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Providing everything from a little help to specialised care, our flexible Home and Community Support services cover home nursing, home assistance and allied health.

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Offering a range of lifestyle options, each of our communities are affordably priced and designed to support your wellbeing, interests and happiness.

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About
Bolton Clarke

About
Bolton Clarke

What started in 1885 with a single nurse stepping out onto the streets of Melbourne, has become so much more thanks to the generosity, kindness and determination of the people who have shaped Bolton Clarke.

Today we support more than 130,000 Australians. Whether on the road, in the community, or across our residential care homes and retirement villages, we are the caring nurse, the daily support, the friendly face there to make a difference.

140 years caring for Australians

This year we celebrate something special. Ours is a story of dedicated individuals working together to help people live and age positively.

Our purpose and values

The work we do is driven by our purpose to help people live a life of fulfilment.

Our values of Listen, Be kind and Be curious are bringing this purpose to life. They are a reflection of our commitment to our customers and of our everyday interactions with each other.

The way we operate ensures we actively engage with our customers to develop responsive and supportive services that recognise their unique needs, interests and experiences.

Bolton Clarke Purpose and Values

Our Board

The Bolton Clarke Board of Directors use their experience to help build world class services and support more independent, fuller lives for thousands of people, both here in Australia and globally.

Our skills-based Board provides a foundation to support our sustainable future growth with joint management, executive risk and audit, and clinical governance committees and a portfolio decision group to ensure our governance processes are best in class.

The Board is committed to ensuring the care and services provided to consumers meet the Aged Care Quality Standards which took effect on 1 July 2019.

Mr Tony Crawford

Mr Tony Crawford

Chairman of the Board: Chair, Innovation and Technology Committee. Member, People and Culture Committee.
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Ms Susan Emerson

Ms Susan Emerson

Member, Capital Committee. Member, Clinical and Care Governance Committee.
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Mr Robert Lourey

Mr Robert Lourey

Chair, People and Culture Committee. Member, Clinical and Care Governance Committee.
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Mr Stuart Lummis

Mr Stuart Lummis

Chair, Capital Committee. Member, Risk and Audit Committee. Member, Innovation and Technology Committee.
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Mr Dean Matthews

Mr Dean Matthews

Member, Risk and Audit Committee. Member, Capital Committee. Member, Innovation and Technology Committee.
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Ms Karen Orvad

Ms Karen Orvad

Chair, Risk and Audit Committee. Member, Capital Committee. Member, Clinical and Care Governance Committee. Member, Innovation and Technology Committee.
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Assoc Prof Beverley Rowbotham AO

Assoc Prof Beverley Rowbotham AO

Chair, Clinical and Care Governance Committee. Member, People and Culture Committee. Member, Risk and Audit Committee. Member, Innovation and Technology Committee.
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Executive leadership

Our customer-focused and values-driven leadership team ensures high-quality, safe and reliable services that are underpinned by strong clinical governance.

<p><a href="/link/645f053d77ff49ebbdbfd65704b4b38e.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Olivier Chretien</a></p>

Olivier Chretien

Group Chief Executive Officer
MSc, MBA (INSEAD), AMP (Harvard), GAICD
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<p>Megan Millman</p>

Megan Millman

Chief Financial Officer
BCom, FCA, GAICD

<p>Mel Leahy</p>

Mel Leahy

Chief People Officer
BA (Psychology & Sociology), GAICD

<p>Glenn Hancock</p>

Glenn Hancock

Chief Operating Officer Residential Care
BBus

<p>Deidre McGill</p>

Deidre McGill

Chief Operating Officer Home & Community Support
RN, BHlthSc, MSc Healthcare Mngt, GAICD, MACN

<p>Brett Rice</p>

Brett Rice

Chief Operating Officer Retirement Living
B.Ec (Acc), CPA, GAICD

<p>Meredith Bird</p>

Meredith Bird

Executive General Manager - Brand, Marketing and Communications
MCom, PGDipEd, BA

<p>James Mantis</p>

James Mantis

Chief Development and Property Officer
BCom, MProp

Our history

From a single nurse walking the streets of Melbourne to our first veterans hostel in Brisbane, our tradition of care and history of service continue to inspire and guide our work.

After providing over a century of support we came together, united by our commitment to the highest quality care delivered with kindness and respect. In 2017, we adopted a new name – Bolton Clarke – recognising our early founders Brigadier William Bolton and Lady Janet Clarke.

