Aged Care Adviser of the Year Award Winners
Congratulations to our winners
Aged Care Steps has operated the Aged Care Adviser of the Year since 2022, with two categories open to nominations each year:
Aged Care Adviser of the Year
This award recognises the individual adviser who is judged to have best demonstrated outstanding professional commitment to the provision of aged care advice to older Australians and their families.
Award Category - Aged Care Advice Initiative of the Year (previously named Aged Care Advice Program of the Year)
This award recognises an Australian adviser or advice business working in financial services that has actively advocated the promotion of aged care advice among their client base, referral networks, peers or local community.
2025 Winners
The 2025 winner of the Aged Care Adviser of the Year is Zachary Dodds CFP® from Muirfield Financial Services.
Zachary has established himself as a trusted advocate for families navigating aged care. His work at Muirfield Financial Services blends clear, confident technical guidance with the kind of empathy that helps clients feel genuinely supported. Zac led Muirfield’s inaugural Aged Care Expo, a project that connected local families, aged care providers and professionals. His approach continues to elevate aged care advice as a cornerstone of holistic financial planning.
He has been recognised as a three-time finalist for the ACS Awards and won the inaugural 2024 Aged Care Advice Excellence award. Aged Care Steps is proud to recognise his continued excellence in aged care advice by naming him the 2025 Aged Care Adviser of the Year.
The 2025 winner of the Aged Care Advice Initiative of the Year is Alteris Financial Group.
Over the last year, Alteris Financial Group expanded their leadership in aged care advice with a Client Nurture Campaign that reframed how families receive information during stressful decision periods. The program blended segmented digital communication, educational resources and an improved web experience to help families reach out earlier and with greater confidence.
Within six months, the firm doubled the number of self-initiated enquiries and strengthened both lead quality and revenue. The result is a scalable model that proves high-quality aged care advice can be delivered with clarity, empathy and strong strategic foundations. Following their awards in 2022 and 2023, we are pleased to congratulate them for their 2025 recognition.
2024 Winners
The 2024 winner of the Aged Care Adviser of the Year category was Katie Spence from Sage Care Advice.
Katie Spence was recognised for her work simplifying and effectively communicating the concept of aged care financial advice to clients and their families, ensuring they’re able to understand their options and plan appropriately.
She was recognised as an exemplary Adviser by her clients, who have built a strong referral network in acknowledgement of her work with each of them and the effect she has on their peace of mind as they plan for their own future or that of their loved ones. Katie was also a finalist in 2023.
The winner of the Aged Care Advice Program of the Year for 2024 was Story Wealth Management.
In 2024, Story Wealth Management launched their specialised program, the ‘Ageing with Grace Support Service’, designed to address and support the financial, logistical, and emotional challenges faced by seniors and their families through a financial advice lens.
With the program’s mission of meeting the growing demand for aged care advice in their client base and wider community, they had great success, and established partnerships with local Care Coordinators, elder law specialists, and service providers.
The 2024 winner of the newly created Aged Care Advice Excellence Award was Zachary Dodds from Muirfield Financial Services.
The Judges of the 2024 awards chose to recognise an additional financial adviser for the excellence demonstrated through his nomination. As well as growing his impact on clients in the past year, Zac was a key organiser in a newly-established Aged Care Expo held in Geelong, bringing together a range of specialist providers and educators to provide quality information for the community.
Zac was also instrumental in Muirfield’s participation in Seniors Week and a number of seminars and workshops, allowing clients and the wider community to self-educate on the importance of aged care financial advice.
2023 Winners
The 2023 winner of the Aged Care Adviser of the Year category was Craig Phillips from Phillips Wealth Partners.
Recognised as a Finalist in the 2022 Awards, over 2023 Craig further dedicated himself to broadening his aged care advice skill set, systems and processes to deliver expert aged care advice.
Inspired to start in aged care advice after helping his own parents, Craig is motivated every day to make the process easier for those people who are not aged care specialists.
The winner of the Aged Care Advice Program of the Year for 2023 was Alteris Financial Group.
Recognising an Australian adviser or advice business working in financial services, ACS found that Alteris Financial Group actively advocated the promotion of aged care advice amongst their client base, referral communities, peers or local community.
Alteris Financial Group has a division comprised of specialist aged care financial advisers and client services staff whose sole purpose is to help families and their loved ones make the challenging and often complex transition to permanent residential care with confidence.
2022 Winners:
The 2022 winner of the Aged Care Adviser of the Year category was Bruce Baynes from Sage Care Advice.
This category recognised an individual adviser who is deemed to have demonstrated outstanding professional commitment in providing aged care advice to older Australians and their families.
With over 20 years of experience in providing financial advice, clients often comment on Bruce’s empathy and understanding, in addition to his strategy skills. Aged care advice is nothing short of a passion for Bruce.
The 2022 winner of the Aged Care Advice Program of the Year was Alteris Financial Group.
To meet the growing demand for aged care advice, Alteris Financial Group has built a dedicated team to promote, educate and support this part of their business. A broad range of marketing initiatives are employed to share knowledge and improve the aged care journey.