Report recommends March 2024 closure date for Snowy River Hostel

Published on 09 November 2023

A report to be tabled at the Thursday 16 November 2023 Council meeting recommends that the Snowy River Hostel aged care facility in Berridale close by 28 March 2024.

Councillors voted unanimously at the July Ordinary Council Meeting to defer making a decision on when and how Snowy River Hostel would close, citing the need for further community consultation to take place before coming to a final decision.

Following this deferral, Council needed to find additional funds to cover the extended period that the facility would need to remain open. This required the reallocation of several hundred thousand dollars from the roads budget to operate Snowy River Hostel until the proposed date of closure.

There is no further funding available for the facility without diverting further financial resources, currently allocated to other core services.

Council held two community information sessions on the future of Snowy River Hostel in August 2023 in Berridale and Jindabyne, with the Berridale community organising their own public meeting that same month. Council representatives attended and participated in the community-organised meeting.

In addition to these consultations, Council has directly engaged and worked with community groups, the wider Snowy Monaro community, residents and their families, other aged care operators, not-for-profit and community purpose organisations, and the Australian Government.

These discussions and meetings ensured all options were fully understood and duly considered, and that everyone with a stake in this process was properly informed and clear on the reasons behind Council’s decision to seek Snowy River Hostel’s closure.

Snowy River Hostel currently has six residents. There is capacity at Cooma aged care facilities – Hudson House and Yallambee Lodge – for these residents to move while remaining in the Snowy Monaro and in close proximity to Berridale.

Council has also been unsuccessful in recruiting new staff for Snowy River Hostel, owing to the uncertainty around the facility’s future and a tight aged care labour market. Should adequate resourcing not be achievable, this may bring forward the closure.

The community and Council have both requested additional Australian Government funding to keep Snowy River Hostel open. Whether for the immediate future, or over the long term, these requests have regrettably not been able to be confirmed.

Council held a meeting with residents, families and staff on Thursday 9 November to inform them personally about the report coming to the November meeting, explain what this means for them, and detailed how Council can help with their transition to a new facility.