Taking Shape

Ground has been broken on the Nobel Life Pacific Aged Care facility at Tannum Sands, providing a much-needed boost to the Gladstone region’s aged care and retirement living options.

Ten years in the making, Nobel Life director Ross Humphreys said the 104-bed facility, due to open in September 2026, is a key component of the Flinders Village development – a co-located senior living community integrating a retirement village with high-quality residential aged care.

“This project will deliver vital infrastructure that supports multi-generational living, creating stability and growth for our community while improving access to critical services in regional Australia,” he said.

“It’s about partnerships with people, trusted companies, and making sure that when this is completed, it’s going to be employing quite a number of people in the Gladstone-Tannum area.”

Onsite at Tannum Sands Road on Thursday, 27 March, Gladstone Mayor Matt Burnett said the multi-million-dollar investment in the community by Nobel Life and the Murray Group, who will develop 100 retirement villas on the 5.3-hectare site, was welcomed for the opportunity it gives the older generation to stay and live locally.

“From Gladstone Regional Council’s point of view, this is an amazing project and we were very happy to support the project through the reduction of infrastructure charges,” he said.

“And, if you followed any of our journey as a council, we don’t reduce Infrastructure charges for anybody.

“It’s what we do when we see it is going to be an amazing addition to our community, especially here in Boyne-Tannum.

“If we’re building a house in a housing crisis, we don’t generally provide any infrastructure charge relief, but when you’re building a retirement village and you’re building an aged care facility for our community, it is something our council was more than happy to get involved with.

“… we’re only providing a little bit of relief in terms of infrastructure charges, but that just gives you an idea of how much this project is important to our council and to our community.”

Former deputy mayor and senior community representative and advocate Maxine Brushe said the combination of aged care and retirement living options at Flinders Village would enable families, friends, and loved ones to stay connected and remain local.

She said her involvement in more than three decades of aged care studies continually pointed to the need for more local residential care and aged care facilities.

“Sadly, across the region, there are many aged care residents that are, or have been, relying on beds being available in hospitals that are not established for that purpose at all while they wait for an appropriate placement in residential care in the region,” Mrs Brushe said.

“These placements are frequently only avail- able outside the region and away from families.

“Often there is belief within the wider community that industry workers earn their pay and move on, and many do.

“There are also many who arrived when QAL came to town in the 1960s and stayed and continue to live here, together with many who have come in recent years, loved what they found, and also became permanent residents.

“We are fortunate that Nobel Life and the Murray Group have stepped forward to develop (Flinders Village) and … as a very interested by-
stander in this project for a few years now, I know the time, energy, expertise, and significant funds that have driven this project, often with some very difficult conversations along the way.”

Mr Humphreys read a statement from the Murray Group’s founders, Stuart and Laurraine Murray, former Tannum Sands residents.

“We pride ourselves on delivering projects that meet a social need and create connected communities,” he said.

“Flinders Village’s journey started back in 2015 and that’s when we were involved … during the planning stages we identified a lack of retire- ment options in the area.

“Having been Tannum Sands residents and also experiencing the lack of retirement options in the area for our parents and ageing grandparents, we knew there was a real need for this type of development in the region.

“These personal experiences reinforced our decision and determination to deliver the vision of seniors living in Tannum Sands.”

Flinders Village construction is being led by Paynters, a well-known design and construction specialist.
Chief executive officer Brett Johnston said Paynters had been working in the Gladstone region since 2007, with a long history of employing locals.
“Our business isn’t just about building,” he said.

“It’s about partnerships, community, trust, and engagement, and I think it’s about those value propositions that we turn bricks and mortar into something that’s real.

“The litmus test for me is when I come back here two or three years after this has been built and there’s residents here living and enjoying this great aspect, that they talk about how wonderful It is, not whether we make a commercial gain out of the project.”