Timeline Carousel

1884
1884
1889
1891
1916
1919
1934
1938
1947
1958
1966
1968
1970
1979
1987
1997
2008
2011
2014
2016
2023
2023
1884

1885

Reverend Dr Charles Strong and 15 eminent Melbourne citizens meet on 17 February with the mission of alleviating the distress and illness of those living in the city’s slums. As a result, the Melbourne District Nursing Society is born.

1889

1889

Well-known philanthropist, Lady Janet Clarke, is elected president of the Melbourne District Nursing Society, a role she will hold until 1908. A giant of the organisation’s early history, she will later be made a Life Governor.

1891

1891

Annual visits increase to over 8,000, with nurses navigating Melbourne’s laneways on foot to provide medical aid, food and comfort to the infirmed, the elderly and those unable to care for themselves.

1916

1916

Brigadier William Kinsey Bolton forms the Returned Sailors’ and Soldiers’ League, the forerunner of the RSL, and becomes its first national president.

1919

1919

As a result of the larger numbers of patients visited during the influenza epidemic, nurses are provided with cars for the first time. This increases patient numbers nearly fourfold from 1,104 to 3,992.

1934

1934

62,500 customer visits are made, including midwifery duties totalling 14,344 obstetrics visits to 650 patients.

1938

1938

Prominent businessman, Mr George Marchant, donates Kingshome – RSL’s first veteran hostel in Brisbane’s western suburbs, opened on 18 June 1938. It provides stability, security and a sense of community to an initial 64 ex-servicemen.

1947

1947

Upon learning that Kingshome is overcrowded, World War I veteran and mining leader, Mr Malcolm Newman donates Fernhill at Caboolture – one of South East Queensland’s finest private residences.

1958

1958

The Victorian Hospitals and Charities Commission requests RDNS to shift its focus to relieve the acute hospital bed shortage, which separates the district nursing work and Melbourne After-Care Hospital. As a result, the Society’s name changes to Melbourne District Nursing Service and the home nursing service moves to  452 St Kilda Road, Melbourne.

1966

1966

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, grants use of the 'Royal' prefix and the 'Royal District Nursing Service' (RDNS) name is adopted.

1968

1968

The original buildings at Fernhill are replaced with a purpose built 40-bed nursing home to further support the needs of ageing residents.

1970

1970

During the 1970s, eight new RDNS sub-centres are opened – Frankston, Caulfield, Heidelberg, Knox, Rosebud, Broadmeadows, Collingwood, and Dandenong.

1979

1980

In September 1980, RSL Care opens a residential community at Pinjarra Hills, located in Brisbane’s west, which will later be renamed Fairview. The original building offers 120 beds, with 30 additional beds added in 1982, including a day therapy centre.

1987

1988

Plans for the first RSL Care retirement community begin when Mackay RSL Bicentennial Community is gifted as a retirement village consisting of 25 independent villas.

1997

1998

RSL Care home care services commence on the Gold Coast. The service quickly expands over five years to support communities from North Queensland to Northern New South Wales.

2008

2009

RDNS is chosen by the Auckland District Health Board, in New Zealand, to assess clients’ personal care needs, deliver personal assistance services and provide care management. This becomes the first international expansion for the organisation. Today the NZ operation visits 2,400 customers each week with a team of over 400 dedicated community support workers, registered nurses and occupational therapists.

2011

2012

RSL Care forges a new path with an independent Board, underpinned by ANZAC principles and adopting a broader service mission for all older Australians.

2014

2015

Then RDNS CEO Stephen Muggleton and RSL Care Chairman Pat McIntosh merge RSL Care and RDNS as a single organisation, creating one of Australia’s largest not-for-profit providers of in-home care, and residential services, clinical nursing, and active retirement living.

2016

2017

Under our new name, Bolton Clarke, we continue to build on the trust and reputation we have earned.

2023

NOW

After joining forces with other experienced providers, our group of companies includes Acacia Living Group, Allity and McKenzie Aged Care.

Year in Review 2024

Year in Review 2024

Our Year in Review showcases milestones and achievements from 2024 and our commitment to enabling, celebrating and supporting people to live and age positively.

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Bolton Clarke acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land which we live and work, their rich culture and spiritual connection to country.
We pay our respects to Elders past and present.
Bolton Clarke acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land which we live and work, their rich culture and spiritual connection to country. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.
© 2025 Bolton Clarke
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