Community pressure wins reprieve on health clinic closures

Previously in Red Flag, we reported the devastating news that some of the longest running community health centres in the country would close, leaving around 12,500 people without a GP. Since then, a spirited community campaign to defend the clinics in Melbourne’s inner north has won a reprieve. Reprinted below is the 20 November announcement from the Victorian Socialists, whose members played a leading role in the campaign.

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This morning, we woke to the welcome news that the majority of services at the three cohealth community clinics in Fitzroy, Collingwood and Kensington, which were slated to close before Christmas, will remain open until July 2026.

The Labor Party has buckled under pressure—the pressure of people power. The Fitzroy, Collingwood and Kensington communities, who have fought hard against the government, held mass meetings, protests, pickets and more. Their efforts were not in vain.

Victorian Socialists acted as soon as we heard news of the closures, which would have left 12,500 people without access to GP services, and left 70 cohealth staff out of work. Our “Socialists In Healthcare” group, alongside local VS branches, helped to transform local anger into collective action. We mobilised hundreds of local community members to bring the issue into the public eye and to put pressure on the state and federal governments.

Now, federal Labor has announced $1.5 million to keep GP services open until mid-2026 while a review is undertaken. The community has won an important reprieve. Everyone who came to a rally or a meeting, stood on a picket, put up posters or handed out leaflets should be proud: together, we forced Labor to act.

However, the fight is not yet over. For one thing pharmacy and counselling services are still slated to close on 19 December, including the methadone service for 1,250 people trying to recover from serious addictions. We have to prevent the closure of these lifesaving services.

Further, an eight-month pause is not a promise to keep the clinics open long term. Nor is it a commitment to maintaining the community health care model. It is possible that Labor is just buying time to hose down the justifiable anger and that its review will ultimately determine that the clinics are “unsustainable”.

Twenty-five community health clinics across Victoria are still under threat. Those who depend on these clinics include some of the most vulnerable people in the community: refugees, newly arrived migrants, people experiencing homelessness, those living with disabilities and patients managing complex chronic illness.

These clinics provide vital health services, including pharmacy services, opioid replacement programs, and nursing, counselling and allied health options. Yet they are controlled by private companies and boards. Two such clinics in Melbourne’s south-east have been slated for closure by the Better Health Network Board.

The coming months will determine whether community health is adequately funded and put into community hands, or cut and further privatised. We must use this time to build a movement against the closure of community clinics and against broader healthcare cuts. We’ve shown that when the community stands together, we can force the government to act.

To get involved in the campaign or to find out more, follow @socialistsinhealthcare on Instagram.