9 February 2022
Dear Employee
As a valued team member at IRT Links Seaside Aged Care Centre, I am writing to let you know that after careful consideration, the IRT Board has entered into an agreement to sell IRT Links Seaside to Warrigal.
Like IRT, Warrigal is an Illawarra based not-for-profit provider of aged care and retirement living services. As community-owned organisations committed to improving the lives of older people, Warrigal and IRT share similar values.
Warrigal operates residential care homes, community villages, home services and social services, with 9 sites in the Illawarra and others in Bundanoon, Goulburn, Queanbeyan and the ACT. They have around 1500 employees, 400 volunteers and support around 3700 older people across their services.
After much consideration and careful selection, we are confident that Warrigal is the right fit to operate IRT Links Seaside, and that the sale will result in good outcomes for our employees and residents.
Warrigal will offer all Links Seaside employees a similar role on similar employment terms, and all leave and service entitlements will be transferred over to the new roles. This commitment by Warrigal will also enable residents to continue to be cared for by the people they know and trust.
We anticipate the transfer of ownership will take place on 21 March 2022, at which point IRT Links Seaside will become a Warrigal aged care centre and retirement village to be named Warrigal Wollongong.
We will support you every step of the way through the transition process and will be available to answer any questions you may have.
In the coming weeks, you will also have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with Warrigal representatives. The CEO of Warrigal is Mark Sewell, who has been leading Warrigal for more than 20 years. He is also the Regional Chair of industry body ACSA and is a strong advocate for older people and aged care employees. Mark and his team are looking forward to welcoming you to the Warrigal family.
We will continue to keep you updated and share more information with you soon. If you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact Illawarra Business Manager, Matt Coventry on 0447 001 506 or at mcoventry@irt.org.au.
Yours sincerely
Patrick Reid
IRT Chief Executive Officer
