Community
29 January, 2026
Convent has a new owner but Chapel will remain open
Southern Cross Care (NSW & ACT) has purchased the historic St Joseph’s Convent in Goulburn from the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart.
Southern Cross Care (NSW & ACT) has purchased the historic St Joseph’s Convent in Goulburn from the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart.
Settlement was finalised on January 21.
Future plans for the site are unknown but access to the Chapel will remain open.
“We are delighted and deeply honoured to be entrusted with the ownership and stewardship of St Joseph’s Convent,” SCC Chief Executive Officer Monique Reynolds said this week.
“This is a place of deep faith, history and service and we take seriously our responsibility to care for it in a way that honours its legacy and continues to serve the Goulburn community.
"Across the 40 communities we serve in NSW and the ACT, our role is to support older people to live life to the full, close to the people, places, and traditions that matter to them.
“Grounded in our Catholic mission, this stewardship allows us to preserve access for the Sisters of Saint Joseph while continuing to support purposeful living for older people, now and into the future.”
Congregational Leader of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Sr Monica Cavanagh, said: “The desire was to allow for the well-maintained building to provide an ongoing service to the wider Goulburn community.
“With Southern Cross Care (NSW & ACT) already providing residential aged care on part of the site, the extension of aged care services was the hope of the Sisters,” she said.
Southern Cross Care (NSW & ACT) and the Sisters of Saint Joseph have a strong, ongoing relationship on the site, with SCC entering a long-term lease in 2005 to operate Tenison Residential Care adjacent to the Convent.
Southern Cross Care (NSW & ACT) is committed to preserving the Sisters of Saint Joseph’s historical connection to the site.
The Chapel will not operate as a regular or frequent place of congregation but the Sisters will continue to have access to the Chapel and gathering area.
The Chapel will also continue to be available for formal services, including funerals and special events, or by request from the Sisters of Saint Joseph.
Southern Cross Care (NSW & ACT) has issued a statement saying it is “actively undertaking strategic planning to consider long-term plans for the site”.
“This includes potential opportunities that may support the delivery of expanded residential aged care services over time, as well as options for affordable housing or supported living.
“We have a longstanding presence supporting older Australians in Goulburn through our Tenison aged care facility and we will continue to use the Convent to support the care needs of the Goulburn community.”
The Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart lived in the Convent for 142 years, serving the Goulburn region in a wide range of ministries – including primary and secondary education, boarding school, music teaching, parish work, pastoral care and jail chaplaincy.
The closure of the boarding school on the site and the declining number of Sisters meant that the Convent had outgrown Congregational needs.
The last Sisters to live in the Convent left in late 2024.
Sisters remain living in Goulburn in more suitable accommodation and continue to be a presence in the community.
The Sisters of Saint Joseph (founded by St Mary MacKillop and Fr. Julian Tenison Woods) arrived in Goulburn on August 14,1882 and the St Joseph’s Convent was opened on May 5, 1883.
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