KEEP IN TOUCH
(07) 3105 7800
Turrbal and Jagera Country
Level 4, 348 Edward Street
Brisbane QLD 4000
The first few months of my time at Health Workforce Queensland have been both productive and genuinely enjoyable. I’ve appreciated the opportunity to meet with most members of the HWQ team and have valued these conversations in building strong connections and gaining a deeper understanding of the vital role each person plays in supporting rural Queensland communities.
The HWQ Board met in early March, where we discussed refreshing our 2024-2028 Strategic Plan for the remaining two years of the current cycle. This refreshed plan has now been approved and clearly articulates our shared purpose and priorities across the organisation, with a focus on workforce supply, recruitment, retention, practice sustainability and viability and workforce intelligence. You can read the plan below.
It has also been a busy period of external engagement, with the opportunity to meet with a number of key stakeholders. Towards the end of March, Jo Symons and I spent valuable time in Canberra, attending the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s Primary Care Conference, followed by a planning day with our fellow Rural Workforce Agencies. We also had several constructive meetings with senior Department representatives, with discussions that were overwhelmingly positive and strongly affirmed our future direction as set in our refreshed Strategic Plan.
In April I travelled to Roma and Longreach to meet with stakeholders to strengthen our existing partnerships and discuss opportunities to continue building and deepening collaboration across remote and rural Queensland. I also attended the Western Queensland PHN Healthy Outback Communities (HOC) Alliance meeting in Winton. HOC is a relational commissioning initiative which HWQ participates as a partner. The meeting brought HOC partners together to agree next steps on outcome-based commissioning, with a focus on shared outcomes, future payment models and the data and governance foundations required to support delivery across Western Queensland. It was a powerful reminder of the system-level impact we can achieve when we work in genuine partnership. Read more about these meetings below.
The months ahead are shaping up to be just as busy, with a full calendar of meetings and events including the RDAQ2026 Conference. We’re pleased to be a silver sponsor of this year’s conference, taking place in Cairns from 25–27 June. As always, HWQ will be hosting the much‑anticipated Rural Workforce Forum breakfast, along with the much‑loved Family Program. We’re also proud to sponsor the Backbone of the Bush Award, recognising and celebrating the partners of our rural doctors. Be sure to visit the team at our trade stand across the conference. In addition, we’re delighted to be running a workshop ahead of the conference: RDAQ2026 Pre‑Conference Workshop 1 – Advanced Procedural Obstetrics Workshop. I look forward to connecting with many of you there.
Alongside this, we’re currently curating the itinerary for this year’s GROW Rural North Queensland student immersion weekend. This will mark the group’s second visit to the Tablelands, where students will deepen their understanding of local communities, take part in practical skills sessions with local health professionals, and be hosted by local families through our billeting program.
Stewart Gordon
CEO, Health Workforce Queensland
