A tradition of love and care
We are a leading not-for-profit organisation with a mission to provide older Victorians, their families and carers with a full range of quality community-based services and residential homes and apartments.
Our History
In 1977, leaders of the Greek community in Melbourne, identifying a gap in culturally appropriate care, founded a service to care for elders. They were especially focused on ensuring those who had no financial means had access to services and supports to be respectfully cared for in their third age and remain socially connected.
Fronditha Care’s first residential aged care facility was established in 1983 in Clayton Victoria. The organisation progressively grew its services with facilities and 40 independent living units at St Albans in 1996, Thornbury in 1997 and Templestowe in 2005.
In 2011, Fronditha Care in partnership with the Hippocrates Australian Greek Aged Persons Association, expanded its operations beyond Victoria with the launch of a facility in Newcastle, New South Wales.
In parallel to growing residential services Fronditha Care expanded its provision of support to assist Greek community elders who wished to age in place. The Community Services team was established in 1994 providing in home care assistance to the elderly has grown significantly to include social support groups and respite care programs providing a continuum of care.
An integral part of Fronditha Care is its volunteer corps. From the first ladies’ auxiliary, which formed in the 1980’s to raise funds for the establishment of the Clayton facility, to the hundreds of selfless individuals who across many years have generously contributed their time, volunteers have given their heart and soul to the elderly in our care. Our volunteer base has provided immeasurable support enabling Fronditha Care to extend its work and critical services further than it otherwise would.
With a rich tradition of love and care, today the Fronditha Care Bounty of Care ethos drives the organisation to excel in the provision of cultural, spiritual and health needs of the elderly.
Today, Fronditha Care embraces a culturally rich environment that inspires celebration, fosters belonging and enhances wellbeing for over 1500 elders in our care, our over 700 staff, our 200 plus volunteers and our 200 members.
Fronditha Care Values
Respect
It is a fundamental human right. The cornerstone of everything we are. By understanding and appreciating individual cultural, spiritual and emotional needs we build deeper, more meaningful relationships.
Do Right
Ethically, socially and financially we hold ourselves to higher standards. Do right is our mantra. It guides us to always do what’s best for our elders, our company and our community. Open, honest and fair we work together to be exemplary, never compromising our beliefs.
Bring Joy
Life’s moments must be cherished, celebrated and enjoyed. Through rituals, gestures and events we continue to bring optimism, light and joy striving everyday to create dear memories.
We realise the importance of these magic moments on everyone’s wellbeing.
Inspire Better
Everyday is an exciting learning experience that makes us better. We continually explore ways to improve our services and advance quality of care to our elders, their families and our community.
Board of Directors
Kostas Livadaras
President, Board Chair
Mr Kostas Livadaras joined the Fronditha Care Board in 2020, and he is currently the President Read more
Mr Kostas Livadaras joined the Fronditha Care Board in 2020, and he is currently the President and Board Chair of Fronditha Care.
He was previously the Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Risk and Audit Committee.
Mr Livadaras is the Managing Partner of a Public Accounting and Financial Advisory Practice ‘Stantins’ and has over 25 years of experience in finance and strategy across a range of diversified industries including the Medical and Aged Care Sector. As a public accountant he oversees several businesses where he provides financial, merger acquisition and growth strategy advice.
Mr Livadaras has a deep understanding of compliance and corporate governance, has held roles and advised businesses as a non-executive director to their board and as a member of finance and related committees.
Dr Paki Rizakis
Vice – President
M.B.,B.S, F.R.A.C.G.P
I was born in Australia of Greek heritage and trained as a medical doctor in Melbourne. I have a Read more
I was born in Australia of Greek heritage and trained as a medical doctor in Melbourne. I have a Fellowship with the Royal Australian College of General Practice and a teaching Associateship with Monash University. For the past fifteen years my clinical work has focussed on Aged Care where I act as on-site clinician, serve as medical representative on boards affiliated with aged care and contribute to publications relating to medical issues in aged care.
I am committed to providing high quality care to all my patients in a holistic and culturally- sensitive manner and always being very respectful of their expectations. I am also committed to working collaboratively with all members of staff to ensure that our services meet the highest standard of care.
Ageing is a very challenging process for the individual and for those caring for them. Working as a team with open communication and respect for each other makes the experience beneficial for the recipient and rewarding for the providers of care.
