Stephen Duckett Appointed to lead CoHealth Review Panel
08 Dec 2025
A review into the future of community health organisation cohealth will be led by prominent health economist Professor Stephen Duckett, as governments move to assess the organisation’s service model and long-term sustainability.
The independent three-member panel has been established following cohealth’s announcement in October that it intended to shut down three inner-Melbourne general practice clinics, citing ongoing financial strain and inadequate Medicare funding to support their model of care.
The Federal and Victorian governments jointly commissioned the review last month, tasking it with examining cohealth’s general practice services, governance arrangements and financial viability.
Alongside Professor Duckett, the panel will include general practitioner and researcher Professor John Furler, as well as Jane Seeber, a community health executive and accountant. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (DoHDA) confirmed the panel members and outlined the scope of the inquiry.
According to the Department, the review will assess how cohealth’s general practices operate within the organisation as a whole, with a focus on clinical care delivery, operational structures, governance processes and financial sustainability.
cohealth has welcomed the inquiry, describing it as a necessary step toward identifying a viable path forward for delivering comprehensive healthcare.
In a statement, the organisation said the panel would review its long-standing GP-led complex care model, which it says has been underfunded and difficult to sustain for many years. cohealth also stressed the importance of ensuring the review reflects the real-world experiences of its patients.
The organisation said community members will be able to contribute independently to the review, while cohealth itself will gather client feedback to inform its own submission and help shape future care models.
Chief Executive Nicole Bartholomeusz said decisions about the organisation’s future must be guided by the needs of its most vulnerable patients.
“Our focus is on protecting access to safe, coordinated and responsive care for the thousands of people who rely on our services,” she said.
“To do that, we need models of care that are financially sustainable and capable of supporting our communities over the long term.”
The DoHDA said the goal of the review is to develop practical options that would allow these services to continue serving the community.
The review follows an announcement last month by Federal Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler, who committed up to $1.5 million in funding to prevent the immediate closure of cohealth clinics in Fitzroy, Collingwood and Kensington. Under this funding arrangement, all three clinics will remain open until at least 31 July 2026.
News Source: RACGP
