Care and support economy

What we do

Supporting innovative and transformative care and support organisations to scale sustainable social impact

The care and support economy provides a critical platform of dignity, respect, inclusion and independence for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.

We support care organisations to thrive amid rising expectations, funding constraints, and ongoing sector reforms and disruption. Our team brings strategic clarity, data-informed insights, and a dual focus on commercial sustainability and purpose-led impact.

We also help purpose-driven providers make robust decisions and deliver lasting impact across disability, aged care, early childhood education, children’s services—including out-of-home care—and other essential support sectors.

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Case studies

Some of our projects in the care and support economy

Strengthening a century-old legacy through strategic transformation

Uniting Vic.Tas, formed from 21 agencies, engaged Right Lane Consulting to define its desired impact and organisational identity for 2030.

Over 11 months, we led a comprehensive diagnosis, stakeholder engagement and strategic planning process. Together, we crafted a compelling vision, clear strategy and aligned service and operating models.

The resulting Strategy 2030, with five ambitious goals, positions Uniting Vic.Tas as a leading advocate for an inclusive, connected and just future.

Supporting Better Place Australia: A strategic approach to maximising impact

Better Place Australia, supporting over 11,000 people each year, partnered with Right Lane Consulting in 2024–25 to craft a bold new strategy.

We worked closely with the Board and leadership to define a five-year vision and four strategic goals driving cultural transformation, service innovation, sustainable growth and sector influence.

We also strengthened internal partnership capabilities, ensuring Better Place can expand its impact while staying true to its mission.

Testimonials

What our clients say

I have no hesitation in saying that your support for our conference through the pre-work, facilitation and preparation … has been of the highest quality I have experienced in the last 20 years. Extremely professional and the complete package.

CEO

Healthcare company

I have had the privilege to work with the wonderful and diverse team at Right Lane Consulting since December 2013. I will never forget my first encounter when they led our strategic planning day with the George Hicks Foundation. With thorough planning, exquisite execution and beautiful documentation Right Lane set us on a clear and streamlined path that enabled the consolidation of GHF and formation of MPF. Their support has continued unabated, and I have worked with many of the team. Like tessellated tiles they mesh together providing whatever we need from strategic planning and board capability through grass roots workshop and risk management. MPF owes much of its success to this great organisation. And, importantly, we always have a lot of fun!

CEO

Mornington Peninsula Foundation

We have just recruited a high calibre candidate. During the interview process we sent her the strategy on a page you helped us create. She responded that she was “so thrilled to get it, that it was the best one she has seen, and that it shows real clarity of leadership.”

Executive

Healthcare organisation

Right Lane came to us when the Mother’s Day Classic decided to establish a Board, when we required clear strategic direction. Engaging Right Lane was an easy decision. They [Right Lane] were heavily involved in the superannuation industry and supported a number of our partners and came highly recommended. Together, we reviewed our mission, priorities and what the research was saying; getting down to the nitty gritty! This enabled us to sharpen our focus and start thinking strategically about our future. More recently we have worked with Right Lane in refreshing our strategy. The most rewarding element, was to take time to celebrate our successes and reflect on what we had achieved from the 2015 strategy, and to set new goals, taking us to 2020, which is really exciting. Once we defined our strategy and had clear direction, it was easy to take partners, volunteers and staff on the journey; to show them the way too. Also having clear measurable targets has been our greatest achievement over the last couple of years. People know what they have to achieve, and they can achieve it and see the changes. From an internal perspective this has made a huge impact.

CEO

Mothers’ Day Classic Foundation

Your team were highly professional, practical and realistic and worked extremely well with our business. They brought highly effective methodologies to the structure of recommendations and facilitating workshops.

Executive

Healthcare client

Our experts

Our people working with care and support organisations

Meet our team

Les Hems

Principal

Les Hems is a Principal at Right Lane Consulting. Les boasts an impressive career spanning 35 years in management consulting and social impact work. His extensive career has seen him collaborate with community organisations of all sizes, all tiers of government, social enterprises, cooperatives and mutuals, and businesses. For many of these clients, he has become, and remains, a trusted advisor to both executives and boards.

Experience

Throughout this work, Les has had the opportunity to make a significant contribution to the development and implementation of many social innovations that have led to better outcomes for disadvantaged communities including:

Advising disability service providers on their adaptation to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and securing commercial sustainability.
Delivering the first editions of the State of the Disability Sector following the launch of the NDIS to guide policy development and strategic decision-making.
Undertaking a feasibility study for the implementation of Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) in Australia, strategic advisor to state governments on 6 SIBs, and advisor on the development of three SIBs.
Supporting state government agencies to develop strategies to introduce outcomes-based payment mechanisms in relation to child protection, homelessness and social housing.
Leading the design of key elements of the first phase of New South Wales Social and Affordable Housing Fund.
Establishing a disability housing-focused real estate investment trust for a disability service provider.
Promoting the concept of creating shared value for Australian businesses to enhance their social impact through their commercial activities, including the development of a range of case studies.
Supporting a housing developer to systematically measure and report the social value created by their housing developments.
Promoting and evidencing the potential for social enterprises and cooperatives and mutuals to play a greater role in delivering government funding services, including disability and aged case services, social and affordable housing, and health and community services.

