ABOUT US
Disability NDIS Providers and My Aged Care Home Support Packages
The Co-operative Life (formerly Co-operative Home Care) is a financially sustainable, employee owned co-operative which opened its doors in 2013 with one customer and one staff member. We provide support services to adults of all aged groups who have mild, to very complex and multiple disabilities, people who live with chronic disease or are frail and elderly.
The idea for The Co-operative Life arose from founder and co-owner, Robyn Kaczmarek’s experience working in the home care service sector and seeing the challenges of low wages, poor working conditions, isolation and poor training affecting staff morale and the quality and continuity of care provided to older people and people with disability.
"I was shocked at the quality of care provided by agencies, people were falling through the gaps and there wasn’t enough service or continuity of staff for people to be getting good care… People weren’t in the office so they didn’t complain.”
Robyn Kaczmarek, founder and co-owner
The Co-operative Life motivation is based on the fundamental premise that engaged employee-owners deliver a higher quality of care and support than traditional forms of home care service provider.
To read more about Robyn and the Co-operative Life please read the article in ProBonoAustralia May 2018. Robyn was the change maker of the week.
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Testimonials
“Robyn and her team at (TCL) have turned my mother’s life around. They responded to our needs with a highly personalised service and treated my mother with great dignity and as a human being, rather than just as a patient. As a result Mum’s quality of life has improved beyond measure."
CM
“Our Customer is Noel and we are a team in the South West. We are so proud of ourselves for the good work we have done to make Noel's life very special in his own home.All we can say he is happy, healthy, and very active compared to his life before where he was in the nursing home .We are the self-managed team and we hold hands together to nurture him as he is just like one of our families.Thank you so much Robyn, for given us the permission to discuss our problems and solved them among us. It works and it is happening the way we wanted,following the job description.”
South West Care Crew
“(TCL) was a great solution for my elderly parents' care.
Robyn and her team were very professional while compassionate at the same time. She was very responsive to the family’s needs and managed my parents care and needs well. Both my parents suffered dementia and required specialised care as well as a great deal of Robyn's time in getting a care plan together that would address their complex needs. I was always able to reach Robyn by telephone regardless of what time of the day it was - this was very reassuring and I knew she had my parents best interests as her prime concern.
(TCL) and Robyn were very pro-active in meeting the needs of my parents. I would recommend the Co-Operative as being top of the class in providing elderly health care."