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CheckUP works with partner organisations and health providers to create healthier communities and reduce health inequities through a range of initiatives.
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CheckUP works with partner organisations and health providers to create healthier communities and reduce health inequities through a range of initiatives.
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There are so many ways you can support the work of CheckUP and our vision of better health for the people and communities that need it most.
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Left to Right: Fiona Moore (Optometry Qld/NT and CheckUP VOS Provider), Dr Theo Charalambus President Optometry Australia, Monica Barolits-McCabe (Executive Director, NACCHO), Lose Fonua (CEO, First Nations Eye Health Alliance), Michelle Hodges, CheckUP
50 Years of Outreach Eye Care Across Australia
As the Visiting Optometrists Scheme (VOS) marked its 50th anniversary in 2025, Optometry Australia hosted a celebration at Parliament House in Canberra. For fifty years, VOS has ensured people in regional, rural, and remote communities can access essential eye care, prevent avoidable vision loss and help bridge longstanding health inequities.
As the jurisdictional fundholder of VOS for over 10 years, CheckUP were pleased to attend the event during National Rural Health Month alongside key stakeholders.
10 Years supporting eye care in Queensland
CheckUP proudly reflects on its own decade of leadership as Queensland’s jurisdictional fundholder. Over the last 10 years, CheckUP has supported outreach providers by managing funding, facilitating service planning and referral pathways, and collaborating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and key stakeholders.
This work has helped maintain continuity of care and ensured VOS services remain aligned with cultural, geographic, and logistical realities across Queensland. Throughout this time, CheckUP has strengthened partnerships with optometrists, local health providers, and community organisations, ensuring services are responsive to local needs and delivered seamlessly.
Image – Fiona Moore (Optometry Qld/NT and CheckUP VOS Provider)
Queensland VOS Outreach: 2024–25 by the numbers
112
communities received VOS optometry visits
1,148
visits delivered across the state
19,738
occasions of service provided
12,377
accessed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Growing Queensland’s outreach optometry network
Several VOS providers have been with CheckUP since 2015 when we started with 11 providers – this has now grown to 21. Along with the communities they serve, we are very appreciative of their commitment and dedicated service to delivering outreach.
Image – Dr Shelley Hopkins QUT, Gayle Stallard CheckUP, Tanya Morris, Country Director – Indigenous Australia Program | The Fred Hollows Foundation
The future of outreach eye care in Queensland
As VOS enters its next 50 years, CheckUP celebrates the shared achievements of providers, partners, and communities. The organisation remains committed to supporting equitable access to eye care for rural, remote and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and continuing its role in sustaining and strengthening the VOS legacy across Queensland.
Image – Senator the Hon Anne Ruston (Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care)
Dr Shelley Hopkins QUT, Gayle Stallard CheckUP, Tanya Morris, Country Director – Indigenous Australia Program | The Fred Hollows Foundation
Want more stories?
Read about regional, rural and remote stories that are making a real difference.
Kilkivan outreach provider retiring after 12 years of dedicated service
CheckUP’s Gayle Stallard recently attended a farewell morning tea in Kilkivan to celebrate the remarkable contribution of Dr Sandra Zeeman, who has been delivering outreach GP services to the community for over 12 years.
A service built from the ground up
The Kilkivan model wasn’t your typical outreach service. Built from the ground up, it later became known as the Kilkivan Community Health Hub. Located in a house in the small Kilkivan community, the service began as a collaborative effort between community members, Gympie Regional Council, Sunshine Coast Medicare Local (now Country to Coast PHN), and CheckUP – all working together to provide access to a local GP service.
As the service grew, the need for additional support quickly became clear, along with increasing demand for allied health professionals. Today, the community has access to two GPs, a Nurse Practitioner, a Physiotherapist, and a Podiatrist. In previous years, the service also included a counsellor.
CheckUP’s Regional Coordinator, Amber Hanks, regularly checks in with all stakeholders to ensure community needs continue to be met through these services.
