NRLS 2025 wrap up!

The One Fell Swoop team headed to Brisbane last week, for this year’s National Retirement Living Summit. Hosted by the Retirement Living Council, the Summit is a three-day event dedicated to bringing Australia’s retirement living experts together to share insights on the latest best practices and innovations across the sector. 

 Shaping the conversation 

On day two, Managing Partner Christopher Rooke took to the stage as part of a panel discussing ‘Marketing with meaning: Building trust and community in retirement sales’. Chris’ contribution reflected the depth of experience OFS brings to marketing strategy and storytelling in this evolving landscape. Chris used real client examples to illustrate the importance of building trusted relationships with prospective residents, through lead nurturing, and maintaining a strong database. 

“There’s always a sale in the database. Leads are really expensive to generate… that continual ongoing nurturing of that database is critical, I think, to sales success,” said Chris during the panel discussion.

 Celebrating innovation: Congratulations to BASScare’s Morgan Glen Iris 

A highlight of the Summit for our OFS team, is the awards dinner, held on the final evening. OFS was the naming sponsor again for the Best Community Development awards category, with our Director Stuart Nicolson (below left) on stage to do the honours. A standout moment was celebrating the success of long-time client BASScare, whose Morgan Glen Iris development took home the ‘Best Community Development – Small Operator <1,000 ILU’ award. This was the fourth consecutive year that one of our clients was recognised with an award within the Best Community Development category. It’s a very deserving accolade for Morgan Glen Iris − an exceptional community which sets a high bar for assisted living.  Keyton’s Ardency Kennedy Place won the ‘Large operator’ space while Ingenia Lifestyle Parkside secured the ‘Land Lease Development’ category.  Congratulations to all three winners, and of course, the worthy finalists!  

A rising profile 

A telling sign of change came through informal feedback—people are beginning to recognise One Fell Swoop by name, not just by our lanyards. From sponsorship of an award to panel representation and our growing brand recognition, this year’s event marked a noticeable shift in OFS’s presence and influence within the retirement living sector. We’re grateful to be continuing to help shape the broader conversation about where the sector is heading, and of course, enhance the lives of our senior Aussies.  

 A quiet thank you 

While in Brisbane, we also took the opportunity to host an intimate dinner with valued clients and partners—a chance to say thank you for the trust they place in us and the work we do together. These relationships sit at the heart of everything we’re building. We hope to see you at the National Retirement Living Summit in 2026. We’ve already blocked out our calendars!