SUSTAINABLE HEALTH SYSTEM

We’re helping to shape a more sustainable health system that can support the best health and wellbeing for Australians through prevention and high-quality, affordable care for all of us. We invest in health and medical research, support community health initiatives and are committed to reducing Loneliness by improving social connections. For details about our progress against our sustainability commitments for sustainable health system, refer to our Sustainability summary 2025 and our ESG databook 2025.  

Our work in the sustainable health system space is guided by our material topics and commitments: 

Work together to build a stronger and more sustainable health system 

• Expand personlised models of care to assist with the health transition 
• Advocate for policies and reform to improve health system sustainability

Support healthy communities 

• Build research partnerships that contribute to Medibank's vision to achieve the best health and wellbeing for Australia 
• Engage with our community to promote better health and wellbeing 

We are driving Australia’s health transition by investing in prevention, primary care, virtual health and homecare to deliver more value, choice and control – working to ensure healthcare is affordable and accessible both for our customers and the community. We are also working with healthcare professionals to build more connected, personalised care models.  We believe there is a role for personalised models of care for people at all levels of interaction with the health system – from prevention to post hospital treatment.

We’re investing in primary care as the foundation of our health system, with trials with general practitioners (GPs), together with the support of multi-disciplinary clinical teams, playing a vital role in prevention, early intervention and connection to ongoing care in the community. We believe that more care should be delivered in the home. It is more convenient, personalised and is a lower cost to our health system. A KPMG report commissioned by Medibank examining the potential economic benefits of expanding hospital care in the home in Australia by 2030 found that nearly a third of all hospital-treated conditions could be managed at home. Research in the European Heart Journal investigated the importance of home-based cardiac rehabilitation, with the research findings underscoring the value of home-based programs.    

Our health policy engagement is grounded in a commitment to shaping a more sustainable, consumer-focused and innovative heath system through constructive, evidence-based dialogue with government, industry and the broader health sector. We focus our public policy efforts on areas of the health system and health policy where there is an opportunity to improve value, choice and control for consumers and drive health system sustainability.  

We continue to engage with all government stakeholders as well as the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, key ministerial offices and other government agencies. These conversations focus on the critical role of the private health system, the primary care system, and the role of virtual care in supporting system sustainability, improving access and delivering value to consumers; emphasising the reform needed to keep our health system one of the best in the world.  

We continue to collaborate with policy stakeholders, including the Grattan Institute, clinical groups, leading clinicians and Patients Australia, on policy positions that enhance the consumer experience, improve health outcomes and address affordability challenges across the system. 

To ensure our advocacy is informed by clinical expertise, we have established a Medical Reference Group comprising clinical specialists from a wide range of disciplines. This group provides expert advice on emerging clinical trends, care models, and reform opportunities. In parallel, we maintain strong relationships with peak bodies, representing medical and allied health professionals. We also established a Mental Health Reference Group to provide expertise on the breadth of lived, clinical and system experience in our policy engagement efforts.  

The Medibank Better Health Research Hub, formerly Medibank Better Health Foundation, was established in 2013 to support clinical research through partnerships that deliver impactful change in areas of high health need, to benefit our customers and all Australians.  Our vision is to build research partnerships that are aligned to our research pillars and Medibank’s broader strategic health priorities.   

We support sector-led research aligned to our research pillars by partnering with researchers, health services, universities and National Health and Medical Research Council-accredited Translation Centres. We are invested in bringing to life projects that impact health policy and clinical service implementation for the Australian health ecosystem.  Our chosen research projects must also have a clear path to translation for implemention into the real world. We also allocate funding for an Indigenous-led research project as part of Medibank’s 2022 - 2024 Reconciliation Action Plan.  

Our research pillars have been updated, and will be in place until the end of FY26: 

• Community mental health and wellbeing - research that informs evidence-based, co-designed and tailored approaches to enable and promote good mental health and wellbeing in the community.
• Prevention strategies in primary care - research that focuses on interventions in primary care to improve prevention, early detection and management of complex or chronic illness.
• Care models for the future - research that focuses on implementation of care models for the future that improve equity of access, patient experience and personalised care.

Recently, we’ve added projects to support early detection and virtual care for diabetes prevention; the development of a clinical antidepressant recommendation tool; and the evaluation of a digital health model of care for adults with malignant pleural effusion; an abnormal fluid build-up in the space near the lungs.   

Promoting better health and wellbeing helps our community thrive. Our approach to engaging with our community is focused on 3 priorities:   

• Reduce loneliness through improving social connection and mental wellbeing.​ 
• Enhance employee engagement and wellbeing through community giving, fundraising and volunteering opportunities. 
• Strengthen our impact on the health and wellbeing of our local communities. 

Reducing loneliness through improving social connection and mental wellbeing

As part of our 10-year commitment to address loneliness in Australia, we are working to build stronger, more connected communities. Through a range of initiatives, we are supporting a growing understanding of loneliness as a critical health issue and helping to facilitate stronger, more meaningful, social connections for Australians.  

We are proud to work with organisations facilitating social connection and in collaboration with Women’s Agenda, we launched The Connections Hub to spotlight grassroots groups fostering social connection and destigmatising loneliness.  

We are also supporting young people with disability to participate in inclusive social connection initiatives with our Impact Partner Flying Fox’s Hangouts program. Together, we aim to create over 15,000 meaningful social connections over the next 3 years from 2025, helping to reduce loneliness and build stronger, more inclusive communities. 

Additionally, we’re continuing our support of Ending Loneliness Together, having partnered on their 2025 Loneliness Awareness Week campaign held in August 2025. 

Enhance employee engagement and wellbeing through community giving, fundraising and volunteering opportunities 

We believe that supporting our communities through volunteering, fundraising and donating also enhances the wellbeing of our people. We encourage our people to give back to causes they care about, and we match their contributions dollar for dollar, up to $1,000 a year per permanent employee. We provide community leave for our people to volunteer and in 2025 to mark World Environment Day, our people received an extra 3 hours of community leave each to clean up local areas together. We’re also incredibly proud of our people for their regular volunteering in support of LifeBlood. 

Across the country, our teams continue to make an impact in their local communities, including:

• in our Melbourne Office, collecting essential items for families through Our Village;
• in Geelong, our team partnered with Right Mate to sponsor weekly mental health walks;
• in Perth, our team donated food and toys to support Swan Aboriginal Community's Christmas celebration.  

Strengthen our impact on the health and wellbeing of our local communities. 

We’re continuing to explore meaningful ways to strengthen our impact on the health and wellbeing of our local communities.  

Our long-standing relationship with the Aboriginal community in Wadeye, Northern Territory is one example of this commitment. Since 2012, we've engaged in collaborative health projects and cultural exchanges with the local community, focusing on co-designed initiatives that address community-identified health priorities. This community-led approach emphasises mutual respect, cultural learning and exchange, and two-way relationships where community leadership and priorities guide the work.  

You can read more about our relationship with Wadeye in our 2022-2024 Reconciliation Action Plan Final Report.