Buy Them Up.
Sell Them On.
Investors are buying small care businesses, joining them into bigger groups and selling the groups on. The money they earn comes from public funding for disability, aged care, childcare and health.
Some of that investment money is ours too, through the Future Fund.
Businesses added to Independent Living Specialists since Riverside invested in April 2020.[1]
Country Care Group’s planned growth in stores, announced when Next Capital bought 51 per cent.[2]
Loan to Aidacare to refinance debt and pay a dividend to its owner, Quadrant.[3]
The Future Fund’s holding with Quadrant Private Equity at 30 June 2026.[4]
How a Roll-up Works
Buying lots of small businesses and joining them into one big group is called a roll-up.
An old trading name can stay on the door after the business changes hands, so you might not know who owns the service you use.
One Group, Six Buys
Riverside invested in Independent Living Specialists, an equipment supplier, in April 2020. Then the buying started.[1]
- 2020Riverside invests in Independent Living Specialists. Think Mobility is added.
- 2021Complete Mobility, Geelong Wheelchairs and Special Needs Solutions.
- 2022Leef Independent Living Solutions.
- 2024Professional Assistance for Living.[1]
Wheelchairs, hoists, beds and home equipment for disabled people and older people are mostly paid for by the NDIS, aged care programs and state equipment schemes.
Who Bought What
Disability equipment, aged care, cancer care, GPs and employment services.
| Business | What it does | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Aidacare | Disability and aged care equipment | Quadrant bought a majority stake, completed 9 December 2022.[5] |
| Country Care Group | Disability and rehabilitation equipment stores | Next Capital bought 51 per cent, announced 20 December 2022.[2] |
| Estia Health | Aged care homes | Bain bought it in December 2023 and agreed to sell it to Stonepeak on 26 May 2026.[6] |
| Signature Care | Aged care homes | For Purpose Investment Partners’ purchase completed August 2024, with a $260 million bank debt facility.[7] |
| APM | Employment, rehabilitation and disability services | Madison Dearborn Partners took it private in October 2024.[8] |
| Icon Group | Cancer care | EQT Infrastructure V agreed to buy it in November 2021.[9] |
| Family Doctor | GP clinics | KKR lent it $186 million in March 2025. That’s a loan, not a purchase.[10] |
Borrow Against the Care, Pay the Owners
In February 2026, Bloomberg reported that Bain Capital Credit and UBS were lending about A$540 million to Aidacare. The money would “fund a dividend payout to the company’s private equity owner Quadrant Private Equity Pty and refinance debt.”[3]
This is called a dividend recapitalisation. The owners get cash now. The business keeps the loan and pays the interest out of its future income.
When that income comes from the NDIS and aged care, the interest is paid from the same money that pays for wages and equipment.
Same Group, Different Names
In February 2021, the NDIA named the businesses on its panel to run independent assessments. APM and Konekt were both on it. They were in the same group.[11]
The compulsory assessments were dropped in July 2021 after disabled people fought them. The panel still shows how one group can look like two competitors.[11]
NDIS plan management and booking platforms have buyers too. nib Thrive bought the NDIS marketplace platform Kynd. McMillan Shakespeare’s Plan Partners bought My Plan Support in May 2025. McMillan Shakespeare’s chief executive, Rob De Luca, used to run the NDIA.[12]
It doesn’t stop at care. In 2022 the Future Fund, ROC Partners and private investors put $255 million into a Quadrant vehicle buying MotorOne from another Quadrant fund, with plans for up to 40 smash-repair shops.[13]
Case Study: Veterans’ Care and Childcare
Two services paid for by government. The same pattern in both.
