IMPACT STATEMENT 2025-2026
Advocating for a fair and compassionate health and aged care system that leaves no one behind.
CHAIR’S WELCOME
On behalf of our valued members and ministries, it is my great pleasure to present a snapshot of Catholic Health Australia’s (CHA) key achievements for 2025-26.
I come to the role as new Chair at a time when it has become more important than ever to shine a light on the needs of those we serve in health and aged care, and to highlight the impact of our advocacy work.
CHA is driven by its mission to create a sustainable and equitable health and aged care sector. As Australia’s largest network of not-for-profit health, aged care and community providers, our members operate 86 public and private hospitals and 350 aged care homes across the country. Importantly, 25 per cent of our members provide services to people living in regional, rural and remote locations. 2025-2026 was another year of substantial reform across the care economy and CHA was supported by the strong connections we have with our members and key stakeholders in government and the Church.
The valued contribution of the Catholic sector is measured not only by our relationships with key decision makers or the reforms we advocate for. It is also measured by the unique voice we bring to the table on behalf of the not-for-profit sector and some of the most vulnerable and marginalised people in society. The CHA team’s expertise, the commitment and trust of our members, and the values that drive our work have helped deliver better outcomes for Australians seeking our care.
I hope you enjoy reading our highlights.
Damien O’BrienChair
Catholic Health Australia
MISSION
Embodying the healing ministry of Jesus in health, aged care and community care
Two significant milestones defined CHA’s mission work in 2025-2026.
The revised Code of Ethical Standards for Catholic Health and Aged Care Services in Australia was warmly received by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference in May 2026 and is now in the final stages of endorsement - the first substantive update in 25 years. The Code reflects years of consultation with ethicists, clinicians, mission leaders and frontline staff, and provides members with a framework that speaks to the world they are actually working in: one shaped by leaps in therapeutic technologies, artificial intelligence in clinical settings, and deepening public conversation about dignity, individual choice and end-of-life care.
CHA’s inaugural Reconciliation Action Plan was approved by Reconciliation Australia - a milestone for our organisation. The Plan charts a course for how CHA, as a national body, walks with First Nations peoples: listening, learning and acting, adding credibility to our advocacy in amplifying the work already being undertaken by our members in this space.
CHA’s mission governance structures - the Mission and Identity Committee, Mission Leads forums, and Aged Care Mission Committee - continued to provide the infrastructure through which mission identity is practised, debated and renewed across the network.
Advocacy grounded in mission also delivered practical results: the extension of End-of-Life Pathway funding in Support at Home - reflecting CHA’s position that dying does not follow a fixed timeline - and continued engagement on palliative care, disability and homelessness.
CHA continued as a consortium partner in End of Life Directions for Aged Care (ELDAC), a Government-funded palliative care program it has participated in since 2017, ensuring the Catholic sector helps shape national end-of-life resources.
More on this Reconciliation Action Plan
Catholic Health:
HEALTH
Working to build a more equitable, transparent and sustainable health system
2025-2026 saw major progress on reforms CHA has championed for years. The Government released a framework paper for public consultation on a Private National Efficient Price - drawing substantially on CHA’s policy work - which would replace closed-door negotiations with a transparent national benchmark for what private hospital care actually costs.
In the 2026 private health insurance premium increase round, Government placed greater emphasis on the link between premium rises and insurers’ benefit-payout ratios, an issue consistent with CHA’s longstanding policy position. Our sustained advocacy for a minimum 90 per cent of premiums payout ratio contributed to the Minister issuing a Statement of Expectations to insurers, with mandated reform still being actively examined.
Legislative progress was also significant. The Health Legislation Amendment (Improving Choice and Transparency for Private Health Consumers) Bill 2026 advanced two reforms CHA had championed for two years: publication of specialist fees on the Medical Costs Finder, and outlawing product phoenixing by private health insurers. CHA was among the voices contributing to the establishment of the Parliamentary Inquiry into Access to and Affordability of Medical Specialists in Australia.
In public hospitals, CHA advocated for a dedicated innovation funding stream and continuation of transition funding in the new five-year National Health Reform Agreement, both of which were reflected in the final agreement while continuing to push the case for coordinated reform across health, aged care and disability. CHA is now working with governments on bed block and delayed-discharge pathways into care settings.
More on this Submissions Position Papers
AGED CARE
Navigating the most significant aged care reform in a generation
The new Aged Care Act commenced on 1 November 2025 and represented a reform of a historic scale. Catholic providers, who care disproportionately for low-means residents and older Australians in regional communities, felt that change acutely. CHA’s role was to ensure the transition worked for the people most at risk if it didn’t.
The results speak to what sustained, credible advocacy can achieve. CHA was central to securing the Act’s deferral from July to November 2025, providing members with critical preparation time. The Government’s response to the Aged Care Accommodation Review closely mirrored CHA’s recommendations - delivering over $50 million in additional annual recurrent revenue for Catholic providers, including a new Supported Resident Loading that directly recognises the higher cost of serving low-means residents.
At a time when our members’ Support at Home are under pressure, a years-long CHA campaign led to the indefinite deferral of price caps. Uniquely among peak bodies, CHA developed and advocated for a comprehensive alternative consumer protections framework. In announcing the deferral of price caps, the Government instead adopted CHA’s proposed consumer protection model, demonstrating the effectiveness of the Catholic sector’s consumer-focused advocacy strategy.
One outcome stands apart. After CHA identified that qualified religious sisters were not having their care hours counted toward Government-mandated staffing requirements, the Minister agreed to amend the Aged Care Rules to do so, at an estimated financial benefit to those members affected of $5 million to $10 million annually. This decision recognised the contribution of religious sisters who have given their lives to aged care.
More on this Submissions Position Papers
July → November 2025
COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA
Ensuring CHA is a strong voice in the national conversation on health and aged care
In a shrinking media landscape, CHA maintained a prominent and purposeful public presence. Media releases, targeted broadcast and print engagement linked communications to advocacy and kept Catholic health and aged care priorities in the national spotlight. CHA featured regularly in the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the ABC and specialist health, aged care and Catholic media. In the lead-up to the federal election and Budget Week 2026, CHA built two dedicated campaign websites to focus attention on the Catholic sector’s key policy platforms and funding requests.
CHA published 50 media releases and 52 opinion pieces across Health Matters and external outlets - including in The Catholic Weekly and mainstream publications - covering private hospital viability, aged care transition, palliative care, ethics and social justice. CHA Board Directors contributed under their own names for the first time, broadening the voice of CHA’s advocacy.
In April 2026, CHA became the first Australian health peak body to launch its own podcast, Health Matters, extending the reach of the newsletter of the same name into a new and younger audience. The newsletter itself recorded a peak open rate of nearly 70 per cent in March, well above the industry benchmark of 30 per cent, a trend that continued in subsequent editions.
Digital growth was significant: website users up 148 per cent on the pre-election baseline, LinkedIn followers up 38 per cent to 4,121, and an engagement rate of 7.5 per cent - roughly double the platform average.
For the first time, AI search platforms emerged as a meaningful referral source, signalling that CHA’s policy commentary is reaching audiences well beyond traditional channels.
More on this Health Matters podcast Media Releases