Whiddon spearheads collaborative care model
With hopes to close gaps between aged care, government and health systems in regional and rural Australia, a new multi-sector collaborative health project is being trialled across six locations.
Not-for-profit aged care provider Whiddon is leading the new provider-led, multi-sector Collaborative Health Care Initiative in partnership with other aged care providers to improve outcomes for older people in regional and rural areas.
Six 12-week pilot projects are now active across several regional New South Wales locations, operated by Uniting, RFBI, Catholic Healthcare, BaptistCare, IRT, Estia, and Bupa.
Each pilot is supported by a local working group and coordinated under a shared governance framework developed by business management consultancy the Nous Group.
The evaluation design is being led by the University of Sydney’s Professor Lee-Fay Low, with each pilot designed to address a critical system challenge and test collaborative, real-world solutions tailored to local contexts, including:
- shared workforce models: flexible staffing arrangements across hospitals and aged care homes for nurses and allied health professionals to alleviate workforce shortages, reduce duplication, and improve continuity of care
- agile transitional aged care beds: a co-designed, fast-tracked hospital discharge pathway to relieve bed pressure in regional hospitals that enables patients to be transferred directly into available residential aged care beds and bypass administrative bottlenecks
- shared wellbeing programs: the opportunity for long-stay hospital patients to join aged care-led wellbeing and lifestyle activities, supporting social connection and cognitive health while easing the impacts of prolonged hospitalisation
- non-clinical services sharing: a model for shared transport, catering, maintenance and emergency preparedness across co-located or nearby providers to improve service quality, support local economies and reduce operational fragmentation
- emergency and disaster response: a shared agreement on emergency planning
- shared transport: community aged care providers assist hospital inpatients and residential aged care residents with transport for health-related appointments.
The project is backed by over 20 partners including:
- NSW Ministry of Health
- Department of Health and Aged Care
- Ageing Australia
- The National Rural Health Alliance.
Several other state and federal health departments, aged care and hospital providers, academic leaders and peak bodies are also involved – and all looking to bring a shared vision for integrated, locally delivered and scalable care to life.
Whiddon chief executive officer Chris Mamarelis outlined the initial vision and authored a 2024 white paper that called for reform and locally driven, place-based solutions for regional care.
The CHC Initiative was further shaped through two landmark workshops at the University of Sydney in April and June 2025. Forty sector leaders participated in the workshops – sharing their priorities, co-designing solutions and laying the foundations for the pilot projects.
“Rural health systems are under strain, but they’re also full of opportunity. Through this initiative, we’re showing what’s possible when silos are removed, and care is designed with community needs at the centre – and we’re not asking for a cent to make this happen,” Mr Mamarelis said.
“To move from a white paper to boots-on-the-ground pilots in under a year is almost unheard of in our sector – and it speaks volumes about the will for change across the system,” he added.
“This progress has only been possible because providers, policymakers and partners came to the table not just with ideas, but with action, united by the belief that we can do better for older Australians in our regions.”
The outcomes of the pilot projects will be presented to state and federal ministers in early 2026 and it is hoped the CHC Initiative model can act as a blueprint for future national integration between aged care and health systems.
“We’re not waiting for reform; we’re building it from the ground up,” Mr Mamarelis said.
“Our goal is simple. Create a scalable, collaborative model that transforms how care is delivered across the country and ensure older Australians in our regions receive the integrated, dignified support they deserve.”
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