Almost what the Dutton family made from childcare businesses and property deals over more than 20 years, Four Corners found.[16]
Rent a year Peter Dutton shared with his father in 2002 from two centres leased to ABC Learning.[16]
Affinity’s service approvals outside NSW and in NSW. ACECQA has capped it there from 25 September 2026.[20]
Extra a year DVA pays a GP for a coordinated veteran care plan, the plans Four Corners found being moved to for-profit companies.[14]
Veterans’ care
On 5 October 2026, Elise Worthington, Amy Donaldson and Maddy King of Four Corners reported on Total Veteran Healthcare. TVH doctors were paid by DVA to coordinate a veteran’s care. His records showed quarterly calls with a nurse, and he never spoke to or saw a TVH GP until his mental health crisis.[14]
TVH’s privacy policy names the operator as Bowen Hills Medical Operations Pty Ltd.[15] Embark Education’s 2022 annual report lists one of its directors, Chris Sacre, as a director of Bowen Hills Medical Operations and Bowen Hills Medical Employment, and of a string of childcare companies, including Childcare Pro, Early Years Employment, ELC Operations Australia and Eden Academy Operations.[17]
Childcare
In April 2025, Four Corners found the Dutton family had owned four Brisbane childcare centres, and all four had dealings with ABC Learning or entities linked to its founder, Eddy Groves.[16]
The RHT Family Trust was set up in February 2014 with Peter and Kirilly Dutton as primary beneficiaries. He declared the trust in April 2014 but listed only his wife’s interest. He declared he was a beneficiary in August 2016.[16] The Saturday Paper reported that in five years he left cabinet’s childcare discussions only once.[24] In March 2017 he voted for the law that pays the Child Care Subsidy straight to providers instead of parents, and his family’s business became one of those providers.[18]
In 2022 the family’s Everton Hills business was sold to a company linked to Groves’s stepson. The sale was signed the day before the federal election.[16] Dutton has said he never received a dollar from the trust and gave up his interest in 2019.[16]
And Then There’s Affinity
Affinity Education told the NSW Parliament that Quadrant Private Equity No.7C is one of its controlling shareholders.[19] The Government Directory lists QPE No.7C as a Future Fund Board of Guardians investment holding entity.[21]
Affinity employed Joshua Dale Brown at 13 of the 23 centres where he worked. He is charged with sexually abusing children.[22] Hawker Britton lobbies for Affinity and for Aidacare, both in the Quadrant family.[23]
Public subsidy at one end. Private equity in the middle. Our own sovereign wealth fund invested through it.
What We Want Released
If public money pays for it, we should know who owns it.
- The legal name and ultimate owner of every provider and supplier at the date of each government contract or panel.
- Every change of ownership after the contract starts.
- How much of each provider’s income goes on interest, management fees, related-company payments and dividends.
- Where the Future Fund’s money with each private equity and credit manager has gone, company by company, in care.
- A public register of who owns disability, aged care, childcare and veterans’ services, by service name.
- Who will be held accountable, and what will be done to make sure this never happens again.
Sources
- Riverside, Independent Living Specialists portfolio page, checked 6 October 2026. Investment in April 2020 and add-on businesses by year. https://www.riversidecompany.com/investment-portfolio/independent-living-specialists/
- Next Capital, Next Capital buys into rehabilitation retailer Country Care Group, 20 December 2022. 51 per cent stake; 18 sites; plan to reach 75 stores in three to five years. https://nextcapital.com.au/next-capital-buys-into-rehabilitation-retailer-country-care-group/
- Bloomberg, republished by Swissinfo, Bain, UBS lend $382 million to Quadrant’s Aidacare in Australia, 18 February 2026. A$540 million; six-year loan. https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/bain%2C-ubs-lend-%24382-million-to-quadrants-aidacare-in-australia/90961459
- Future Fund, Periodic Investment Report, 30 June 2026, Table 1. https://content.futurefund.gov.au/Periodic+Investment+Report+30+Jun+2026+-+Future+Fund+(A1435346).csv
- Mergers Alliance, Aidacare transaction record, 9 December 2022. https://www.mergers-alliance.com/madds/aidacare/
- Bain Capital, Bain Capital to exit Estia Health, 26 May 2026. https://www.baincapital.com/news/bain-capital-exit-estia-health
