About RISE eX-detainees
RISE eX-detainees is a registered not-for-profit organisation governed and led by eX-detainees based in Naarm (Melbourne). Our main focus at RISE eX-detainees is to advocate for the abolition of Australia’s cruel Refugee policies including mandatory detention and as well as global policies that adversely impact on our members.
What is cohealth?
Cohealth is a not-for-profit community health organisation that provides essential health and support services in Melbourne’s CBD, inner-north and inner-west, and the east coast of Tasmania. Source: https://www.cohealth.org.au/about-us/
Cohealth’s closure of GP and counselling service from three locations near public housing
RISE eX-detainees is disturbed by the planned closure of GP and counselling services from three cohealth clinics located near public housing. These clinics are serving one of the most marginalised communities including many RISE members.
For all of the RISE eX-detainees members we have spoken to who are accessing cohealth services, they are informed of this grim news from RISE, not cohealth.
These members are very distressed and disturbed that this news of cohealth’s GP and counselling services closure is at very short notice, with no clear plan and vision on where 12,500 patients can go once these critical services are closed, leaving patients in medical limbo and possible negligence.
As always, the most vulnerable and most persecuted communities are the ones who will face the worst outcomes and crises: eX-detainee refugees, asylum seekers and refugees.
General Practice is a critical part of public and community healthcare
There is no point in RISE eX-detainees providing casework and settlement support services when there is nowhere for us to refer our members, all of whom have complex health issues and traumas.
Community health services require the referral and management from GPs trained in public and community health in order to effectively support patients with complex health issues (who are often from marginalised and persecuted communities) to manage their complex health needs. And only GPs working in the environment of public and community health clinics have the skills, insight and competence to deliver such service.
Vulnerable people with chronic health conditions, quite often have multiple appointments a week with doctors, allied health professionals, social workers etc. Having a community health centre close by which has most of these services they need to access over the week, is critical for a financially disadvantaged disabled person who has mobility issues. Wraparound services provided by community health centres like cohealth are critical for adults/children/families at risk.
Furthermore, for people with complex health issues like RISE members, having a regular bulk-billed GP is a critical foundation to help us access proper care and support to help us in rehabilitation and recovery as refugee survivors of persecution, war and genocide.
Physically situating a GP within a properly funded, not-for-profit community health centre like a cohealth clinic also helps the GP to provide proper care, as they have a more direct line of communication with other professionals (including counsellors, social workers, allied health workers, refugee health workers, drug and alcohol program, family violence program, homelessness program etc.). Hence, community health clinics with GPs can coordinate care for community members more collaboratively, efficiently, effectively and holistically.
Other possible motives for the closure of cohealth’s GP and counselling services at 3 major clinics?
Many of us RISE eX-detainees members are confused about this decision from cohealth. There are many questions we have about this announcement, including:
- Why is cohealth also closing their counselling service from Fitzroy, Collingwood and Kensington?
- Why is cohealth closing Kensington GP and counselling service when the clinic building in Kensington has recently been renovated?
- Is the closure of cohealth’s GP service done intentionally to reduce new referrals to other services they provide?
- Why is cohealth selling the Collingwood clinic site when the Collingwood clinic is located at a very convenient location for the local community – walking distance to local public housing, school, library, bus stops (at least 15 routes) and train stations? What will happen to the money from the sell-off of the Collingwood clinic?
- Will it ever be possible for any community or public health service to be able to again own land and operate a clinic at this very convenient location in Collingwood with a big land size near other public infrastructure and services?
- Is the Collingwood clinic sell-off part of cohealth’s privatisation of community health service vision?
- Is the Collingwood clinic sell-off part of the governments’ gentrification and public housing privatisation strategy?
- What will cohealth do in response to the spike in demand for GP and other health services at other cohealth clinics once the GP and counselling services are closed at Fitzroy, Collingwood and Kensington clinics, and once the Collingwood Clinic is closed completely?
- How could people access any service from cohealth without the referral from a cohealth GP? Many RISE eX-detainee members who do not have access to a GP from their local community health clinics cannot access proper allied health, rehabilitation, counselling or other vital services due to their GPs from private clinics not having the knowledge and skills in complex health management and public health. Often, their private GPs would refuse to refer them to appropriate services despite the patient’s repeated request.
Impossible to find alternative bulk-billed GP service in local area
Even before this news of cohealth closing its GP service from its three major clinics, it has been almost impossible for many RISE eX-detainees members to even secure an appointment to see a GP at cohealth as a new patient. The few RISE eX-detainees members who are lucky enough to have access to cohealth’s GP services have been able to receive appropriate complex health management with positive health outcomes, and decreased their likelihood/frequency of hospitalisation.
Many of these members are now extremely distressed knowing that this lifeline would be cut from them with only 2 months’ notice with no proper plan on where else can they access free GP clinics with Doctors who can manage their complex health issues. Other RISE eX-detainees members who are seeing GPs at cohealth’s other clinics are fearful that they will no longer be able to secure timely appointments with their GP due to the spike in demand resulting from the closure of GP services from the other cohealth locations.
Demands for GP services have sky-rocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now almost impossible to even find a bulk-billing GP clinic, including in the inner metropolitan Melbourne. Even fee-paying clinics are exceeding their capacity, with many clinics not even having a waiting list as they are unable to take on new patients.
For people with complex health issues like most RISE eX-detainees members, GP intervention and support is required in almost all aspects of our lives: from asylum claims, visa issues, to accessing allied health services, to accessing specialist services, to housing, drug and alcohol, mental health, family issues, school issues, disability services, welfare services etc.
