The Victorian Healthcare Association (VHA) is calling on the Federal Government to step in and provide further support to Community Health Services across Victoria for the provision of GP services to vulnerable communities.
This follows the challenging announcement that Community Health provider cohealth will stop delivering GP services at its sites in Collingwood, Fitzroy and Kensington from December 2025. It impacts upon thousands of people that rely upon vital GP services, with most of them experiencing complex health and social needs and facing a range of other health issues.
VHA CEO Leigh Clarke said that the ceasing of some of cohealth’s services was a saddening development for communities that rely upon these vital services for primary and preventative care.
‘We are concerned by the fact that cohealth, a major provider of Community Health Services in Victoria, has had no choice but to close a number of its GP services across inner Melbourne.
‘Many communities rely on these vital services, experiencing complex health and social issues such as homelessness, trauma, mental health and chronic illness, which are often interlinked,’ she said.
‘Across Australia, bulk billing has decreased in private general practice, but Community Health Services have maintained bulk billing – driven by their commitment to servicing their communities and their not-for-profit mandate,’ she said.
Ms Clarke said the Federal Government’s efforts to increase bulk billing incentives for general practice is a positive step forward, but it can only go so far to address care for those in the community who are vulnerable and with complex healthcare needs.
‘Community Health Services face challenges delivering this type of complex care within the current funding model. This is because the current model is no longer fit-for-purpose to support people who are vulnerable or with the most complex needs. We need funding models that better support people who face unfair societal barriers to good health, and that recognises the true cost of service delivery,’ she said.
‘Costs to deliver healthcare delivery are rising. This includes rising costs of resources and time, alongside the additional staffing, insurance premiums and maintaining ageing infrastructure, that are required to deliver quality healthcare to those most in need.
Ms Clarke noted GP services for vulnerable communities and those with complex needs are not sufficiently funded by Medicare alone. Although there have been efforts to increase incentives, the current funding model does not support the way GPs need to work with these communities.
‘As GP services are not sufficiently funded by Medicare alone, Community Health Services have previously aggregated funding across multiple sources to provide the right primary care service that meets the needs of their communities, at a low cost. However, this has become increasingly difficult to do, and is certainly not sustainable.
‘Costs cannot be passed onto consumers, of which are often the most vulnerable – it could mean forgoing care simply because they cannot afford it.
She highlighted that Victoria has a fantastic Community Health Service system, enabled by the Victorian Government, that makes healthcare accessible to people with complex health needs. An opportunity exists for this system to be applied nationwide.
‘No other state or territory has a model of this scale. But the Federal Government needs to step in and provide further support to ensure that Community Health Services can deliver quality health care to our communities and vulnerable people. This will prevent another situation like this occurring again, which we would be disappointed to see, and will ensure all people have access to the primary care that they need,’ she said.
Ms Clarke said that cohealth is one of many Community Health Services carrying out important work across Victoria, services which we simply can’t afford to lose.
‘Community Health Services play a vital role in delivering accessible and affordable healthcare to treat people with chronic disease and address the social determinants of health,’ Ms Clarke said.
‘These services provide wraparound supports that link in with the broader health system to ensure communities can receive integrated care and treatment – ensuring there is no wrong door to access healthcare.’
She said that this development speaks to the broader systemic challenges facing healthcare systems across the country – in particular increasing demand for primary and preventative care.
For further information contact:
Toli Papadopoulos
0408 851 302