The 30 Australian Flying Corps veterans who gathered in Perth in 1929 to establish the Royal Australian Air Force Association of Western Australia (now Raafa) harboured modest ambitions.
The former servicemen wanted somewhere to maintain the camaraderie forged through military service and to support their fellow veterans facing hardship after returning home from WWI.
Nearly a century later that mission has evolved to include retirement village operation, residential and home aged care, an aviation heritage museum, veteran services and aviation education support.
Today, Raafa operates 13 sites across the state, employs more than 1,200 staff and is supported by more than 3,600 members.
It is the state’s largest operator of retirement and lifestyle villages, with 1,604 dwellings, and the 12th largest residential aged care provider in WA with 447 beds.
The association returned revenue of $143.55 million in FY25, an increase of 22.5 per cent on the previous year.
Chief executive Michelle Fyfe joined Raafa after a three-decade career with WA Police and stints at P&N Bank, St John WA and Parkerville Children and Youth Care.
She said the challenge was ensuring Raafa's founding purpose remained relevant for another century.
“If you think back to 1929, 30 people came together and formed this association that was all about keeping in contact and maintaining camaraderie,” Ms Fyfe told Business News.
“One hundred years forward from those 30 people, you look at what the organisation has become, and now we prepare for what the next 100 years looks like.
“Society is more disconnected [and] loneliness has become a plague, so for us the future is all about continuing with that sense of belonging and creating places where everyone can belong.”
That philosophy has underpinned Raafa's steady transformation from a veterans’ association into one of the state’s most diversified not-for-profit groups.
Building communities
The association purchased its Bull Creek site in 1970, establishing what was then envisioned as a country club, before later developing retirement accommodation.
Nine years later it opened the Aviation Heritage Museum, home to 30 aircraft including the iconic Lancaster bomber, with its collection maintained by a dedicated volunteer community.
The Lancaster bomber in 1962. Photo: Raafa
Raafa underwent rapid expansion into retirement living and aged care in the following decades.
Beginning with Gordon Lodge in 1980, Raafa progressively established communities such as Merriwa Estate, Karri Lodge, Meadow Springs, Cambrai Village, Erskine Grove and Amity Village Albany.
Vivian Bullwinkel Lodge in Merriwa opened in 2007 before the Alice Ross-King Care Centre followed in Bull Creek in 2016.
Growth has accelerated in recent years.
Challenger Court in Rockingham expanded with an additional 50 retirement units in 2022, while the acquisition of Perth Care and Companion Company in 2024 broadened Raafa's home-care capability.
Alexandra Village in Kensington was added to the portfolio last year, with Raafa acquiring the 35 fully occupied retirement living units.
While retirement living has become its largest business, veteran welfare remains central to Raafa's identity.
In 2024, the association collaborated with Hancock Prospecting to open the $10 million Sir Valston Hancock House in South Perth, with the Gina Rinehart-led company funding the building refurbishment and Raafa managing the operations to provide short-term accommodation for veterans experiencing homelessness.
Sir Valston Hancock House. Photo: Raafa
Construction is progressing on the Andrew Russell Veteran Living Centre in Cannington, which will provide additional temporary crisis accommodation for veterans seeking housing stability.
Mrs Rinehart’s recent $200 million commitment to reduce veteran homelessness has brought renewed focus on Raafa's work.
This year, Hancock Prospecting partnered with Raafa to manage the Sergeant Matthew Locke MG Apartments in South Perth, one of two properties so far backed by Mrs Rinehart’s pledge.
The other property was the controversially named Ben Roberts-Smith Beach Houses in Scarborough.
New chapter
Amid these developments, Raafa is entering a new phase of its growth.
The organisation sold its long-time South Perth headquarters to ASX-listed developer Finbar for $16.5 million but won’t move until its lease expires in two years’ time.
“The future for Raafa is how do you innovate in those services to keep people in their homes for longer, safe and well, then assist them in preparing for moving into aged care,” Ms Fyfe said.
“We’re committed to delivering those services now and into the future.”
Innovation is being shaped as much by changing customer expectations as it is demographic pressures.
The next generation of retirement village residents expects digitally connected communities and different styles of living, while workforce shortages and rising construction costs continue to challenge the aged care sector.
Ms Fyfe believes the organisation’s defining characteristic remains unchanged from the vision of those original 30 veterans. Photo: Michael O'Brien
For Raafa, those pressures reinforce the importance of disciplined investment.
“As a not for profit, we don’t have to pay shareholders,” Ms Fyfe said.
“Everything gets reinvested into the business, continuing to grow the business and our services.”
Despite its scale today, Ms Fyfe believes the organisation’s defining characteristic remains unchanged from the vision of those original 30 veterans.
Whether through an aged care home, retirement village, home-care service or the volunteers preserving WA’s aviation history in Bull Creek, Raafa's purpose was ultimately about creating communities where people felt connected, she said.
“We are at our very heart a veterans’ organisation,” Ms Fyfe said.
“But we’ve actually created something where everyone can belong.”
