Welcome to 2026
On behalf of everyone at Western Victoria Primary Health Network (WVPHN), I want to extend a belated Happy New Year as we kick off our first Primary Matters of 2026.
I hope you had a wonderful and restful holiday break and have come back to work feeling refreshed and ready for the year ahead.
Primary Health Network Business Review
On the 18 December, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (DHDA) released the findings of the Review of the PHN Business Model and Mental Health Flexible Funding Stream.
The review, which is the first since Primary Health Networks (PHNs) were established in 2015, was undertaken to ensure the PHN Program operates under best practice governance and is aligned and structured to meet, current and future Australian Government objectives.
The review recommended two streams of reforms:
- Reform Stream one: Raise confidence in PHNs amongst key stakeholders. This focuses on a targeted set of interventions to clarify accountability to the Commonwealth, introduce minimum governance and engagement standards, and implement meaningful standards to assess PHN performance.
- Reform Stream two: Improve funding processes. This focuses on a targeted set of interventions to simplify grant funding duration, reduction in the prescriptiveness of PHN Funding Schedules and acceleration of funding disbursement.
The two reform streams are designed to be implemented in parallel over 2026.
If these two reforms do not deliver over a three-year period, there is a further contingency recommendation to develop a not-for-profit Commonwealth Entity to address any remaining structural tensions in PHN governance, engagement, performance management and funding processes.
Finally, the review also recommended reforms to the Mental Health Flexible Funding Stream (MHFFS), including streamlining (consolidating) funding, aligning program logic with core PHN functions, and strengthening planning and reporting, including aligning annual activity planning against local Health Needs Assessments and Joint Regional Planning with Local Health Service Networks.
The WVPHN team welcomes the report and associated recommendations and believes we are well placed to implement the described reforms.
Support and Resources
In wake of the bushfires across our region and the unprecedented flooding along parts of the Great Ocean Road, WVPHN has been working with the State Government’s Department of Health and other agencies to help raise awareness of available support and resources. We have pulled together information on counselling and mental health support services for each of the impact zones in our region. Find out more from our news post on Bushfire and Flooding Mental Health and Counselling Support for Western Victorian Communities.
I encourage you to access this information and, if appropriate, share with your networks to help us promote the importance of finding the right support during and following emergency events.
With temperatures in our region again expected to again climb later this week, please ensure you are well-prepared. Our website also offers information on Summer Preparedness for both practices and patients.
Please take care and we look forward to working with you all throughout 2026.
Craig Wilding, WVPHN CEO
21 January 2026