Les is a pre-eminent voice on the topic of social impact and is a leader in working with for-purpose organisations that are committed to delivering social outcomes.

Qualifications

Les holds a Master of Business Administration from Aston Business School and was a founding member of the Social Impact Measurement Network of Australia and is a member of the Australian Evaluation Society and a fellow of the RSA.

Dominic Leaver

Associate Principal

Dominic is an Associate principal at Right Lane Consulting. Dominic brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record in strategy and transformation, particularly within the social impact sector.

Experience

Dom joins us from Deloitte, where he served as a Senior Manager in the Social Impact Consulting Practice. Over his 5 years at Deloitte, Dominic partnered with Australia’s largest disability, community and aged care providers to develop leading strategies that drive social impact at scale. His leadership and expertise have been instrumental in delivering over 20 client engagements valued at $4.5 million.

Dom has experience in property-focused strategy and transformation projects. Notably, he led the strategy and planning stream to transform The Salvation Army’s Aged Care residential aged care property portfolio and service offering to enable a dedicated focus on homeless and vulnerable older Australians. This involved taking a data driven and needs based approach to identifying which geographies the operation would enter, exit or maintain and driving the detailed design of service and operating models for this high-risk customer cohort.

Dom also partnered with Westhaven, a leading regional NSW disability service provider, to redesign their property portfolio and operations through the establishment of an investment vehicle (a REIT) that has enabled the profitable and sustainable growth and management of Westhaven’s diversified property portfolio. This included coordination and legal, financial and operational due diligence, securing Board approval and the development of detailed service offerings, brands and positioning statements, organisation structure and operating model for 3 new operating entities.

Dom has also led diverse growth-oriented strategy and transformation projects for some of Australia’s leading social impact organisations, Life Without Barriers, Scope Australia, Lifestyle Solutions and LiveBetter.

Prior to his time at Deloitte, Dominic spent 7 years at The Smith Family, most recently as the National Manager of Strategy.

Qualifications

Dominic holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Policy Studies from the University of New South Wales, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Technology, Sydney. His passion for building the capability of social impact organisations to commercially thrive and deliver impact at scale aligns perfectly with Right Lane Consulting’s purpose.

Afsaneh Rashidi

Senior Associate

Afsaneh is an experienced professional with a strong background in strategy consulting, supporting public, private and not-for-profit organisations across diverse industries. Her expertise spans stakeholder engagement, business transformation, operational improvement, and project management, enabling her to drive impactful, purpose-led change. At Right Lane Consulting, Afsaneh is a core member of the Gender Equality Practice and People and Culture Working Group and leads the firm’s internship recruitment and program.

Experience

Her recent experience has included:

Leading the operating model review for a major emergency services organisation in Victoria, conducting a comprehensive review to improve effectiveness through extensive stakeholder engagement, resulting in a detailed diagnosis report and actionable roadmap aligned with its new strategic plan.
Playing a key role in the five-year strategy development and operating model review for a community services organisation, facilitating workshops, developing strategic documents, and providing insights on resourcing and structure, culminating in a successful public strategy launch.
Reviewing growth opportunities for an education services provider to enter the EdTech sector, developing a comprehensive landscape and growth opportunities report, including financial modelling, competitor analysis, and strategic recommendations, helping them narrow down strategic options and growth decisions.
Working on a series of projects with the Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector, including co-developing a public-facing strategic plan, evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of progress reporting, and understanding barriers and enablers for GIAs in rural and regional councils and hospitals across Victoria.
Working on the inclusive education strategy for a Catholic education organisation, demonstrating her commitment to ensuring all students have access to high-quality education and support services.

Afsaneh brings together deep subject matter expertise and hands-on experience, making her a trusted advisor to organisations seeking meaningful change. She excels in navigating complex stakeholder environments and is deeply committed to advancing purpose-driven initiatives.

Qualifications

Afsaneh holds an MBA from Melbourne Business School, where she served as President of the Net Impact Club and Vice President of the Women in Management Club. She currently leads the Women Alumni Network at MBS and is deeply committed to purpose-driven work and inclusive impact, values that align strongly with Right Lane Consulting’s mission.

Ready to see how we can help you create even more impact?

We work alongside clients who do great work within the sectors they operate, and we are excited to be involved in creating outcomes that truly make a difference.

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