
Large-scale cleaning services across aged care and community housing environments
Challenger delivered a large-scale mobilisation of aged care cleaning services across a complex portfolio of residential care, retirement living and community housing sites across NSW.
Mobilising cleaning services across a multi-site aged care portfolio
A major aged care provider required a new service partner to deliver cleaning services across 99 sites within a short timeframe.
The portfolio included residential aged care facilities, retirement living communities, community housing and commercial sites. Services needed to transition without disruption to residents, staff or daily operations.
The complexity increased when only a small portion of the incumbent workforce was available to transition. Challenger was required to recruit, onboard and deploy a largely new workforce across the entire portfolio.
The organisation needed a partner capable of mobilising at scale, maintaining strict hygiene standards and stabilising operations quickly across multiple regions.

Structured mobilisation and workforce deployment
Challenger implemented a structured mobilisation program designed to deliver aged care cleaning services reliably across the entire portfolio from day one.
The project was two-phased.
1. Planning and workforce preparation
The first six weeks focused on operational planning and workforce development across the portfolio. Challenger conducted site audits, workforce structuring and engagement with our client’s operational teams to understand the requirements of each facility.
Our teams then implemented a centralised recruitment and onboarding process to identify suitable candidates with the right experience and communication skills for resident-facing environments.
Group assessment sessions were held at Challenger’s Sydney head office. Candidates were screened for right-to-work documentation, police checks and suitability for working in aged care environments.
New team members were onboarded using Challenger’s structured Smooth Start process. This ensured employment documentation, rostering systems and site access were organised before staff arrived on site.
2. Staggered portfolio rollout
The operational rollout happened over weeks seven to eleven. Sites transitioned in stages across multiple regions, with dedicated transition teams and embedded portfolio managers supporting each go-live.
On-site leadership and supervisor presence ensured new teams were supported during the early stages of service delivery and that operations remained stable.
Pre-start online training and site-specific inductions ensured staff understood operational procedures, infection control practices and workplace safety requirements before beginning work.

Rapid mobilisation with no disruption to care environments
Key outcomes
The program demonstrated Challenger’s ability to deliver aged care cleaning services at scale, building and stabilising a large workforce quickly while maintaining operational continuity across a complex portfolio.



Looking for reliable aged care cleaning services across your organisation? Contact our cleaning specialists to discuss a solution tailored to your site.
Darlene Winston
Chief Financial Officer
Darlene proudly leads Challenger’s growth strategy, focusing on building strong client partnerships and expanding the organisation’s service capability.
As a senior executive with more than 25 years of international leadership experience, Darlene has worked across 13 industry sectors and three continents. Her background spans commercial leadership, risk and assurance, cultural transformation and organisational growth.
At Challenger, Darlene is responsible for driving long-term growth through strategic client partnerships and innovative service models. Her work is to ensure that Challenger’s capabilities are aligned with the evolving needs of our clients while ensuring operational delivery protects both client and company brands.
Darlene is also valued for her thought leadership in organisational culture and transformation. Outside of her executive role, she has lectured in international business and currently serves on two not-for-profit boards.
Allan Mitnovetsky
Chief Legal and Compliance Officer
Allan is Challenger’s Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and the principal legal advisor to the Board and Executive Leadership Team.
With more than 30 years of legal and management experience, Allan leads Challenger’s national legal and compliance functions and oversees the organisation’s regulatory frameworks and integrated management system.
Allan’s specialist areas include corporate governance, employment law, commercial law and mergers and acquisitions. Before joining Challenger’s leadership team, he spent eight years as a partner at a leading law firm, advising clients on complex commercial and regulatory matters.
Allan has been with Challenger for more than a decade, during which he has played a key role in strengthening the governance and compliance frameworks that support the company’s growth as a national service provider. His leadership approach ensures our clients can rely on strong regulatory oversight and disciplined operational governance.
Param Lally
Chief Financial Officer
Param is Challenger’s Chief Financial Officer, and is responsible for financial governance, planning and performance across our organisation.
As a career finance professional with more than 30 years of experience, Param brings meaningful expertise in financial strategy, operational efficiency and business transformation to our company. His background includes senior roles with major service organisations.
Param oversees financial planning and analysis, payroll, procurement, taxation, treasury management and financial systems within Challenger. His role focuses on strengthening financial performance while supporting sustainable business growth.
Param is skilled in analytical and commercial outcomes, helping leadership teams make informed strategic decisions. He also plays an important role in building high-performing finance teams and strengthening the financial systems that support every aspect of Challenger’s national operations.
Sharne Brennan
Chief People Officer
Sharne leads Challenger’s people, culture and workforce strategy across Australia.
A commercially focused HR executive, Sharne has extensive experience working within complex multi-site service organisations in sectors that include facilities services, hospitality, aged care, disability services and industrial operations. Her career has focused on building organisational strength in environments where workforce performance is critical to service delivery.
At Challenger, Sharne oversees workforce planning, leadership development, employee relations and organisational capability across the business. She works closely with the executive team to ensure people strategy supports on-the-ground operational performance and long-term growth.
Through Sharne’s pragmatic and practical leadership style, she creates environments where employees can confidently develop their skills, contribute effectively and deliver consistent outcomes for clients.
Group General Manager
Thomas oversees operational performance across Challenger, ensuring service delivery remains consistent, efficient and aligned with client expectations.
With more than 25 years of experience across hospitality, food services and facilities operations, Thomas is highly experienced in managing complex service environments across Australia and globally. Before joining Challenger, he held senior operational roles within major hospitality organisations.
Thomas works closely with operations teams and client stakeholders to manage large service contracts and ensure smooth mobilisation and long-term account management. His leadership approach focuses on maintaining high standards of service delivery while continuously improving operational performance.
One of Thomas’ key strengths is his collaborative leadership style. He builds strong working relationships with clients, suppliers and operational teams. His experience across large-scale operations ensures Challenger can deliver reliable service outcomes in complex and high-demand environments.
Danny Cohen
Chief Executive Officer
Danny leads the organisation’s strategy, performance and culture to deliver consistent outcomes for our clients nationwide.
Danny brings more than 15 years of leadership experience across both large Tier 1 contractors and growing service organisations. His career includes senior roles with organisations such as Downer Group, Ventia and Spotless, along with experience scaling businesses across multiple sectors, including emerging technology environments.
At Challenger, Danny is dedicated to strengthening the company’s position as a trusted integrated services partner delivering security, cleaning and hospitality services to major organisations across Australia.
He works closely with clients, employees and partners to ensure Challenger continues to evolve as industry needs change.
Danny is known for his people-first leadership approach, building accountable teams that translate strategy into consistent operational performance.