cohealth welcomes the release of the Independent Review into its GP services

Published 3 June, 2026

On this page, you’ll find further details about the Independent Review into cohealth’s GP services, including key findings and recommendations

cohealth welcomes today’s release of the Independent Review Report into its GP services, which provides a clear pathway toward transformational reform of the way multidisciplinary general practice care is funded and delivered in Australia.

The recommended reforms represent an important win for the communities of Collingwood, Fitzroy and Kensington and reflect what clients, clinicians and the community health sector have been advocating for over many years.

The recommendations, supported as a full package, will provide a more sustainable approach to multidisciplinary healthcare for communities with high and complex needs, as well as greater long-term certainty for the people who rely on these services every day.

cohealth welcomes the opportunity to pilot a new multidisciplinary model of care and funding that has the potential to inform future Medicare policy and funding settings to support stronger, more sustainable healthcare for vulnerable communities across Australia.

cohealth accepts Recommendations 10-13 of the Review, which are identified for implementation by the organisation, and work to progress these recommendations has already begun. We will continue advocating for the funding and policy changes needed.

The Review confirms three key findings:

  • cohealth delivers high-quality care to highly complex and disadvantaged communities.
  • The current Medicare funding model is structurally misaligned with the needs of communities requiring multidisciplinary care.
  • GP services of this nature are not financially sustainable under existing funding arrangements, despite strong clinical performance.

Recommendations of the Independent Review

Recommendation 1: We recommend that the Victorian Minister for Health formally provide a copy of this Report to cohealth and invite cohealth to show cause why the Minister should not form the view that cohealth:

  • is ineffectively managed; and/or
  • has failed to meet one or more performance standards.

Recommendation 2: We recommend that the Victorian Government agree to allow cohealth to pool some of its current community health funding with proposed new Commonwealth multidisciplinary team funding in primary care.

Recommendation 3: We recommend that the Victorian Government reconsider the proposal from cohealth for redevelopment of the Hoddle St Collingwood site, or development of an alternative nearby location that will allow access for the Collingwood community.

Recommendation 4: We recommend that the Commonwealth extend its support to cohealth for a further two-year period in which a new funding basis, as we have recommended, can be introduced, and internal changes in cohealth can be embedded to ensure practice viability.

Recommendation 5: We recommended the Commonwealth consider using cohealth as a pilot for a new approach to funding multidisciplinary teams in primary medical services. Specifically, we recommend that:

  • The Commonwealth Minister for Health and Ageing provide a Health Program Grant to cohealth under Part IV of Health Insurance Act in lieu of Medicare rebates and the full bulk-billing incentive payments.
  • The basis for the grant would be rebates calculated according to the cost to the government if services provided by cohealth GPs were billed on Medicare. That is, services provided by cohealth would be notified to the Commonwealth as currently, with the Health Program Grant being based on those notifications.
  • The grant would be conditional on cohealth not charging any co-payments for medical services, and on appropriate accountability to North Western Melbourne PHN.

Recommendation 6: We recommend that the cohealth Health Program Grant incorporate, in addition, a multidisciplinary team payment based on the number of cohealth clients registered with MyMedicare. The basis of the payment, per patient, should have two components:

  • 85% of what might have been able to be billed by allied health, psychologists or other health professionals under chronic condition and Better Access psychology items. This discount of the allied health and psychology items is to recognise that these items are rarely used to 100% of their value and that some patients may choose or require services outside cohealth.
  • An amount equivalent to the Workforce Incentive Program – Practice Stream that might otherwise have been paid to cohealth.

Recommendation 7: We recommend that cohealth account to North Western Melbourne PHN (NWMPHN):

  • Prospectively, for how it proposes to spend that allocation; and retrospectively, for how it spent the grant, including number of clients seen and outcomes achieved.
  • The nature of its community engagement: cohealth should establish robust client and community engagement processes at the municipal level, including Maribyrnong, Melbourne and Yarra, and proposals to NWMPHN for use of the multidisciplinary grant should be co-designed using these processes.
  • Guidance for the approval process might include:
    • at most 30% of the funds allocated to corporate overheads and receptionist staff
    • a provision for medical practitioners for clinical governance, including a sessional allocation for a medically qualified Director of Primary Care
    • at least 10% allocated for activities focused on prevention, including social prescribing, and for supporting community groups.

Recommendation 8: As part of the approval of a pilot of multidisciplinary teams at cohealth, there should be a clear, funded, independent evaluation strategy.

Recommendation 9: We recommend that the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing adds community health services, and other not-for-profit practices, serving high need communities to the list of area of need settings that must be included in GP training.

Recommendation 10: We recommend that:

  • cohealth employ a sessional medically qualified Director of Primary Medical Care
  • cohealth management co-design with clinical staff, including GPs and nurses, a single model of care for all of cohealth’s GP clinics that will ensure practice viability in the context of the new revenue streams.
  • cohealth management set clear revenue targets for GPs that are consistent with the revenue streams and the new model of care, and can cover GP salaries, support staff, and a contribution to legitimate overheads.

Recommendation 11: We recommend cohealth resubmit its proposal for redevelopment of the Hoddle St Collingwood site for a GP clinic with social housing above.

Recommendation 12: We recommend cohealth rigorously review levels of overheads and develop a strategy to reduce them in line with levels seen in other Victorian community health services. Overheads should be allocated on a basis more clearly aligned with use.

Recommendation 13: We recommend cohealth formally acknowledge the trauma caused over the last few months to both the communities it serves and its staff, and:

  1. undertake a review of its local engagement processes with a view to rebuilding trust and reestablishing strong local links; and
  2. develop new mechanisms for staff engagement.

In partnership with the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments, cohealth will work to implement the Review’s recommendations to deliver greater certainty, stronger local healthcare services and the long-term community healthcare presence communities have been calling for and need to help keep people healthy, connected and well.

This includes significant work to redesign a more sustainable future model of care, informed by clients, clinicians, staff and community, to ensure services remain responsive to the needs of vulnerable communities now and into the future. Other work that is already underway includes recruitment for a Chief Medical Advisor, redevelopment planning for the Hoddle Street Collingwood site with Government, a review of infrastructure and overhead efficiencies, and strengthening community and staff engagement.

cohealth acknowledges the Review identified areas where governance, leadership, communication and community engagement need to be strengthened and confirms that significant reform work is already underway, including strengthened governance arrangements, significant leadership renewal and additional oversight measures. Importantly, the Review recognises that internal changes and governance reform alone would not address the underlying structural funding pressures affecting multidisciplinary healthcare services caring for highly complex communities.

The Review Panel found that it was now well accepted that there needs to be a different approach to funding multidisciplinary care in significantly disadvantaged communities.

cohealth recognises this process has been traumatic for some people, and that the changes have taken their toll on many clients, community and staff.

cohealth thanks Professor Stephen Duckett AO and the Review Panel for their work in delivering a forward-focused Review that provides a constructive and hopeful pathway for vulnerable communities.

It is our hope that this work will create the foundation for stronger, more sustainable community healthcare services for many years to come.

We welcome any feedback on this update or any questions you may have. Please contact us by phone on 9448 6102 during business hours, by email at feedback@cohealth.org.au, or by completing our feedback form.

About us

cohealth is a not-for-profit community health organisation. We provide essential health and support services in Melbourne’s CBD, inner-north and inner-west, and the east coast of Tasmania.

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