Six rural WA councils stuck footing the bill for primary healthcare have mounted a National cry for help

Six rural Western Australian councils have pushed a landmark motion to secure more Federal Government funding as they continue footing the bill to keep primary healthcare alive in their communities. The motion was put forward by five representatives from the Local Government Rural Health Funding Alliance at the 2025 National General Assembly of Local Government in June, bringing national attention to the growing financial burden on rural local governments. The alliance is made up of the local governments of Lake Grace, Kojonup, Gnowangerup, Jerramungup, Ravensthorpe and Narembeen. It met for the first time in November, 2024, after realising they all shared the same issue: attracting and retaining GPs was becoming too great of a financial burden to bear. The motion acknowledges a long-standing and growing issue — that local governments are increasingly funding general practice and primary care to ensure access in rural communities. Lake Grace president Len Armstrong was one of the representatives to make the trip to Canberra, alongside chief executive Alan George, Shire of Gnowangerup president Kate O’Keeffe and chief executive David Nicholson, and independent facilitator Caroline Robinson. Ms Robinson is an advocate for rural communities and the founder of Wheatbelt Business Network. She is based on her family farm in the eastern Wheatbelt, 80km south of Southern Cross. Mr Armstrong said the alliance had found it “unsustainable” for local governments to continue to bear the financial responsibility of supporting a doctor in their regional towns. “We will continue to fight for financial assistance that is crucial to ensuring our communities have the medical services it requires to function,” he said. The motion — one of 190 Mr Armstrong said were tabled at the assembly — called for urgent reform in the distribution of Financial Assistance Grants to better support rural councils maintaining essential healthcare services. A 2023 survey conducted by Rural Health West and the Western Australian Local Government Association highlighted the scale of local government contributions across WA. It found that 69 councils collectively contribute $6.8 million annually — both in financial support and in-kind assistance — to sustain primary healthcare services, predominantly general practices. More than 75 per cent of this funding is directed towards general practice, with 92 per cent coming from communities of fewer than 5000 residents. Mr Armstrong said this placed significant pressure on smaller rural councils, which often lack the resources of bigger urban centres. Rural Health West chief executive Prof. Catherine Elliot said local councils stepped in, not because it was their responsibility but because they knew the services were vital to the wellbeing, sustainability and vitality of their towns. “Local governments are natural placemakers,” she said. “They are well-placed to welcome and support health professionals, facilitate integration into communities, and foster the liveability that attracts and retains workforce. “However, they should not need to directly fund primary healthcare services.” “Such arrangements are often the result of market failure . . . local governments are propping up essential health services to meet their communities’ needs.”