At the National Franchise Industry Awards (FIA) in Brisbane, presented by the Franchise Council of Australia, Nurse Next Door Mackay was named both Single Unit Franchisee of the Year (Services Category) and overall Australian Single Unit Franchisee of the Year 2026. It is a landmark moment for the business, and a powerful reflection of the strength of the Nurse Next Door franchise network, the dedication of Franchise Partners, and a shared commitment to the brand’s core purpose of Making Lives Better.
In 2025, at the inaugural FIA Awards, Co-Founders Amber Biesse (CEO) and Matt Fitton had the prestigious honour of Nurse Next Door Australia being named Australian Franchisor of the Year. This year, rather than attending as finalists themselves, Amber and Matt were there to champion their Franchise Partners, as this year two Nurse Next Door Locations were being recognised among the very best in the country.
George Blackie and Sarah Ryan from Nurse Next Door Mackay were named finalists in the Single Unit Franchisee of the Year (Services Category), while Elizabeth Cook from Nurse Next Door Newcastle/Lake Macquarie was a finalist in the Multi Unit Franchisee of the Year (Services Category). With 240 entries from 113 brands and 680 people in attendance at the gala awards dinner, simply being named a finalist is an outstanding achievement in a fiercely competitive field.
By the end of the evening, after much celebration, cheering and a great deal of pride, Nurse Next Door Mackay had taken home not one, but two national awards. They were first awarded Single Unit Franchisee of the Year (Services Category), before going on to claim the prestigious title of overall Australian Single Unit Franchisee of the Year 2026.
George Blackie and Sarah Ryan, Nurse Next Door Mackay, accepting their Single Unit Franchisee of the Year, FIA 2026.
From the Mines to Making Lives Better
What makes George and Sarah’s achievement so remarkable is where their journey began. Before launching Nurse Next Door Mackay on 1 March 2023, George was a FIFO employee in the mining sector, managing large teams in demanding environments. Sarah was working locally as an NDIS Support Coordinator, where she witnessed firsthand the gap between profit-driven providers and the dignified, person-centred care her community deserved.
Neither had ever owned a business. Both were only 28 years old when they launched, and they were raising a young family at the time, having recently welcomed a new baby. Yet they understood, perhaps better than most, the enormous trust required to let a stranger into a loved one’s home. They chose Nurse Next Door because the brand’s authentic passion for Making Lives Better mirrored their own, providing a proven framework that allowed them to lead with the heart.
That decision to back themselves, supported by a world-class system, has paid off in ways few could have imagined.
Building an Eight-Figure Business in Just Over Three Years
In just over three years, George and Sarah have built an eight-figure business and one of the standout success stories of the entire Nurse Next Door network. Their growth has been guided by a simple philosophy: locals caring for locals.
By combining George’s operational rigour from heavy industry with Sarah’s clinical advocacy and deep local knowledge, the pair have scaled a single-unit franchise to a dedicated team of 147 staff, including 22 Registered Nurses and a senior leadership team of office specialists. Together, they have delivered more than 168,000 hours of care to the Mackay and Whitsundays community since launch.
Behind the numbers is a business built on genuine connection. Their commitment to the “Perfect Match,” thoughtfully pairing the right caregiver with the right client, has built a reputation for consistency, reliability and care that feels personal. For complex, high-needs clients, George and Sarah go a step further, flying specialist trainers to Mackay at their own cost to ensure every team member is confident and competent in delivering specialised care.
It is this same heart-first approach that first earned them Rookie of the Year at the 2024 Nurse Next Door Australia Conference, and which has now seen them recognised as the best single-unit franchisee in the nation.
George Blackie and Sarah Ryan, Nurse Next Door Mackay, accepting their Single Unit Franchisee of the Year, FIA 2026.
Part Purpose, Part Profit
For George and Sarah, commercial success has never been the goal in itself; it is the natural by-product of doing right by people. Nurse Next Door has always believed that purpose and profit are not opposing forces, but two sides of the same coin. When a business is genuinely focused on Making Lives Better, growth follows. The Mackay story is the clearest possible proof of that philosophy in action.
This is a business that reinvests its margins back into the people and community it serves, whether that means funding advanced clinical training for caregivers, sponsoring local events, or simply leaning into the difficult cases that other providers walk away from. The financial result has been extraordinary, but it is the human result that George and Sarah are most proud of.
Care That is Person-Centered
The heart of Nurse Next Door Mackay is best understood through the people it cares for.
The team has built its reputation on leaning into the situations that other providers walk away from. Where some see a “difficult” client, George, Sarah and their team see a person who simply hasn’t been listened to. Time and again, they have taken on clients who had been let down elsewhere, and through calm, consistent advocacy and genuine human connection, turned those relationships into some of the most trusted and enduring they have. For clients who had felt unseen or treated as a number, that care has restored dignity, connection and a sense of belonging, often becoming far more than a service to the people and families who rely on it.
