The Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) is calling on the Victorian Government to urgently release the long‑awaited cohealth review, with more than 179 days having passed since it was commissioned and no final report yet made public.
RACGP Victoria Chair Dr Anita Muñoz said the continued delay is unacceptable given the scale of clinic closures and the impact on vulnerable communities.
"Patients, clinicians and communities deserve transparency," she said.
"It has been more than 179 days, and we still haven't seen the final report. The Government must release it without further delay."
The RACGP said the findings must be accompanied by a commitment to long‑term, sustainable funding for community health services, rather than short‑term or one‑off measures.
"Community health clinics are a critical part of our health system, particularly for patients who cannot afford out‑of‑pocket costs," Dr Muñoz said.
"Short‑term funding simply does not provide the certainty needed to keep services open."
The RACGP noted that the recent Federal Government budget signalled additional support for general practice but said a portion of that funding must be explicitly directed to community health services to ensure they remain viable.
"If governments are investing in general practice through increased government bulk billing clinics, a share of that funding must be locked into community health," Dr Muñoz said.
"It is difficult to accept that the Federal Government is willing to spend $25 million on six new bulk-billing practices in NSW, where sufficient general practices already exist, and yet continues to refuse definitive funding for the vulnerable patients of cohealth.
"By its own admission, the MBS is not enough to fund general practice. Paying $25 million for six bulk-billing clinics proves to the community that such clinics could not and would not survive on MBS billings alone. If the government will do that for NSW, why will they not do that for cohealth?"
The College warned that without decisive action, the most vulnerable patients will continue to lose access to essential care.
"A higher priority must be placed on securing long‑term sustainability for the communities that rely on these services most," Dr Muñoz said.
"This is about equity, access, and ensuring no one is left behind."
The RACGP is urging the Victorian Government to release the cohealth report immediately and work with the sector on a sustainable funding model that protects access to care for all Victorians.
"The RACGP has heard from Victorian Government, Federal Government, and cohealth spokespeople that they are all willing to accept the report's findings, that they all have no issue with the release of the report, and that the hold-up lies with someone else.
"If there is universal agreement that the report belongs to the public, there should be no hold up in releasing its contents."
