Leadership Change at the Top: What’s Next for Aged Care?

Leadership expectations in aged care are shifting — and boards are responding.

Over the past 18 months, CEO transitions have become more common across the sector. While many have been part of planned succession, some are occurring in the context of sustained system pressures and evolving board priorities.

What’s Driving the Shift?

Aged care boards are operating in an environment shaped by:

• Ongoing legislative and funding reform

• Workforce shortages and instability

• Increasing regulatory scrutiny

• Greater expectations around governance, risk, reputation, and organisational culture

These factors are reshaping what boards expect from executive leadership at the top.

What Boards Are Now Looking For

Operational capability remains essential, but boards are placing increasing value on:

• Strategic change leadership

• Stakeholder and community engagement

• Robust governance and risk management

• The ability to shape and sustain a strong organisational culture

This shift reflects the reality that aged care providers are under greater scrutiny and must balance compliance with delivering safe, person-centred care — often with constrained resources.

Sector Experience: Still Valued, Not Always Essential

While many boards prefer leaders with deep sector knowledge, there is a growing openness to candidates from adjacent sectors such as disability, public health, and other mission-driven organisations. Where there is clear values alignment and the capacity to manage complexity, sector experience is not always mandatory.

Succession Remains a Challenge

Internal leadership pipelines remain limited for many providers. As a result, most CEO appointments continue to be external — bringing fresh thinking but also the risk of a steeper onboarding curve, particularly in organisations navigating structural reform.

What Successful CEOs Need Now

CEOs stepping into this environment must be able to:

• Lead through sustained uncertainty and ongoing reform

• Build trust with boards, staff, and community stakeholders

• Align limited financial resources with care quality and mission

• Support boards in balancing strategy, governance, and compliance

• Leverage their own credibility to influence and contribute to broader sector reform

Looking Ahead

Leadership renewal is likely to continue across the sector — particularly where boards are seeking to reposition their organisations for the next phase of reform and heightened community expectations.

At Wexford Hayes, we continue to work with boards to understand these shifting demands and identify leaders with the capability and resilience to navigate what comes next.

If you’d like to discuss emerging trends in CEO appointments or succession planning for your organisation, please get in touch.