 Located in Olinda, Victoria, the centre accommodated boys aged from 10 to 15 years following a breakdown in home release, foster care or a children's home placement.The Victorian Government purchased the large former private home to house boys aged from 10 to 15 years, and address overcrowding at Allambie and Turana Reception Centres.It was proposed by the Department that Ashendene be used in conjunction with Hillside Boys' Home in Glen Waverley with both institutions taking boys with a long history of institutional care and some offending behaviour.