KEEP IN TOUCH
(07) 3105 7800
Turrbal and Jagera Country
Level 4, 348 Edward Street
Brisbane QLD 4000
Government Liaison
As the Queensland and Federal elections approached this year, we focused on positioning the agency strategically. To maximise our ability to realise our vision and tackle emerging opportunities and challenges, we have worked to establish strong, lasting relationships with elected representatives, key influencers and decision makers.
Our approach has been to enhance the agency’s influence and standing within both community and government by partnering with an advisory firm. They have been instrumental in helping us build the skills and capacity needed to strengthen our government relations. Guided by the Health Workforce Queensland (HWQ) Board’s overarching strategy, the Leadership Team has developed the knowledge, tools, and systems required for effective and efficient engagement with State and Federal governments. Importantly, this strategy prioritises building our own foundational government relations capability rather than relying on external lobbyists.
Over the past year, this has involved developing methods to clearly articulate and demonstrate the impact of HWQ’s services, activities, and expertise as they relate to each electorate. Enhanced data visualisation by our IT/Data team, alongside targeted projects, has enabled us to map and showcase our touchpoints in local communities, illustrating our tangible impact. Alongside this, we launched a letter-writing campaign to State and Federal representatives and key government departments, sending a total of 115 letters.
A standout outcome of these efforts was securing 15 meetings, both virtual and face-to-face at Queensland Parliament House, with MPs, policy advisors, and department heads. These meetings have been a focused opportunity to raise awareness of HWQ as a Rural Workforce Agency and highlight local and relevant workforce issues tailored to each attendee. Additionally, we prepared a budget submission outlining key funding requests for critical activities where HWQ can make a difference in remote, rural, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, which has supported our discussions.
This year has been foundational in building our government relations capabilities. Our goal is to become an indispensable expert resource on remote and rural primary care workforce issues and to support the sustainable growth of our agency. We look forward to strengthening these relationships in the year ahead, leveraging our advocacy to unlock greater opportunities.
