Practice support

The team continued to support general practices in responding to Strengthening Medicare reforms, including MyMedicare, the GP Aged Care Incentive Program, Chronic Conditions Management reforms, and the Bulk Billing Incentive Program. Through active participation in national advisory groups and expert panels, CESPHN provided timely guidance and insights to help local stakeholders adapt to ongoing changes in primary care. 

The Practice Nurse Program plays a key role in supporting and engaging the general practice nursing workforce across the CESPHN region. The Practice Nurse Workforce Strategy continues to support nurses through education, professional development, networking, and quality improvement activities. The program builds nursing capability, facilitates collaboration, and supports the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care. 

The program delivered a range of nurse engagement initiatives, resources, and support services, strengthening professional connections and enhancing workforce capacity across primary care. The annual Practice Nurse Forum, held in October 2025, provided targeted professional development opportunities for the primary care nursing workforce. The program included educational sessions on burnout prevention, menopause, childhood development and wound care management, supporting nurses to enhance their clinical knowledge, wellbeing and capacity to deliver high-quality patient care. 

The CESPHN Practice Managers Strategy continued to mature during the reporting period, strengthening a dedicated and coordinated approach to supporting practice managers across the region. Through targeted education initiatives, including the annual Practice Managers Forum, managers were provided with opportunities to build their skills, share experiences and learn from peers. These activities recognised the critical role practice managers play in leading change, supporting workforce sustainability and driving practice transformation within an evolving primary care environment. 

Strengthening quality and safety standards 

CESPHN continues to provide targeted, end-to-end support to general practices undertaking accreditation, reinforcing our commitment to high standards of quality and safety in primary care. There are 400 practices accredited or progressing towards accreditation. The team supported practices with 867 dedicated interactions focused on accreditation requirements and readiness. 

Significantly, we continue to lead in supporting non-traditional general practices to achieve accreditation. We have represented CESPHN offering presentations, advice and sharing of resources to other PHNs. 

With the introduction of the RACGP 6th Edition Standards in 2026, CESPHN has prioritised readiness and transition planning to ensure practices are equipped to move to the next edition of the standards. 

Workforce support 

CESPHN delivered a range of workforce development initiatives to strengthen the sustainability of primary care across the region. This included Business and Succession Planning education sessions, providing GPs and practice owners with practical guidance on retirement planning, practice valuation, financial and legal obligations, and long-term business sustainability.  

To support future workforce planning, CESPHN also developed a workforce forecasting model to identify emerging workforce needs, opportunities and barriers to care. In addition, general practices were supported through access to external financial and succession planning services, helping to build business resilience and ensure ongoing viability for the communities they serve. 

2,866
interactions and support with general practices.
867
interactions focused on accreditation support.
7
non-traditional general practices under the new definition of a general practice were supported through accreditation.
400
practices are Accredited against the RACGP 5th edition Standards or working towards accreditation.
27
orientation sessions to GP Registrars whilst on rotation in general practice.
“

We would like to sincerely thank you for the tremendous support you provided throughout our accreditation preparation. Your multiple visits to the practice, staff training, practical advice, and the many resources you shared were extremely valuable and played an important role in helping us achieve this successful outcome.

We greatly appreciated your patience, encouragement, and willingness to assist whenever we needed guidance. Your support gave our team greater confidence and helped us better understand and implement the accreditation requirements.

Please accept our heartfelt thanks from all of us at our medical practice. We are very grateful for your ongoing support and for the important work you do for general practices through CESPHN.

The Clocktower Medical Practice
“

I would like to express our sincere thanks for the outstanding support we received from the PHN prior to our accreditation. We were feeling quite stressed and concerned that there may have been areas we had overlooked. Guidance from the Practice Support Officer gave us confidence by thoroughly explaining the expectations and carefully reviewing all of the 5th Edition accreditation standards, ensuring we were well prepared.
Thanks to this support, we successfully completed our accreditation with zero non-compliances. The knowledge, professionalism, and willingness to assist made a significant difference, and we are truly grateful for the time and effort dedicated to helping our practice.

Carlton Family Medical Practice
“

I would like to sincerely thank you and the entire PHN team for your exceptional support and guidance, particularly throughout our accreditation preparation, as well as with the many other matters we have sought assistance with along the way. Your guidance has been particularly valuable throughout our accreditation preparation, and we are delighted to have successfully completed our accreditation with an excellent outcome.

The CESPHN team has consistently been incredibly helpful, responsive and supportive, and we are very grateful for the time, effort and commitment you and the wider PHN team continue to provide. Thank you for always being there to support and guide us when needed.

Infinity Health Medical Centre