These outcomes are not exceptions; they are the standard. It is this consistency that has earned the trust of the wider Mackay health network, with GPs, hospitals and support coordinators regularly referring clients to the team, confident they will deliver exactly what they promise.
A Genuine Pillar of the Mackay Community
Nurse Next Door Mackay has grown from a home care provider to a true community advocate, addressing social and clinical gaps right across the region.
One of the most meaningful examples is the team’s sponsorship of SNAGS (Special Needs and Group Support), a local organisation that runs inclusive social events for people living with disabilities. Recognising that many members faced financial hardship, George and Sarah stepped in to cover venue hire, birthday cakes and even karaoke machines for the group’s much-loved Friday night gatherings, allowing SNAGS to remove its gold coin donation and make every event accessible to all.
The team is a familiar face at regional fundraising events, sponsoring and participating in the Pink Out for Cancer golf day in Moranbah and the Mackay Marina Run, ensuring that even remote mining communities feel seen and supported.
And as one of the region’s significant employers, Nurse Next Door Mackay delivers a powerful economic impact too. By nearly doubling its workforce to 147 local people over the past year, and upskilling 22 nurses and more than 110 caregivers, the business keeps wages and expertise within the Mackay economy while raising the overall standard of care available across the region. Locals caring for locals, in every sense.
George Blackie and Sarah Ryan, Nurse Next Door Mackay, at the Lighthouse Marina in Mackay, QLD.
When One Plus One Equals Three
For Nurse Next Door Australia as a Franchisor, this award felt every bit as significant as the brand’s own win last year. As Co-Founder and CEO Amber Biesse reflected, the true measure of a great Franchisor isn’t whether it wins awards, it is whether its Franchise Partners do. A Franchisor can talk about systems, support, leadership and culture, but the ultimate proof is whether Franchise Partners can take those foundations and build exceptional businesses.
George and Sarah’s success is a perfect illustration of what becomes possible within a true partnership. The Franchise Partner brings local leadership, entrepreneurial drive, passion and execution. As Sarah so eloquently put it in her acceptance speech, behind every successful business is a great deal of “blood, sweat and tears”. There is no substitute for the effort Franchise Partners pour into their businesses; these businesses certainly do not build themselves.
But equally, there is no successful franchise network without a Franchisor committed to helping its partners succeed. The Franchisor brings systems, technology, training, coaching, compliance, marketing, innovation and support. When a highly motivated Franchise Partner is supported by a highly capable Franchisor, something special happens. Together, they create an equation where one plus one equals three.
A Powerful Endorsement of the Network
As a founder-led company that has scaled from a single corporately owned location in Melbourne in 2019 to more than 70 locations in 2026, Amber and Matt remain personally invested in the journey of every Franchise Partner who has placed their trust in the brand.
To have both the Franchisor and a Franchise Partner recognised as the best in Australia in consecutive years is a powerful endorsement of the Nurse Next Door model, its culture, and the genuine partnership that exists throughout the network. It is a true win-win relationship, built on a shared commitment to Making Lives Better.
This year’s FIA Award was recognition of George and Sarah’s outstanding business, but it was also validation of the support structures, systems and culture that exist across the entire Nurse Next Door network. It tells the story of what becomes possible when great people come together around a shared purpose, hold a mutual respect for what each brings to the relationship, and commit to being the very best they can be every single day.
Nurse Next Door Australia congratulates George, Sarah and the entire Nurse Next Door Mackay team, along with Elizabeth Cook and Nurse Next Door Newcastle & Lake Macquarie on a thoroughly deserved finalist recognition. They have made the whole network incredibly proud.
Harry Jackson, Nurse Next Door Toowoomba, Elizabeth Cook and Adrian Kerr, Nurse Next Door Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, Amber Biesse (Co-Founder & CEO) and Matt Fitton (Co-Founder), Nurse Next Door Australia, George Blackie and Sarah Ryan, Nurse Next Door Mackay, Liz Jackson, Nurse Next Door Toowoomba, FIA 2026.
This year’s FIA Award was recognition of George and Sarah’s outstanding business, but it was also validation of the support structures, systems and culture that exist across the entire Nurse Next Door network. It tells the story of what becomes possible when great people come together around a shared purpose, hold a mutual respect for what each brings to the relationship, and commit to being the very best they can be every single day.
Nurse Next Door Australia congratulates George, Sarah and the entire Nurse Next Door Mackay team, along with Elizabeth Cook and Nurse Next Door Newcastle & Lake Macquarie on a thoroughly deserved finalist recognition. They have made the whole network incredibly proud.
With a core purpose of Making Lives Better, Nurse Next Door, under the leadership of Melbourne-based Master Franchisors Matt Fitton and Amber Biesse, provides in-home aged care and disability support services built on our philosophy of Happier Ageing® focusing on Possibility rather than disability.
