By 1988, a larger office was required and the first official Centacare office opened at Pennant Hills in February 1988, and another in Gosford during August 1988. At this time, Centacare received funding for a family caseworker, for the training and support of pregnancy counselling volunteers and for relationship counselling, as well as money from the Diocesan Charitable Works Fund.

Sometime during the second half of 1989, Jim Grainger visited Pat Murphy, who opened up the blinds in his office upstairs in Yardley Ave, Waitara and asked Jim whether he could use the house next door- 27 Yardley Avenue. Jim saw good value in being close to the Bishop and his administrators, but he was anxious to fulfil his commitment not to compete with the Mercy Family Centre. He valued the accessibility of the Pennant Hills office for clients so he took the Bishop’s offer and moved to 27 Yardley Avenue in January 1990. In 1991 and 1992, counselling resources were relocated to Wyong and Mona Vale. Centacare’s head office was located at 27 Yardley Avenue for ten years, from 1990 until 1999.

Bishop Patrick Murphy was generous in his commitment to counselling services, relationship education and in providing the seed funding to enable Centacare Broken Bay to take on out of home care services, a program previously funded by the Mercy Sisters at Brooklyn. Jim was able to recruit key workers who played vital roles in developing the credibility of the agency throughout the 1990s. Other important interventions which added to the agency’s credibility included those aimed at rescuing Gosford Emergency Accommodation and building a partnership with Mercy Family Centre for mediation services.

During the 1990s, Centacare Broken Bay took on a number of services that were in difficulty, including the Lower North Shore Family Support Service and Manly Youth Support. A new office was developed at Lane Cove in 1997 and moved to Naremburn in 1999.

In 1996, when Bishop David Walker replaced Bishop Murphy, he continued the generous Diocesan support of Centacare. In 2000, Centacare’s head office moved to Thornleigh with the Bishop.  

In 2001, with the support of the Diocese, Centacare negotiated the transfer of the Mercy Family, Children’s and Disability Services to Centacare. Centacare found a new location for these services at George Street in Hornsby.

Since 2001, the agency has been able to further develop in the areas of Disability and Aged Care, Personal Support Programs, Job Placement Employment and Training, Counselling, Mediation and Parenting Education, Children’s Services and Out of Home Care.

In 2006, Centacare moved to its present location at 29 Yardley Ave, Waitara. This purpose fitted out facility now houses the Waitara Family Centre on the ground floor and Centacare’s Head Office on the first floor.

Last year, Centacare Broken Bay provided more than 140,000 occasions of service to members of more than 8,000 families. Our clients include children, people with disabilities, the aged, families and youth. Centacare Broken Bay now has Family Centres in Brookvale, Naremburn, Gosford, Wyong, The Entrance and Waitara.

Centacare is able to maintain these services through its partnerships with the community, other non-government organisations, and Government departments including the NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care, NSW Department of Community Services, NSW Department of Health, Commonwealth Department of Family Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, Commonwealth Department of Employment and Workplace Relations and the NSW Legal Aid Commission.

In addition, the agency receives generous donations through the Diocesan Charitable Works Fund. Over 19 years, the Diocese has donated over $10 million in direct service provision and investment into properties to enable Centacare to do its work.