CheckUP’s commitment to the Kilkivan community and their ageing-in-place goals will continue, supported by the Australian Government’s Rural Health Outreach Fund.
Celebrating Dr Sandra Zeeman’s 12 years of service to Kilkivan
Dr Zeeman was instrumental in establishing the service back in November 2013, with her first visit on 21 November that year.
In her farewell speech, Dr Zeeman said that serving the Kilkivan community was the highlight of her career. She is delighted to be leaving the community in good hands, having recommended Dr James Mann and Dr James Pearson and supported their transition into the role.
CheckUP thanked Dr Zeeman for her years of dedicated service and presented her with a farewell gift.
For more news and stories
Visit our news and publications page
December CheckIN eNews is here!
CheckUP’s final newsletter for 2025 features the newly released Annual Report showcasing 26 years of impact across Queensland. Plus, catch up on the successful Disability Action Week event, learn about Queensland’s groundbreaking GP ADHD prescribing changes, and discover how 6,800+ students engaged with the Health Gateway Project this year.
Free disability inclusion training is available now, NDIS compliance sessions are booking up, and new child safety legislation takes effect January 1st. Find out what your business needs to do, access free workforce planning advice, and read important wet season health warnings before the office closes December 19th.
December CheckUP Connect is here!
The CheckUP team has been connecting with communities right across Queensland, delivering free training and practical support for health and community service businesses. This month’s newsletter features tools you can use now. they include workforce planning guides, NDIS compliance resources, and new micro-credentials to help your team thrive.
Government consultations are open on NDIS pricing and disability safeguards, plus there are free webinar recordings, career pathway tools, and support programs ready to help your business in 2026.
Find out what’s available and how to get involved.
Disability Action Week Highlights, 2025 QPHCN Event
CheckUP brought together health professionals, community leaders, and disability advocates for our final Queensland Primary Healthcare Network (QPHCN) event of 2025, exploring the theme “Communicate. Connect. Create.”
Hosted by Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM (doctor, lawyer, researcher and disability advocate), the event featured powerful conversations about what inclusion really means. The day highlighted inspiring examples from Joshua Bamford on practical disability employment at M&H Ward (McDonald’s) Australia, DJ on his inclusion in schools program reaching 5,000+ students yearly with Social Futures, and Chithrani Palipana on vocational rehabilitation and creating pathways for people with disability.
Debbie Rooskov presented CheckUP’s Disability Friendly Business Basics micro-credential program, designed to help small businesses unlock the disability customer base while building genuine inclusion. The credentials focus on appropriate services, challenging biases, and effective communication.
The event explored real barriers and real solutions. From employment success stories to education programs that shift how young people see disability, speakers shared lived experience alongside practical strategies.
Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM reflected on the 2025 Disability Action Week theme and said, “If we are talking about communicating, I think we have to transcend geography. We have to transcend borders. We have to transcend race, ethnicity, all of these things. We have to be brave enough to talk to people with different ideas. So communication takes courage, and it takes a sense of adventure to wander into the other side and talk to people who don’t believe and to try and generate ideas through robust discussion.”
Watch the event
Resources
Joshua Bamford’s Presentation
View hereDebbie Rooskov’s Presentation
View hereGain more information about Access for All
Access for All is an online course that aims to improve disability awareness among health providers and increase understanding about the barriers people with disability experience when accessing healthcare.
Register TodayBecome a disability friendly business
Disability Friendly Business Basics (DFBB) is a training program that teaches businesses how to be more accessible and welcoming to customers and employees with disability.
It’s an online course that covers topics such as making your physical space easier to navigate, communicating more effectively with people who have different needs, and understanding disability inclusion basics.
It’s designed for any business (trades, retail shops, cafes) that wants to serve everyone in their community better and create a more inclusive environment.
Register TodayEager to attend future events?
CheckUP hosts networking and learning events throughout the year across Queensland.
These gatherings bring together health professionals, community leaders, and service providers to share knowledge, build connections, and explore ways to collaborate.