- For Purpose Investment Partners, Signature Care case study. https://www.fpinvest.com.au/investment-case-studies/signature-care
- Latham & Watkins, Latham advises on financing for Madison Dearborn Partners’ acquisition of APM, October 2024. https://www.lw.com/en/news/2024/10/latham-advises-on-financing-for-madison-dearborn-partners-acquisition-of-apm-human-services-intl
- EQT, EQT Infrastructure to acquire Icon Group, 19 November 2021. https://eqtgroup.com/news/eqt-infrastructure-to-acquire-icon-group-australias-largest-integrated-cancer-care-provider-2021-11-19
- KKR, KKR provides bespoke financing solution to Australian GP group Family Doctor, Business Wire, 2 March 2025. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250302805504/en/KKR-Provides-Bespoke-Financing-Solution-to-Australian-GP-Group-Family-Doctor
- NDIA, Independent assessment panel announced, 26 February 2021; Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS, Independent assessments, chapter 2. https://www.ndis.gov.au/news/6118-independent-assessment-panel-announced https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/National_Disability_Insurance_Scheme/IndependentAssessments/Report/Chapter_2_-_Background_to_independent_assessments
- nib, nib Thrive acquisition, July 2023; McMillan Shakespeare, Plan Partners acquisition of My Plan Support, 30 May 2025; Rob De Luca biography. https://www.nib.com.au/media/2023/07/nib-thrive-buys-digital-ndis-marketplace-platform-kynd https://mmsg.com.au/news/plan-partners-expands-regional-support-with-acquisition-of-my-plan-support https://mmsg.com.au/our-company/executive-team/ceo
- Quadrant, Future Fund, ROC Partners back Quadrant’s new buyout fund (Australian Financial Review), 1 November 2022. https://www.quadrantpe.com.au/news-insights/afr-future-fund-roc-partners-back-quadrants-new-buyout-fund
- ABC News, Elise Worthington, Amy Donaldson and Maddy King, Four Corners investigation into cannabis and ketamine prescriptions in DVA-funded care, including Total Veteran Healthcare, 5 October 2026. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-05/cannabis-ketamine-prescriptions-veteran-health-care-dva/107207132
- Total Veteran Healthcare, Privacy Policy. Names Bowen Hills Medical Operations Pty Ltd, ABN 23 955 861 651. https://totalveteranhealthcare.com/privacy-policy/
- ABC Investigations and Four Corners, Rory Callinan, Louise Milligan, Ben Schneiders, Ben Butler, Alex McDonald and Neil Chenoweth, Peter Dutton failed to disclose interest in family trust, 28 April 2025; Four Corners, True Colours, 28 April 2025. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-28/peter-dutton-failed-to-disclose-interest-in-family-trust/105217880 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-28/true-colours/105226608
- Embark Education, 2022 Annual Report, directors’ report and related parties. https://embarkeducation.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2022-Annual-Report.pdf
- They Vote For You, House of Representatives division on the Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Jobs for Families Child Care Package) Bill, 22 March 2017; AUSPUBLAW, Section 44 and the competing arguments for disqualification and exoneration of Peter Dutton, September 2018. https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/divisions/representatives/2017-03-22/6 https://www.auspublaw.org/blog/2018/09/section-44-and-the-competing-arguments-for-disqualification-and-exoneration-of-peter-dutton
- Affinity Education Group, answers to supplementary questions, NSW Legislative Council, received 22 October 2025. https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lcdocs/other/22593/1a.%20ASQ%20-%20Affinity%20-%20received%2022%20October%202025.PDF
- ACECQA, National Registers, Affinity Education Group Pty Limited, conditions on provider approval. https://www.acecqa.gov.au/resources/national-registers/providers/affinity-education-group-pty-limited?page=1
- Australian Government Directory, Quadrant Private Equity No.7C. https://www.directory.gov.au/portfolios/finance/future-fund-management-agency/future-fund-board-guardians/quadrant-private-equity-no7c
- ABC News, Joshua Dale Brown worked at multiple childcare centres, 16 July 2025. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-16/joshua-dale-brown-worked-at-multiple-childcares/105535422
- Tasmanian Integrity Commission, Register of Lobbyists, Hawker Britton Group Pty Ltd. https://lobbyists.integrity.tas.gov.au/register/hawker-britton-group-pty-ltd
- The Saturday Paper, Exclusive: Dutton’s record on cabinet recusal, 15 September 2018. https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2018/09/15/exclusive-duttons-record-cabinet-recusal/15369336006853