North Western Melbourne PHN

27/01/2026

Melbourne’s latest Medicare Urgent Care Clinic has opened in Northcote!

Located at the Your Community Health centre on Separation street, the clinic is open 8am to 10pm, seven days a week. Find out more 👇

Media release Melbourne's latest Medicare Urgent Care Clinic has opened in Northcote. Located at 42 Separation Street, the clinic is now open extended hours, seven days a week. No appointment is needed. Patients can walk in and all services are bulk bil...

20/01/2026

Did you know one in five mothers and one in 10 fathers experience perinatal depression and anxiety? This equates to over 100,000 parents every year in Australia.

Gidget Foundation provides eligible parents free individual psychological therapy services for expectant, new and potential parents with a perinatal mental health clinician, delivered in-person or via telehealth.

Find out more:

Gidget Foundation Australia provides free* individual psychological therapy services for expectant, new and potential parents with a perinatal mental health clinician, delivered in-person at one of their Gidget Houses or via the telehealth program, Star...

20/01/2026

Your Community Health is excited to announce that a new Medicare Urgent Care Clinic is now open at our Northcote health centre (42 Separation Street). This service gives our community another option for getting urgent, but not life-threatening care.

The Clinic offers free, safe and inclusive treatment to people of all ages, backgrounds and identities. It is open from 8am to 10pm, 7 days per week including public holidays. No referral, Medicare card or appointment required, members of the public can walk in, book online, or call to make an appointment.

From minor injuries and infections to sprains, burns, fevers, UTIs and other common urgent concerns, the Clinic can provide timely care from experienced health professionals, helping people get the right help without a trip to the Emergency Department.

We are proud to strengthen access to urgent care for people across Darebin and surrounding areas.

For more information visit our website: https://www.yourch.org.au/medicare-ucc-northcote/

The Medicare Urgent Care Clinic is an initiative funded by the Australian Government.

06/01/2026

If your practice has registered for the Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program (BPPIP) and meets program requirements, your first BBPIP payment will be made in January 2026.

To ensure smooth payment:

✔ Check your registration start date.
✔ Add bank account details for your practice and providers.
✔ Keep accreditation details up to date.
✔ Link all providers and use separate provider numbers for each site.

To learn more and make sure your practice is ready, visit health.gov.au/BBPIP.

15/12/2025

Practices and providers can now forecast their Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program (BBPIP) payments through Services Australia.

These assessments help you:

✔ Check if you meet eligibility requirements.
✔ Estimate your practice payment at any point in the quarter.

To learn more and access assessments, visit health.gov.au/BBPIP.

21/11/2025

Register your practice in the Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program (BBPIP).
Benefits of BBPIP include:

✅ an additional 12.5% incentive payment on every $1 of MBS benefit paid from eligible services, split evenly between the GP and the practice.

✅ saving your patients and families hundreds of dollars a year in out-of-pocket costs and supporting them to be healthy and well.

To calculate your payments and register in BBPIP, visit health.gov.au/BBPIP

12/11/2025

October marks the start of grass pollen season in Victoria. If you’ve ever experienced asthma or if you sneeze and wheeze during spring check in with your GP. If you have seasonal hay fever, speak with your pharmacist about your risk of thunderstorm asthma and learn how to stay safe.

Here’s what you can do to prepare for thunderstorm asthma, to learn more visit: https://go.vic.gov.au/4eQN8pV

23/10/2025

North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network’s 2024-25 Annual Report is now available!

This year’s report highlights our continued progress in transforming health care across the region. It showcases the programs and projects we commissioned to meet the evolving needs of our communities, and celebrates the work of our dedicated primary care providers.

Read it here: https://bit.ly/47KvQJd

21/10/2025

STIs are a topic laden with stigma, especially for teenagers.

In order to break through these communication barriers, nurse Ashlea Randle and Dr Balvinder Khaira set up a one-day STI pop-up clinic at Footscray High School last year.

The results were very encouraging, and helped to normalise sexual health as a part of overall wellbeing. Read more about Footscray High School's Doctors in Secondary Schools program, which is funded by the Department of Education, Victoria and led by North Western Melbourne PHN 👇

Sexually transmitted infection (STI) is a topic laden with stigma, especially for teenagers. In order to break through the communication barriers that often ring-fence the subject, in June 2024 a nurse and general practitioner set up a one-day STI pop-u...

16/10/2025

Practice manager Megan Lay thought that Niddrie Medical’s staff might be interested in learning more about what they could do about family violence.

But even she was moved by the unanimously positive response when she suggested the whole practice undertake the Primary Care Pathways to Safety training offered by North Western Melbourne PHN. Read more 👇

Practice manager Megan Lay thought that Niddrie Medical's staff might be interested in learning more about what they could do about family violence. But even she was moved by the unanimously positive response when she suggested the whole practice undert...

14/10/2025

To help shape its inaugural ‘state of the sector’ research, Mental Health Victoria is asking service providers, the mental health workforce, and community members to provide insights into the current state of mental health in Victoria.

Have your say by Monday, 20 October 2025 👇

Since the release of the final report of the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System in 2021, significant energy and investment has b...

02/10/2025

From 2023 to 2025, NWMPHN funded 10 general practices to test new ways of helping people 55+ stay well at home.

The Early Intervention for Healthy Ageing program examined how flexible block funding can complement the existing MBS fee-for-service model. Phase 2 of the program launches this month.

Read more about how Utopia Refugee and Asylum Seeker health in Hoppers Crossing used the funding to reduce barriers that prevent people from seeking medical care 👇

There is broad agreement within health circles that Medicare's fee for service model is ill-equipped to deal with the rise in chronic disease affecting older Australians. The most efficient way to reduce the impact of chronic disease is to prevent it in...