Whether you’re interested in workforce development, disability inclusion, or reconciliation work, there’s an event coming up that might interest you.
Follow us on Humanitix to stay in the loop about what’s next and stay tuned for QPHCN 2026 dates!
Register TodaySponsor acknowledgement: Thank you, PSC MediProtect
We gratefully acknowledge PSC MediProtect for their support. From humble beginnings in September 1999, PSC Mediprotect has grown to become a market leader in innovative insurance solutions for health professionals, medical, and affinity groups. A commitment to these markets has seen the company develop unique products. PSC MediProtect sponsorship means we can facilitate events to raise disability awareness.
QPHCN 2026
Getting the care that matters
At their first clinic appointments, Carolanne and Dr Russell walked the family through their options for ongoing treatment, focusing on insulin pump technology which allows insulin to be delivered directly into the body with a thin tube called a canula. By the end of April 2024, Summer was equipped with her first pump, a huge milestone many families wait months to achieve.
“While I didn’t know this at the time, I later discovered that without the Emerald clinic, we would have faced a lengthy wait and likely would have needed to travel to Hervey Bay for similar specialist care,” her mum explains.
Instead, Summer’s been continually supported by a highly qualified and experienced local healthcare team and supplemented by specialists from Queensland Children’s Hospital through both telehealth and in-person consultations.
Summer being transported by CapRescue helicopter with a flight paramedic monitoring her care during the medical emergency transfer.
More than medical appointments
“This approach has been nothing short of incredible for Summer,” her mum said. “Not only has she developed strong relationships with her health team, but she’s also returned to her happy, healthy self in record time.”
The clinic has been able to give Summer’s family something just as meaningful as medical management, they’ve given her a sense of community, a group of passionate people along for the ride.
“The clinic has done more than manage her medical condition. It’s given us a sense of community during a challenging time and ensured that distance wasn’t a barrier to exceptional healthcare.”
Summer with her mother outside their home, showing her recovery and resilience after her medical emergency.
Local care matters
The Emerald Diabetes Clinic is part of CheckUP’s Rural Health Outreach Fund program, which has delivered over 56,000 appointments across 111 communities as of 2024. Each of those appointments represents a family like Summer’s getting access to care that would otherwise mean hours of travel, time off work, and nights away from home.
Healthcare professionals like Carolanne and Dr Louise demonstrate what genuine commitment to regional communities looks like. They bring expertise, certainly. But they also bring something equally important: the understanding that good healthcare means being there when families need you most.
For Summer’s family, having that support locally made a difficult situation manageable, and for Summer, it meant getting back to being a ten-year-old.
Summer at home using a medical monitoring device as part of her ongoing care and recovery.
Summer’s story shows that committed providers like Carolanne and Dr Louise have a huge impact on people who live remotely. Accessible and quality healthcare in rural and remote communities isn’t only the right thing to do – it’s necessary for a better Queensland.
CheckUP providers are committed to delivering quality healthcare to rural and remote communities.
For more information about CheckUP’s Outreach program
October CheckUP Connect is here!
Planning for the future of your health team? We’ve got practical ideas coming out of the Strategic Workforce Planning Conference, plus free resources to help you grow.
This edition covers everything from Disability Friendly Business Basics to SCHADS Award essentials, what’s happening in regional Queensland, and funding opportunities you can tap into today.
MEDIA RELEASE
29 September 2025
For immediate distribution
Queenslanders unite to shine light on mental wellbeing
Communities called to connect as Queensland Mental Health Week returns this October
Queenslanders are being urged to come together in support of connection, community, and wellbeing as Queensland Mental Health Week (QMHW) returns from 4–12 October 2025.
Funded by the Queensland Government through the Queensland Mental Health Commission, this statewide movement aims to bring Queenslanders together to spark conversations, strengthen connections, and bring the importance of mental wellbeing to the forefront.
