps families place their relatives in care facilities.
“I do think there might be need for stronger monitoring of the financials within an SRS,” he said.
“I’m very very deeply concerned about what’s happened to the families in this case.
“I am concerned, I’ve had a number of families approach me.
“My main concern is that it gives the family carer the wrong impression about many other good quality SRSs, the services that they do provide.
“They are a very important part of the spectrum of residential care in Victoria.”
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