Community health centre will keep its doors open – for now – after last-minute reprieve

Thousands of Melbourne’s most vulnerable patients will retain access to their free medical check-ups for at least another eight months after the federal government and cash-strapped community health provider cohealth signed off on an emergency bailout package.

The $1.5 million pledge from the Albanese government will pause proposed cuts, first reported by The Age, to general practitioner services for low-income residents in Collingwood, Fitzroy and Kensington until July 31, 2026.

Doctors, nurses, social workers and activists had threatened to occupy the Collingwood site and run a renegade health service if the planned service cuts were not reversed.

Cohealth told Health Minister Mark Butler’s office on Friday that it could push back the axing of GP services from late December to mid-February. The federal government responded on Monday with an offer to extend those services for an additional six months, according to cohealth chief executive Nicole Bartholomeusz.

However, the relief is explicitly tied to federal funding for GP services. It means the fate of the state government-funded generalist counselling services – used by about 100 clients across five clinics – is still unclear.

Bartholomeusz welcomed the short-term federal cash, but she stressed the funding top-up would only buy time.

“The message to clients is that there’s still work to do and that their voices are important to help us secure a longer-term solution,” she said. “We hear you, we see you, we feel your distress, and we are looking forward to working with you over the next six months.

“If nothing changes between now and the July 31, then we are in the same position.”

Butler will formally announce the bailout in Melbourne on Thursday morning. In a statement, Butler said the commitment was part of the government’s vision for high-quality, affordable primary care close to home.

“Through this funding, the Albanese government has given certainty to cohealth’s clients,” he said. “This will be welcome news for the local communities and will ensure individuals and families can continue access to essential GP services.”

First-term federal Labor MPs Sarah Witty and Jo Briskey, whose electorates take in the affected clinics, said the cuts to one of the city’s oldest free medical institutions had caused dismay to their constituents.

“We listened to people in our community, and our government has taken strong and immediate action to keep our vital health services,” Witty said.

Witty won the seat of Melbourne from former Greens leader Adam Bandt at the May election.

Cohealth had blamed its planned cuts on inadequate Medicare rebates for complex patients – a federal responsibility – and a lack of state government funding to upgrade its Collingwood facility, which has leaking ceilings and cracked walls.

While the federal government has increased Medicare rebates, cohealth says its wraparound services are not suited for appointments billed at shorter intervals and that not enough money was left over to cover nurses, receptionists and other operating costs.

The provider’s deficit widened from $6 million to $7.4 million between 2023 and 2024, largely pegged to increased staffing costs.

State government funding to redevelop the Collingwood facility remains unresolved, and Bartholomeusz confirmed the board’s decision to close the aged building in mid-2026 still stood.

“We’re concerned about staff and client safety in that building,” she said.

The federal funding will run out four months before the next Victorian state election. Health is expected to be a key battleground and Labor is keen to regain the seat of Richmond – which takes in the Collingwood and Fitzroy clinics – from the Greens.

The proposed changes to cohealth triggered public meetings and protests in Fitzroy and Kensington.

The federal and state governments were under pressure from the Greens, the Coalition and a local campaign led by outspoken Yarra Mayor Stephen Jolly to find a solution to keep affected services running.

Last month the Victorian Greens successfully moved a motion in state parliament calling on the government to step in with an emergency package for cohealth, with $4 million to save GP and counselling services and at least $25 million to upgrade the Collingwood site. The motion was supported by the Coalition and members of the crossbench. Labor MPs did not oppose the motion, but the state government has not pledged any additional money so far.

On Thursday, Greens MP for the state seat of Richmond, Gabrielle de Vietri, said she was relieved that community pressure had forced Labor to act.

“But it shouldn’t have had to come down to eleventh-hour bailouts or political pressure and it’s disappointing Labor wouldn’t prioritise something as important as healthcare for some of our community’s most vulnerable in the first place,” de Vietri.

“Our community deserves more than stop-gap politics and we’ll keep fighting until we keep cohealth open for our community for good.”

Also on Thursday, Jolly said the community campaign had forced the federal reprieve.

“The poorest people in the inner city will keep their bulk-billing GPs for now, and that’s a huge win,” he said. “It’ll give us time to organise for a full reversal of the cuts next year.”

The federal government has pledged to work with the Allan government to commission a review of cohealth’s operations. That review is expected to release its findings before July next year.

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