The week comes at a pivotal time, with demand for mental health support rising across Queensland, particularly in regional and remote communities. Almost half of Australians (43%) are expected to experience a mental illness in their lifetime, with one in five affected every year (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2022).
Behind every statistic is a friend, colleague, teammate, or family member – a reminder that mental health touches all of our lives.
Queensland Mental Health Commissioner Ivan Frkovic said the week is a vital opportunity to foster understanding and connection around mental health.
“Mental health and wellbeing are essential for every Queenslander,” Mr Frkovic said.
“We all experience ups and downs, and over 40% of Australians are estimated to experience mental illness at some point in their lives.
“Good mental health and wellbeing helps us live fulfilling lives, build strong relationships, and navigate challenges, but it takes effort and it’s something we need to work at and protect.
“By practicing the six building blocks of wellbeing – get healthy, keep learning, show kindness, connect more, take notice, and embrace nature – we can all support our mental health and wellbeing.
“This Queensland Mental Health Week, I encourage you to get involved – host or support a local event, take some proactive steps to look after your wellbeing, and check in with those around you – it can make the world of difference.”
James Hill, a mental health advocate with lived experience, said sharing stories openly is key to building empathy and encouraging people to seek support.
“Anyone can experience mental ill-health – it doesn’t discriminate,” Mr Hill said.
“The more we talk about it, the more we create safe environments for people to reach out for help. Initiatives like this show that mental health is something we all share a role in, and they remind us how powerful connection and understanding can be.”
From workplace wellness mornings to coffee-and-chats, Queenslanders are being asked to make mental health visible in their own communities by hosting and registering events.
This year, the impact of QMHW will be strengthened by $150,000 in community grants, awarded to grassroots organisations across the state. More than 150 community-led events are being supported, from wellbeing expos and art exhibitions to workshops, festivals, and morning teas.
Queensland Mental Health Week is a reminder that communities thrive when people connect – and that no one should ever feel alone when it comes to mental health.
For more information or to register an event, visit: qldmentalhealthweek.org.au/events/register-event
ENDS
Media Contact
Alexandra McGuckin | alexandra@inthemaking.com.au | 0499 055 880
Samantha Borland-Smith | sam@inthemaking.com.au | 0447 688 450
About QMHW
Queensland Mental Health Week (QMHW) is an annual statewide awareness week held during October that aims to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing, increase understanding of mental health challenges, and reduce stigma around mental health.
QMHW 2025 runs from Saturday 4 October to Sunday 12 October 2025 to align with World Mental Health Day, celebrated annually on 10 October. This year’s theme is Connect for mental health.
QMHW is funded by the Queensland Mental Health Commission, on behalf of the Queensland Government, and in 2025 is being delivered by CheckUP through strong cross-sector collaboration.
Safe media reporting
Visit the Mindframe website for advice on how to support safe media reporting, portrayal and communication about suicide, mental ill-health, and alcohol and other drug use.
Support services
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Lifeline | 13 11 14 | lifeline.org.au/gethelp
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Beyond Blue Support Service | 1300 224 636 | beyondblue.org.au
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MensLine Australia | 1300 789 978 | mensline.org.au
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13YARN | 13 92 76 | 13yarn.org.au
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SANE Australia Helpline | 1800 187 263 | sane.org
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QLife (LGBTIQA+) | 1800 184 527 | qlife.org.au
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Kids Helpline | 1800 551 800 | kidshelpline.com.au
View the official release
First Nations Workforce eNewsletter 7 | September 2025
Looking to future-proof your workforce? In this edition, you’ll find insights from national conversations, practical planning support, funding opportunities and free resources to help your organisation attract, grow and retain staff. Take a look and see what will help you and your team most.
Read newsletterReaching Out September 2025
View the September 2025 edition of our Outreach eNewsletter, Reaching Out.
Reaching Out is our latest news for CheckUP Outreach providers, host facilities, communities and stakeholders. Reaching Out is sent bimonthly.
Sign up to receive Reaching Out here.
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