Media Release: Funding Extended for HIV, Hepatitis C & Sexual Health Services

Funding Extended for HIV, Hepatitis C & Sexual Health Services

30th November 2006

Community based and non-government HIV, Hepatitis C and sexual health organisations have welcomed the decision by Queensland Health to extend their funding for two years, until June 2009.

In 2003 Queensland Health moved to a competitive tendering process for funding community based and non-government HIV, Hepatitis C and sexual health services. Organisations were originally funded for 3 years (to June 2007) to deliver a range of services to prevent HIV, Hepatitis C and STI transmission and provide care and support for those infected and affected.

The process and outcomes of the original tender process caused a significant amount of change in the sector, including the transfer of HIV care and support services from the Queensland AIDS Council to St Luke’s Nursing Service (now named Spiritus).

Organisations had lobbied Queensland Health to not re-tender all services as it would cause significant disruption to service users, distract service providers from their core tasks and encourage competition between providers rather than co-operation.

Speaking on behalf of all funded organisations, Paul Martin General Manager of the Queensland Association for Healthy Communities (previously the Queensland AIDS Council) said “We are delighted that Queensland Health has extended all of our contracts. After only two years of the new contract system we are just hitting our stride and beginning to see a real difference in service provision. Having to interrupt that to re-tender for the contract would have been highly disruptive.”

All organisations continue to stress the need for efficient service delivery by funded agencies, effective funding management by Queensland Health, and the appropriate level of program continuity to enable the funded agencies to effectively recruit, train and retain skilled staff in this critical area of community health.


Notes to the editor:

Organisations that have had their funding extended include:

  • * Ethnic Communities Council Queensland (ECCQ)
  • * Haemophilia Foundation
  • * Hepatitis Council of Queensland
  • * Queensland Association for Healthy Communities (QAHC)
  • * Queensland Injectors Health Network (QuIHN)
  • * Queensland Positive People (QPP)
  • * Spiritus (Positive Directions)

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