Primary Health Care Reforms

A key component of the Australian Government’s National Health Reforms is the establishment of a new nation-wide network of Medicare Locals to be locally responsive, to address local needs, to improve access to services and to drive integration across the health care system.At the same time, there is an expansion to the number of GP Super Clinics which will house a range of health services in addition to General Practice services. There has been some confusion between Medicare Locals and the GP Super Clinics but these are quite different organisations, with a different role and intended services.  Below is a description of each to assist members to understand the role these services will play in primary health care, and how allied health, including speech pathology, can engage in their planning and implementation.

What are Medicare Locals?

Extracted from  http://www.yourhealth.gov.au/internet/yourhealth/publishing.nsf/Content/featurednews-20110304

Medicare Locals will have a number of key roles in improving primary health care services for local communities. Medicare Locals will be responsible for planning and coordinating various aspects of primary health care service delivery. The emphasis is around improving access, integration and partnerships.

The objectives of Medicare Locals are:

• Identification of the health needs of local area and development of locally focused and responsive services
• Improving the patient journey through developing integrated and coordinated services
• Providing support to clinicians and service providers to improve patient care
• Facilitation of the implementation and successful performance of primary health care initiatives and programs
• Efficient and accountable with strong governance and effective management

The Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing has determined that Medicare Locals will evolve from or replace Divisions of General Practice, continuing existing activities but expanding to include a range of different functions.  Medicare Locals will be formed from partnerships of local organisations and professionals.  They will be independent organisations and not government bodies.  Medicare Local Boards will be skills-based and membership will involve local organisations and in some cases local health professionals.

Approximately 15 Medicare Locals will commence in July 2011. A further 15 will commence in January 2012, with the remainder starting in July 2012.  55-65 Medicare Locals are likely to be formed across the boundaries that have been established for states and territories by the government.

The government has recently announced their invitation for applications to establish Medicare Locals across Australia, with many Division of General Practice and existing primary health care services preparing to establish themselves as Medicare Locals.

What are GP Super Clinics?

Extracted from http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/pacd-gpsuperclinic-about#intro

GP Super Clinics are a key element in building a stronger national primary health care system including a greater focus on management of chronic disease, health promotion and illness prevention and better coordination between GPs and allied health services, community health and other state and territory funded services. It is intended that each GP Super Clinic will bring together general practitioners, nurses, visiting medical specialists, allied health professionals and other health care providers to deliver better health care, tailored to the needs and priorities of the local community.

As with the original GP Super Clinics, the additional 28 GP Super Clinics, leading to 36 GP Super Clinics across Australia, will offer a more extensive array of primary care services in a single location than traditional general practices, with integrated services delivered by teams of health professionals. They will open for extended hours and have significant capacity for inter-professional clinical training and education.

The nature of the primary health care workforce continues to change. Multidisciplinary teams are increasingly broadening this workforce beyond general practice, and supported by technology, are enabling new service models.

GP Super Clinics aim to provide patients with well integrated multidisciplinary patient centred care. GP Super Clinics will support their patients, particularly those with, or at risk of, chronic disease(s), with the option of receiving the full range of health services they need in a coordinated manner, where possible and appropriate, in a single convenient location. Underpinning this care will be integrated models of clinical governance and shared care protocols, as well as a strong focus on supporting patient self management. There is no one model for GP Super Clinics. The potential range of services and potential target populations for GP Super Clinics will be determined in line with local community health care needs and priorities to complement and enhance the range of existing health services.

Within a GP Super Clinic a range of services will potentially be delivered by multiple service providers and be facilitated through agreed shared clinical service arrangements and through physical co-location.

Consultation with primary health care providers

Medicare Locals

As part of the process for developing applications to be a Medicare Local, various Divisions of GP (in conjunction with other partner organisations) are inviting peak bodies and local allied health professionals to attend consultation meetings to hear their views on how they believe a Medicare Local should operate, including governance and service planning based on local health needs.

The main allied health invitations are being directed towards the Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA) who is working with the profession-specific peak bodies including Speech Pathology Australia to source appropriate allied health professionals in the nominated local area to act as a representative of AHPA. These representatives will be provided with appropriate briefing material.  Other consultation meetings will be wider and involve a full range of allied health professionals in that area, with Speech Pathology Australia to inform members of these opportunities as they become available.

It still remains unclear how Medicare Locals will engage with the existing primary health care sector but for this reason it is important that allied health professionals take up the opportunity to be involved at this formative time.

GP Super Clinics

As GP Super Clinics are being formed or expanded, there is consultation with both the community and local health professionals.  SPA members in these regions are being notified of relevant consultation meetings through Branch e-News bulletins as soon as information comes to hand.  With expansion possible through government infrastructure grants, there is the opportunity for these clinics to house a range of health services which should be based on the needs of the community.  It is suggested that private practitioners and community services engage with the Super Clinics to explore the opportunities for development of a broad multidisciplinary service.

It is vital that allied health professionals, including speech pathologists, contribute to the new primary health care reforms and ensure that views and expertise of allied health are incorporated into planning and the roll-out of these two different interfaces of primary health care.  It is vital also that the needs of our clients with communication and swallowing impairments are considered with respect to the planning of services.  We therefore encourage SPA members to participate in these local consultations where appropriate. For those attending meetings SPA aims to provide you with support and relevant resources. 

For further information please visit the links provided above and feel free to contact Gail Mulcair on 03 9642 4899 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

General overview material can also be viewed at the Government’s YourHealth site and in the Improving primary health care for all Australians document.