cohealth and Federal Government take joint action to keep GP-led services operating until July 2026

cohealth and the Federal Government have confirmed a joint commitment that will keep GP-led community health services in Fitzroy, Collingwood and Kensington operating until 31 July 2026, ensuring continuity of care for more than 12,500 Victorians.  

This extension provides immediate relief for clients and communities who were facing the loss of long-standing, trusted care relationships.  

Keeping services open maintains that continuity, which is vital for people experiencing chronic illness, trauma, homelessness, addiction, mental ill-health and family violence. 

The commitment also offers short-term stability for staff whose ongoing roles are essential to maintaining safe, relationship-based care. 

While this extension ensures services remain open for now, it is a temporary measure. Long-term sustainable funding is required to give these communities certainty about their future healthcare.  

cohealth Chief Executive, Nicole Bartholomeusz, thanked the Federal Government for their support, saying the extension delivered essential stability for people who rely on these services every day.  

“This extension means immediate continuity of care for thousands of Victorians who rely on trusted care from our doctors, nurses, and care teams who understand their lives and their needs,” Ms Bartholomeusz said.  

Ms Bartholomeusz thanked the community for their powerful advocacy, which has been instrumental in securing this extended commitment by showing just how deeply these services are woven into people’s lives and the fabric of these communities.  

“We are deeply grateful to our clients, families, community organisations and local leaders whose determination helped protect these services. Their courage and persistence made it clear just how vital these clinics are to their communities.”  

“This extended commitment is the result of their voices being heard, and it means – for now – care will continue for communities who depend on it.”  

As a charity, cohealth has delivered GP-led services in these communities for decades and absorbed the rising financial losses under a chronically underfunded model that fails to recognise the time, complexity and multidisciplinary support required by people with the highest health and social needs. 

On listening to the community, staff, and clients about the significant impacts of the services closing, the cohealth Board made a decision to defer the planned closures, and funded an extended transition period. This decision paved the way for the Federal Government to provide a $1.5 million bridging investment, which, together with cohealth’s own contribution, will keep these clinics operating until July 2026. 

cohealth and the Federal and State Governments also welcomed an independent review of the GP-led complex care model.  

The review will assess whether the model is delivering the client outcomes and comprehensive, relationship-based care it was designed to provide. 

The review represents an important opportunity to address long-standing structural issues and create a model that genuinely reflects the complexity, time and multidisciplinary care required to support people facing chronic illness, trauma, homelessness, addiction, mental ill-health and family violence. 

cohealth is committed to working with governments, communities, and our clients to design a long-term, sustainable model that honours the complexity of people’s lives and the long-standing relationships that keep them safe. 

“Community health is slow, human-centred work and is the kind of work that keeps people alive. It is our communities’ courage and persistence that drives our determination to secure a permanent and sustainable future,” Ms Bartholomeusz said. 

cohealth will proceed with the closure of counselling services next month. The closure of these services relates to changes in how the available funding can be claimed. The Collingwood pharmacy service will also close at this time.  

The ageing infrastructure of the 365 Hoddle Street Collingwood building is no longer able to meet contemporary delivery of health and support services. The building was never designed for the volume or complexity of modern, multidisciplinary care.  

Independent assessments show it would require tens of millions of dollars in repairs and modernisation just to remain safe, accessible, and fit for purpose. Significant structural wear, outdated layouts, energy inefficiencies, and limited space all constrain safe service delivery and restrict cohealth’s ability to grow or adapt models of care. 

cohealth will proceed with the closure of the Hoddle Street site in 2026, as the building can no longer support the standard of care our clients deserve. 

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more information: Adam Bennett adam.bennett@cohealth.org.au or 0424 147 230 

About cohealth: cohealth is a not-for-profit community health organisation that provides low-cost and free local health and support services including medical, dental, allied health, mental health, aged care and counselling, and many specialist health services in Melbourne’s CBD, inner-north and inner-west, and the east coast of Tasmania (Bicheno and Triabunna).