HEALTH SERVICES NEWS UPDATE | Edition 89 | May 2026

Join us for National Reconciliation Week: 1 June 2026

CheckUP and QPHCN are bringing together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and guest speakers on 1 June to explore this year's National Reconciliation Week theme, All In. Join in person or online. Lunch provided for in-person attendees, catered by Fig Jam and Co, an Indigenous-led catering business. Dietary and accessibility requirements can be noted at registration.

Celebrating Goondir CEO, Floyd Leedie

Congratulations to Goondir Health Services CEO Floyd Leedie on receiving the Australian AM Award! Floyd is pictured with Her Excellency Dr Jeannette Young, Governor of Queensland.

CheckUP congratulates you and acknowledges your tremendous leadership and lifelong commitment to improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health in Queensland.

A fond farewell and thank you to Dr Harry on Thursday Island

Dr Harry has been a cornerstone of specialist care in the Torres Strait Islands for many years, and we thank him for his outstanding service and care. He leaves big shoes to fill and has personally recommended the person for the role, Dr Ela. Dr Ela now returns to a community she knows well, having lived on Thursday Island more than 15 years ago. The service is in good hands.

What do your patients want to tell you?

Patient feedback is a valuable part of improving outreach services. Encouraging patients to complete the CheckUP patient feedback survey helps capture their experience of service quality, including whether they felt respected, listened to, and informed about their health issues.

It also provides important insight into how outreach appointments influence patients’ access to care and the difference those interactions can make in people’s lives. For providers, this feedback highlights what is working well, identifies opportunities for improvement, and helps demonstrate the impact of outreach care on patients and communities.

Every completed survey strengthens the evidence base for service improvement and supports more responsive, patient-centred care.

Get in touch with CheckUP's Evaluation Lead, Philippa Hawke at phawke@checkup.org.au if you have any questions.

Gratitude post | A special thank you to the providers who have shown outstanding commitment to hearing patient voices:

Dr Julian Boulnois, Psychiatrist
Vital Health,
Lisa Penrose, Optometrist
Heart of Australia, 
Vanessa Priday, PICC
Dr Claire Barrett, Rheumatologist.

Your efforts make a real difference.

2026 provider survey now open, your feedback shapes how outreach works

Planning and administering outreach services facilitation works best when conducted collaboratively and with full knowledge of what is and is not working for our partners.

CheckUP sent out our annual Outreach Health Service Provider Feedback survey to all providers last week and is looking to collect as much useful information from you as possible.

We have included a summary in our email of the actions CheckUP has taken to address many of the issues raised last year. Please keep your eye out for our email in your busy Inbox and complete as soon as possible.

Access for All disability awareness course is free until 30 June

“Healthcare needs to put the humanity back into health,” Dr Palipana OAM, doctor, lawyer and disability advocate said in a recent interview.

“Because often, it’s the human factors that make the biggest difference for people with disability.”

The Access For All course is currently available free of charge until 30 June 2026. 

Service delivery audits

Throughout the service delivery year, CheckUP conducts audits to ensure the health services funded under the Outreach Programs are delivered in accordance with our obligations under the Funding Arrangements.

As outlined in the Outreach Terms and Conditions, providers may be required to participate in audits and provide requested information as part of this process.

If you have any questions, please contact the Quality and Compliance team contracts@checkup.org.au

Do you know about CheckUP Connect?

CheckUP Connect offers free support to sole traders and small businesses operating in the NDIS space, with a focus on thin markets, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands' businesses and rural and remote providers. If you know someone who could use it, pass it on.

Skin Cancer in Queensland

Rural Australians develop melanoma at one and a half times the rate of city Australians. Farmers and fisherfolk account for four in ten non-melanoma skin cancer cases despite being a tiny slice of the workforce. Queensland already tops the national melanoma table. If you work in communities where people spend their days outside, early detection services matter.

Bulk billing got bigger. But does it work out here?

From March 2026, expanded bulk-billing incentives now cover children under 16, concession card holders and people in regional and remote areas. Good news for patients. The harder question is whether the incentives make sense for practices that cannot run a ten-minute appointment mill. A Senate committee is currently asking exactly that.

The numbers behind Healthy Ears

Nearly 42,000 services were delivered through the Healthy Ears program in 2023-24. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's latest report on First Nations ear and hearing health puts that work in context and makes a strong case for why having a familiar face in community makes such a difference to whether people show up at all.

Have you got an Outreach story you'd like to share? Send yours today!

We know the power that stories can have, and that's why we want to hear from you!

We openly encourage anyone with an amazing Outreach story to share your experience with us.

Please send your enquiries or submissions by replying to this email or sending it directly through to comms@checkup.org.au. 

Become a CheckUP Member

When you become a CheckUP member, you join a community committed to creating impact in the health sector that eagerly shares its collective knowledge, expertise, and influence.

Stay connected, informed, and involved!