Inside the Gateway Life–Savvy deal reshaping preventative care in the Illawarra
Operators respond to rising demand for recovery services.
The planned merger between Gateway Life and Savvy is less about expansion and more about a structural shift underway in the Illawarra’s health and care economy, according to the two organisations behind the deal.
Community Gateway and Thrive Care Group will form a new jointly owned company, operating from Gateway Life’s current Keira Street facility in Wollongong, effective April 1.
The organisation will combine gym access, group exercise, and allied health clinical services under a new brand.
Community Gateway chief executive Deborah De Santis and Thrive Care Group CEO Chris Murphy said the partnership emerged after both organisations found they were targeting similar clients but through different services.
“We were essentially trying to achieve the same outcomes in different places,” De Santis said.
Gateway Life opened in 2023 as a combined clinic and gym, while Savvy, now part of Thrive Care Group, offered structured classes and therapy programs but lacked a permanent gym.
“They don’t have a gym; we do. We don’t run reformer Pilates; they do,” De Santis said.
Murphy said the combined model fills a gap in the local market.
“For a long time, it’s been overdue for the Illawarra for a dedicated community proposition targeting holistic health and well-being,” he said.
Demand shifting toward mobility and recovery
Both organisations said there is a growing demand for allied health services, such as physiotherapy and exercise physiology, particularly among older adults and those recovering from injury or illness.
“Allied health therapists have a huge part to play in keeping people [healthy] — helping people restore their function after a hospital episode and also preventing them from going into hospital,” De Santis said.
Murphy said Savvy had already been moving in that direction after merging with Thrive’s allied-therapy arm, Amplified Health, in 2023.
The popularity of Savvy Seniors, a long-running weekly exercise program that brings together more than 100 older adults for group movement classes, has reinforced this trend.
“That was really with the intent of being able to provide people access to movement therapy … but also ensure that they had access to physiotherapy and occupational therapy and exercise physiology,” he said.
He said demand for clinical services continues to grow.
“We are experiencing more demand than ever for our allied therapeutic services,” Murphy said.
Access and affordability
Murphy said cost and convenience were major barriers to treatment for many residents.
“Many people cannot afford to pay for regular access to allied therapy when you’re looking at more than $200 a session,” he said.
“Our philosophy is that movement is medicine, and it’s really good for people to access movement and be able to move in an environment that is safe and welcoming.”
De Santis said policy changes in home-care funding also encourage greater use of clinical services.
“We’re expecting people to be accessing allied health at a greater rate than they have done in the past,” she said.
Not a typical sector merger
The aged-care and disability sectors have seen increased consolidation in recent years, often driven by financial pressure. De Santis said this arrangement was structured differently.
“In our sector, there’s quite a lot of distressed mergers happening,” she said.
“This really is different in that we are creating a new company … and that we will have a 50 per cent share.”
The new entity will be governed by a board comprising De Santis, Murphy, and an independent chair, with a general manager to be appointed.
Community Gateway will continue its broader care services supporting more than 1,000 clients across the Illawarra, Shoalhaven, southern Sydney and the Mid North Coast.
Both leaders said the purpose of the combined service is to help people remain independent longer.
“Most people would much prefer to be able to stay at home for their whole life,” De Santis said.
The new organisation is expected to begin operating in April under a yet-to-be-announced name.