Alex Dimou
Treasurer, Chair FRAC Committee
B.Bus (Property), CPV, AAPI, MRICS, Senior Executive MBA
Mr Alex Dimou joined Fronditha Care in September 2022 as a co-opted committee member of the Read more
Mr Alex Dimou joined Fronditha Care in September 2022 as a co-opted committee member of the Property Advisory Committee providing expert advice and was subsequently appointed to the Fronditha Care Board, and as Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Risk and Audit Committee (FRAC) in November 2023.
Mr Dimou is the National Director of the Property Services Group at the National Australia Bank (NAB). He is responsible for the optimisation, management and balance of risk and governance across the multidisciplinary operation of NABValuations which is NAB’s solely owned valuation firm.
Possessing over two decades of varied experience, Mr Dimou has worked in the banking and finance, advisory, property consulting and valuation industries, has run large and multidisciplinary teams, and successfully led transformational projects. Mr Dimou’s broad operational and analytical expertise has provided him an understanding of external/internal audit, insurance and risk management, capital delivery and governance, and contract negotiation.
Mr Dimou holds a Senior Executive Master of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Business (Property), is a Certified Practising Valuer and Associate of the Australian Property Institute. Furthermore, he is a Chartered Valuation Surveyor and Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and has enhanced his leadership abilities and Business Process Management expertise with a Diploma of Management, Leader as Coach and Emotional Intelligence Certifications.
Jim Babalis
Board Secretary
LLB, BA (Hons), Law
Jim is an accomplished employment law expert with extensive experience in workplace relations Read more
Jim is an accomplished employment law expert with extensive experience in workplace relations, insurance (including employment practices liability, directors and officers liability, and professional indemnity), and workcover/comcare matters. He has worked in a variety of roles in Government, Private Practice, Insurance and Health and he regularly shares his knowledge to employer groups and human resources managers on employment and industrial relations issues.
Jim also provides advice on representation and regular business support to employer clients in a wide variety of employment and industrial relations matters, including defending and resolving dismissal, discrimination and general protections claims, advising representing employers in union disputes and advising on disciplinary procedures, post-employment restraints, redundancies, workcover and enterprise bargaining.
Jim holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in International Relations from La Trobe University and is a member of both the Law Institute of Victoria and the Australian Insurance Law Association.
Dr. Stella Laletas
Director
BA, DipEd, GDiP (Psych), PGDip (Psych) MPych (Developmental & Educational Psychology)
Dr Stella Laletas joined the Fronditha Care Board in 2020 and was previously the President Board Read more
Dr Stella Laletas joined the Fronditha Care Board in 2020 and was previously the President, Board Chair and Chair of the Clinical Governance Committee of Fronditha Care
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She has a PhD in psychology with specialist knowledge in lifespan psychology.
Dr Laletas currently holds a tenured position at Monash University and is a lecturer and researcher in psychology and counselling. She has over 20 years’ experience in various executive and leadership roles in the early childhood and education sectors.
As a Director within the early childhood sector, Dr Laletas engaged in the compliance of governance and accreditation processes at local, state and federal levels.
Dr Helen Kalaboukas
Director
BA (Hons) Melb, BEd La Trobe, PhD Swinburne
Helen has developed extensive experience through her work in diverse areas including co-ordinator Read more
Helen has developed extensive experience through her work in diverse areas including co-ordinator of the Greek Women’s Learning Centre and the couple and family counsellor with the Australian Greek Welfare Society (1991-1993).
In 1993, she was appointed international student counsellor at Swinburne University of Technology and in 1998 manager of Student Services until 2005. Helen received the Swinburne Vice-Chancellor Award – Innovative Programs in 2002 and 2005 for her initiatives in students’ development programs. From 2005-2010 Helen was a Monash appointed lecturer in Melbourne, Hong Kong and Singapore in the courses of Master in Counselling.
In 2008 Helen established the Centre for Emotional Intelligence in East Melbourne. The Centre provides individual psychotherapy and training programs on Emotional and Cultural Intelligence, Global Leadership, Multicultural Counselling, and Positive Psychology.
Helen completed her PhD thesis on “The Development and Evaluation of an Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Training Program in a Culturally Diverse Population”, and published her book Emotional Intelligence and Leadership (Lambert Academic Publishing, 2012).
Over the years Helen has presented numerous interviews on Greek radio, television and newspapers on educational, social, cultural and psychological issues. She has been a member of numerous professional bodies.
Since 2015 Helen was enlisted with Australian Institute for Macedonian Studies and since 2019 has become the Chair of the Board members, participating in its editorial committee and presenting lectures on issues pertinent to the Hellenic legacies.
Executive Management Team
Faye Spiteri OAM
CEO
An accomplished strategist Faye has extensive experience in executive leadership roles across Read more
An accomplished strategist Faye has extensive experience in executive leadership roles across government, corporate and for purpose sectors.
