HEALTH SERVICES NEWS UPDATE | Edition 90 | July 2026

Thank you for your feedback

Thank you to the 90 providers who participated in CheckUP’s 2026 Annual Service Provider Survey.

Your feedback provides valuable insights into what is working well, where challenges exist, and how we can continue to improve the delivery of outreach services across Queensland. We are currently reviewing the results and sharing findings with relevant teams across the organisation to inform follow-up actions and future service improvements.

We recognise the time and effort required to complete surveys, particularly in busy clinical environments, and greatly appreciate the thought and care that went into your responses. Thank you for partnering with CheckUP in our commitment to continuous improvement. Your feedback helps ensure our outreach services remain responsive to the needs of providers, host facilities and the communities we serve.

Patient feedback: what your service tells us

During the 2025–26 financial year, CheckUP received feedback from 484 patients accessing outreach health services delivered by 58 providers across 46 locations throughout Queensland.

During the year, CheckUP returned 24 individualised feedback reports to participating providers, giving them valuable insights into their own patients’ experiences and outcomes.

Thank you to the providers, host facilities and patients who contributed to this important work. Your support helps ensure the voices of rural and remote Queenslanders are heard and that outreach services continue to evolve in response to patient needs.

As we move into the new financial year, we encourage all providers to continue promoting patient feedback opportunities during outreach visits.

Bulk upload available for new visit dates

With the start of the new financial year, new visits will be added to the Outreach Management System (OMS). We can assist by completing a bulk upload of your visit dates, saving you the time of entering each date individually.

If you would like to use this option, please contact your Regional Coordinator, and we will send you the required template.

Provider Online Registration Form Reminder

Providers are reminded that they must complete their online Provider Registration Form before their 2026-27 Funding Schedules are sent out to be signed. A unique link has been sent out via email to each Provider’s contract contact(s) to fill out this form. If you have filled out this form in the past, the form will be pre-filled with your information. Please ensure all details and documents are up to date and that evidence is uploaded where required. CheckUP has published a guide to filling out the registration form and a list of which documentation is required.

Please note that the Child Safe Organisations Act 2024 (Qld) has applied to health services since 1 January 2026 and the Reportable Conduct Scheme commenced for applicable reporting entities on 1 July 2026. More information on these can be found on the QFCC website. If you/your organisation works with, or provide services or spaces for, children under 18 in Queensland, CheckUP is required to collect evidence that child safeguarding training has been completed. More information can be found in our Contractual Requirements Evidence List.

We are happy to work with you to support you to meet these requirements. Please email contracts@checkup.org.au if you would like support or have any questions around the registration form.

Child Safety - Preparing for QLD's Reportable Conduct Scheme

Access the free resource from BBSafe on 10 things your organisation can do to prepare for Queensland's Reportable Conduct Scheme.

QPHCN Improving healthcare access

Care that fits around daily life is what every rural and remote Queenslander should have. Join CheckUP's next QPHCN event to hear health service leaders share how collaboration, innovation and strong partnerships are improving access across regional Queensland. Attend in person in South Brisbane with lunch provided or join the livestream from wherever you are.

Date: Thursday 27 August
Time: 10.30am to 12pm
Location: QAIHC Building, Level 1, 36 Russell Street, South Brisbane.

New cancer prevention program for the far north

Funded by Northern Queensland PHN, the North Queensland Cancer Prevention Program will increase access to cervical and skin cancer screening, strengthen referral pathways and grow local skills, working with local health services and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations to reach under-screened communities.

Celebrating our staff!

CheckUP’s Health Services Team announces several new changes and welcomes new and returning team members

We’re delighted to celebrate Amber’s appointment as our new Eye and Ear Surgical Support (EESS) Manager and Cassie’s appointment as Coordinator – Cancer Prevention. Both bring valuable experience from their previous roles and are well-deserving of these opportunities.

We warmly welcome Amy-Jo, our new Regional Coordinator – Central & Central West and welcome back Isabelle Walker, Senior Outreach Coordinator. We’re excited to have Amy-Jo and Isabelle on board.

Amber and Cassie are pictured above

Travelling together

Twice this year, clinicians from North West Remote Health, Diabetes Australia and Lives Lived Well flew into remote Central West Queensland together to deliver diabetes care.

Travelling as one team, patients saw several clinicians in a single visit, referrals were made on the spot, and funding buckets were stretched further.

See if this model works for your community.

Townsville students hit the road for health careers

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from Heatley Secondary College travelled west from Townsville through Charters Towers, Hughenden, Winton and Longreach on a six-day healthcare immersion tour.

Alongside visits to regional health services, students spent time on Iningai Country at Gracevale Station, learning about local history, culture and connection to Country. This was made possible by On Country, Health Workforce Queensland, and the generosity of communities along the way. The future of healthcare is bright!

Helping more rural Australians detect lung cancer early

Australia's National Lung Cancer Screening Program helps find lung cancer early, when treatment works best. Eligible people aged 50 to 70 with a significant smoking history can access a free low-dose CT scan.

OneNQ survey

🚨 North Queensland healthcare workers, share your feedback! Help shape the future of the NQ healthcare workforce, community and employment opportunities. 

Climate and primary care: free events this August

A changing climate is reshaping community health, from heat-related illness and bushfire smoke to the mental health toll of disaster and recovery.

Country to Coast Queensland is running free, CPD-accredited Clinical Society events across eleven locations this August, exploring what this means for primary care and how clinicians and communities can build resilience.

This is open to all health professionals working in or alongside primary care.  Register at c2coast.org.au/clinical societies.

Helping expectant parents protect newborns from RSV

RSV can cause serious illness in newborns, and two pathways now protect babies. The free maternal vaccine (Abrysvo) is recommended every pregnancy from 28 to 36 weeks. For babies who miss it, nirsevimab offers a safety net. In the tropical north, where RSV circulates year-round, both conversations matter most.

Small changes, big difference: accessible rentals campaign

Queenslanders with Disability Network has launched Small Changes, Big Difference, a campaign to make home modifications easier to request and install in private rentals. The campaign offers clear guidance for both tenants and property owners, developed with people with lived experience and the Department of Housing and Public Works. We invite you to share this with your network.

Share the impact of community mental health

The 2026 QAMH Impact Survey

Queensland's community mental health organisations change lives every day. The 2026 Queensland Alliance for Mental Health Impact Survey is your chance to make that work count. Your response feeds QAMH's annual Impact Report. Complete the survey by 5pm Friday 7 August.

Worth a read on GP funding reform

Three government reviews have pointed toward blended funding for general practice, combining Medicare's fee-for-service with flexible fixed budgets. A new Grattan Institute brief examines how to set the balance, arguing enough fixed funding is needed for clinics to build multidisciplinary teams. For rural and remote team-based care, how that funding is structured matters on the ground.

Nominate for the Mental Health Awards

Are you, or someone you know making a real difference to mental health and wellbeing in Queensland? Nominate for the Queensland Mental Health Awards today!

The Queensland Mental Health Awards is celebrating 30 years honouring ordinary people creating extraordinary impact.

From passionate individuals to innovative organisations and inspiring community groups, these awards recognise champions from every corner of the state and from all walks of life.

✅ You don’t need to work in the mental health sector to be eligible.
✅ Nominations are open to individuals, organisations, and communities.
✅ All award categories include prize money to continue the important work!

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!