The Victorian Healthcare Association (VHA) has launched its 2025-26 Federal and Victorian Budget Submissions to address the challenges facing our public healthcare system and strengthen health outcomes for the Victorian community.
As both the Victorian and Federal governments continue to navigate tight fiscal environments, the VHA is urging governments to invest in the long-term future of the public healthcare system. The VHA’s State and Federal budget submissions contain targeted solutions to support the publicly funded healthcare system including health services, community health services and bush nursing centres to:
Build a stronger and sustainable healthcare workforce
Create an interconnected health system through digital transformation
Tackle the growing inequities in our healthcare system amid cost-of-living tightening
Strengthen the resilience of the healthcare system to respond to major challenges, such as climate change.
VHA CEO Leigh Clarke said the healthcare system is at a turning point. Disruptions across health, the economy and the changing climate are forcing the sector to think differently, fostering innovation, collaboration and enabling digital technology.
‘Victoria’s health services have done exceptionally well in navigating significant challenges – the cost-of-living crisis, rising demand for healthcare and the impacts of climate change.
‘These long-standing issues, while not unique to Victoria, require place-based solutions to deliver healthcare in a responsive and effective way. Inflationary pressures have increased the cost of healthcare delivery and making it challenging to deliver equitable and affordable care,’ Ms Clarke said.
The VHA highlights the opportunity to prioritise cultural safety in mainstream healthcare. Ms Clarke stated that cultural safety in the healthcare sector requires sustainable funding to embed practices that respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s cultural identities to ensure delivery of quality healthcare.
Workforce shortages remain a challenge across the health system and innovative solutions are needed across the entire health workforce. The mental health workforce is facing significant shortages, amid increasing demand and complexity. Strengthening the mental health workforce will address these issues and support the Victorian Government’s response to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System.
‘Like many parts of the healthcare system, the significant shortage of mental health professionals, and barriers to attraction and retention create gaps in the service system. The VHA’s budget submission calls for targeted funding to build and strengthen the pipeline of mental health professionals, including through workforce scholarships and incentives. This will foster a workforce with the right skills and capability to deliver the services Victorians need now and into the future.’
Publicly funded healthcare services are focused on innovation – working towards a more collaborative and interconnected healthcare system. Electronic Medical Records are a key technology that will support integration of care, streamlining service delivery. Around a third of public health services are still using paper-based systems – many of which are in rural and regional areas. Ms Clarke said that the VHA is calling for the government to increase investment in digital infrastructure across regional and rural areas.
Virtual models of care such as the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department enable timely and responsive care. She added that there is an opportunity to invest in modern equipment and connectivity to support Victoria’s bush nursing centres to connect to the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department. These services are often the first responders for emergency care in their rural communities.
The true cost of healthcare has risen above funding levels, leaving services with structural deficits and financial uncertainty. Ms Clarke said that while government has increased funding in the 2024/25 budget to address the true cost of service delivery, there are other essential areas of operations that cannot afford to go unfunded.
‘Non-clinical activities may not always be visible but are vital to enabling the delivery of effective care and services. Gaps in funding for non-clinical activities impact on limited resources and place pressure on the delivery of essential functions that enable safe, efficient and accountable health services.’
The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events continue to increase in Victoria, with rural and regional areas disproportionately affected. Health systems must adapt to respond to current and future climate-related events. Ms Clarke noted that while new hospitals and health services are increasingly being built with consideration of climate-related risks, older and outdated assets are at risk.
‘Climate emergencies continue to pose challenges and service disruptions in regional and rural areas. The VHA is calling for capital funding investment to upgrade existing assets and build greater climate resilience into the system.’
She added that the Federal Government was equally invested in supporting the health sector to respond to a changing climate.
‘The National Health and Climate Strategy outlines a range of commendable actions to strengthen the role of primary care in emergency preparedness, response and recovery. The VHA sees an opportunity for the Federal Government to recognise the role of community health services in the strategy and invest in their community recovery and resilience programs. This will provide long-term funding certainty to respond to future emergencies.’
You can read more about the VHA’s solutions to enable a better healthcare system in the 2025-26 Victorian Budget submission and Federal Budget submission.
For more information contact:
Toli Papadopoulos
Senior Public Affairs Advisor
0408 851 302