In February 2021, she was appointed CEO of Fronditha Care – a leading provider of aged care services and is committed to building on the legacy of the organisation in provision of care to the Greek and broader Australian community. She was also the first female President and Board Chair of the organisation and ended her 9-year tenure in 2019.
Her areas of expertise include aged care, cultural and religious diversity, gender parity, social justice, access and equity and social cohesion.
Passionate about achieving better social outcomes driven by genuine collaboration and engagement, in 2021 she was recognised with a Medal of the Order (OAM) for her contribution to driving social change and inducted to the Victorian Honour Roll for Women as a Change Agent in 2019.
John Stamoulis
CFO
John is a CPA-qualified accountant with substantial experience in both the private and Read more
John is a CPA-qualified accountant with substantial experience in both the private and public sectors, where he has implemented best-practice financial management systems to support enhanced commercial performance in the highly regulated Aged Care and Hospital and Healthcare industries.
In the past, he has driven business transformation and revenue optimisation programs as Executive Manager of Corporate Services for Ramsay Health, and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the Bureau of Meteorology. In his later capacity, he led a finance transformation program, actively developing systems, processes and people capability and receiving recognition from the Australian National Audit Office for industry better practice.
As Director of Finance for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDI), he collaborated with cross-functional colleagues in a highly dynamic and adaptive environment to administer the $22 billion government-funded scheme while developing controls and governance frameworks for sustainable service delivery and sound fiscal performance.
Prior to joining Fronditha Care, he was CFO at the Australian Institute of Family Services, where he served as a trusted advisor to the CEO and Executive Team to develop and execute a program of business transformation and performance turnaround, which has delivered 10% year-on-year revenue growth.
Jim Scantsonihas
Executive GM Residential Services
As GM of Residential Services, Jim oversees the five residential care facilities located in the Read more
As GM of Residential Services, Jim oversees the five residential care facilities located in the Melbourne Metropolitan area and in Newcastle NSW. He has managed the expansion of ANESI residential care in Thornbury, the construction of HIPPOCRATES in Newcastle and the redevelopment of Fronditha Care’s Clayton facilities, STEYI, PRONIA and GALINI. He is heavily involved in the upgrade of Fronditha Care’s corporate property in Mulgrave and the construction of a new 92 bed nursing home in St. Albans.
He has over 25 years of experience in the aged care sector, across both residential aged care and community services. He has worked in both the public and not-for-profit sector.
Penny Hobson
Executive GM Community Services
Penny joins Fronditha Care with a long history in the aged care industry and over 30 years in the Read more
Penny joins Fronditha Care with a long history in the aged care industry and over 30 years in the health and community services sector. She has extensive experience in executive management roles; most recently this includes previous positions at Villa Maria Catholic Homes (VMCH) and Blue Cross Community and Residential Care as senior and executive manager, respectively.
Penny’s professional interests are in leadership, culture, quality and the client experiences. Penny is committed to meeting the needs of consumers; ensuring operational processes deliver an optimal consumer journey and building and maintaining a culture of high performance
Penny is eager to participate in Fronditha Care’s continued growth and success and in particular support the needs of the CALD community.
Helen Christo
Executive GM People & Culture
Helen joined Fronditha Care in February 2023 as the EGM People & Culture. The P&C team delivers Read more
Helen joined Fronditha Care in February 2023 as the EGM People & Culture. The P&C team delivers talent acquisition, learning & development, employee relations and health, safety & wellbeing solutions, and support. With over 25 years demonstrated experience working across multiple industries, Helen’s operational and strategic focus, coupled with her consultative and collaborative approach, ensures the team delivers high quality outcomes for our employees and clients.
Jimmy Mariñas
Executive GM Strategy & Governance
Jimmy Mariñas is a seasoned business strategist who has joined Fronditha Care as the Executive Read more
Jimmy Mariñas is a seasoned business strategist who has joined Fronditha Care as the Executive General Manager, Strategy and Governance guiding the achievement of the organisation’s Strategic Framework, operational and business plans.
Jimmy’s diverse career spans over 15 years and he has honed his influential advisory expertise across various industries, having held positions with Lendlease, RSPCA Victoria, St John Ambulance and Arrotex Pharmaceuticals. Jimmy’s professional experience is a testament to his ability to support senior leadership teams in achieving strategic execution, impactful outcomes, and remarkable success. Jimmy holds a double degree Bachelor of Business and Commerce and Bachelor of Communications, a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management and a Certificate IV in Leadership and Management.