The Australian Government is committed to engaging with the Norfolk Island community on the delivery of health and aged care services and is preparing for further consultations on the Health Service Plan for Norfolk Island.
As most residents would be aware, the Government, through the Department, contracted KPMG to develop an updated Health Service Plan for Norfolk Island, including a review of health services to inform the delivery of services into the future. Many of you shared your health and aged care views and experiences during community consultation meetings in December 2018 and February 2019.
KPMG has now provided the Department with a draft Health Services Plan for review together with a report that summarises feedback from the consultations and written submissions. Once these documents have been reviewed by the Department they will be released for public consultation, in line with the Community Engagement Framework which was developed in co-design with the Norfolk Island community.
Feedback from the Norfolk Island community on the draft Health Service Plan will help inform the future delivery of health and aged care services. It is anticipated that this next round of consultation and feedback will be sought between September and December of this year.
As I have said in an earlier communication, it is important that we all understand there is still further work to be done in relation to gaining Government approval before progressing to the preparation of design options for the new health facility. This includes ensuring any proposal submitted for funding has strong community support for the new facility.
Community trust and confidence in these processes is a key focus for the Government, myself and the Department, and we are committed to working with the community to ensure optimal outcomes.
If you, the community, have any questions or require any additional information prior to the next round of consultations, please contact the Office of the Administrator by email: office.administrator@regional.gov.au or phone 22152.
Eric Hutchinson
July 2019