Chair’s reflections 2025-2026

Last year we thought reform in primary care was just around the corner. The Strengthening Medicare Task Force and the Advisory Committee on GP Incentives had both reported setting an ambitious agenda for change. Since then, further national review and reform work has reinforced a broadly consistent direction of travel.

This is welcome, but what matters most is translating policy ambition into meaningful change on the ground.

This is not to say big things haven't happened: there have been more Medicare Urgent Care Centres and significant bulk billing changes, both big-ticket items which have improved access.

However, waiting for others to act can mean surrendering the opportunity to lead. As a Primary Health Network, EMPHN has both the responsibility and the opportunity to drive reform where we have the capacity, partnerships and influence to do so.

In 2026, EMPHN has embraced that responsibility and continued to turn ambition into action. At the centre of this work has been the design and development of EMPHN OneCare, a significant transformation that has the potential to deliver lasting benefits for the people of eastern Melbourne and the organisations that support them.

EMPHN OneCare did not emerge overnight. It is the product of extensive consultation, co-design and detailed planning. Nor is it a single initiative. It represents a fundamental shift in how EMPHN commissions and supports care: better aligning investment with community need, consolidating contracts to enable greater service integration and innovation, and introducing a funding approach that places greater emphasis on activity, performance and improved outcomes.

EMPHN OneCare is an ambitious and exciting development, which positions EMPHN to support a more integrated, responsive and outcomes-focused primary care system, and to contribute practical leadership to sector reform.

Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network has also been involved in a number of other innovations over the last year, including starting the design of a new way to more meaningfully engage with general practitioners.

Together, they demonstrate our commitment to testing new ideas, strengthening partnerships and finding practical ways to improve access, experience and outcomes for our community.



I would like to thank all people outside EMPHN who participated in our engagement and consultation processes, our EMPHN team, and my colleagues on the board for their work this year in helping us respond better to community need.

Stephen Duckett

Board Chair