The closure of cohealth’s GP service could also lead to other community health clinics following their footsteps, which will further worsen the health crisis in Victoria.
Governments wasting money
The successive Australian Federal Governments have wasted tax-payers’ money by running immigration detention torture camps targeting our communities who fled war and persecution to maintain white supremacist colonial structures, costing at least $500,000 per detainee per year (Source: https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/detention-australia-statistics/10/). As recently as August 2025, the Australian Federal Government was more than happy to spend $408 million to deport refugees to Nauru (source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-30/federal-government-inks-400m-deal-for-nauru/105716134) to reiterate their white supremacist policies and clean blood on their hands from committing crimes against humanity against one of the most persecuted people in the world. These policies and criminal expenses are supported by the majority of the Australian public who continue to elect politicians from all four major political parties who support the mandatory detention policy of asylum seekers arriving by boat for example. Furthermore, the Australian Federal government is wasting at least $368 billion on the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact that has no clear outcome to maintain and uphold white supremacy and Western imperialism (source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/15/aukus-will-cost-australia-368bn-what-if-there-was-a-better-cheaper-defence-strategy).
The Victorian Government wastes billions of dollars on prisons, police, on Big Build projects such as the Metro Tunnel, etc. then solves their spending problems by privatising and defunding critical services and infrastructures including public and community healthcare, demolishing and privatising public housing, etc. Continuing this path, the Victorian Labor government is causing a humanitarian catastrophe into the future.
What is the point of building a $13.48 Billion Metro Tunnel (source: https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/metro-tunnel/about/faq) if many frequent public transport users cannot even get out of their house due to not having access to proper healthcare? Compared to the cost of the Metro Tunnel at $13.48 Billion, the Victorian Labor Government’s funding of $188 Million last year to community health services for the entire state of Victoria (source: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/vulnerable-to-be-cut-off-from-free-medical-checks-as-melbourne-clinics-axe-services-20251016-p5n2xe.html) is an insult and attack on the most vulnerable people.
Rather than putting money in healthcare, housing and community services, the Victorian Labor Government proudly funded $1.1 billion to build a new maximum security prison that does not lead to safer communities.
Victoria’s motto as a state is ‘Peace and Prosperity’. Where is ‘Peace and Prosperity’ when the most vulnerable people cannot access proper health care? Where is ‘Peace and Prosperity’ when it’s easier to go to prison than to access healthcare for the most vulnerable people including people from our eX-detainee and refugee communities?
GP’s lower Medicare rebate rate
GPs have an extensive scope where they are required to understand and practice in a wide range of issues, from mental health, wound, injuries, work cover, cancers, stroke, diarrhoea, to family issues, family planning, disability, welfare, addiction, referrals, blood tests, prescriptions, STI, infectious diseases etc. We question why Medicare pays GPs less ($43.90 for a standard appointment of 6-20 minutes) compared to, for example, $51.30 for a consultation with a psychiatrist of less than 15 minutes or $101.30 for an initial appointment with an occupational physician with no minimum time limit.
Clearly, investing in GP services is critical for preventative health care and the management of complex health needs to improve the health outcomes of people, hence, the public. (source: https://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2016/may/general-practice-registrar-education-beyond-th-2)
Many RISE eX-detainees members will face mandatory health decline due to the fact that there is nowhere else for us to access competent bulk-billing GP service who has a direct line of communication with other professionals that can help us navigate and manage our complex health issues. This is certainly a slow death sentence for one of the most persecuted communities in Australia: eX-detainee refugee, asylum seeker and refugee survivors of war, persecution and genocide.
RISE eX-detainees Demands
Healthcare is a basic human right. The most vulnerable people should be able to access free healthcare and treatment. Community health organisations like cohealth should not charge anyone for any service including patient parking.
We demand
- Immediate funding to community health services including cohealth to maintain their GP clinic to ensure the most vulnerable people including RISE eX-detainees members can continue to access proper complex health management by GPs with direct access and line of communication to other critical services.
- Both the Australian Federal and Victorian State governments should be accountable and responsible to not only maintain but also to expand community and public health services to serve the needs of a growing and denser population.
- Medicare must increase their rebate rate for GPs, rather than band-aid solutions like the bulk-billing incentives.
- Governments at all levels must immediately provide proper infrastructure for community health clinics to operate and deliver vital services including GP service.
- Public and community infrastructures are not for sale. Cohealth must keep all of their buildings and must not sell-off. These assets should be utilised for the interest of the most vulnerable local communities, with the support and financial backing of all levels of government.
- Cohealth must consult properly with all patients who are accessing their service about any operational challenges they face, particularly if the issue could lead to service closure, and seek patients’ insight, input and direction.
- Cohealth has a duty of care to provide proper communication to all patients with a clear and achievable guide on how we can access alternative free local GPs and counselling services once these services are closed in cohealth’s Collingwood, Fitzroy and Kensington. GP service at all cohealth clinics must not be closed until ALL patients at these clinics have a new bulk-billed GP within their local area.
- All relevant stakeholders must work together to ensure clinics like cohealth are run properly, including having a functional GP and counselling service, for a healthy & safe community and a strong public health system.
All of these demands are achievable, cost-effective and will work towards building strong communities. Rather than wasting money on the prison-detention-military industrial complex and white supremacist imperialist policies, investing in public health has both tangible and intangible outcomes that will benefit everyone (source: https://www.bcu.ac.uk/blog/health-professions/why-is-public-health-important).
‘Nothing About Us Without Us’
RISE eX-detainees