Ninety Mile Consulting partnered with Murrindindi Shire Council and seven local health organisations to co-design a place-based health network plan, now formally endorsed and already in use for Federal advocacy.
On 25 March 2026, Murrindindi Shire Council formally endorsed the Murrindindi Health Network Plan 2026 to 2036 at its Scheduled Meeting of Council. The plan sets a coordinated 10-year direction for health, aged care, mental health, and disability services across one of Victoria’s most dispersed rural communities.
Ninety Mile Consulting (NMC) had the privilege of leading this work from discovery to endorsement, partnering with Council and seven local organisations, including hospitals, community health services, aged care providers, and primary health networks, to deliver a plan grounded in local evidence and shaped by the people it serves.
The endorsement received strong support from Councillors and has already attracted media coverage in Inside Local Government.
The challenge
Murrindindi Shire is home to around 16,000 people spread across a large, geographically dispersed area in northeast Victoria. While local health services work hard, they have historically operated in silos, and the community faces compounding pressures that are worsening over time.
The data told a confronting story. Around 85 percent of residents leave the Shire just to access acute hospital care. Preventable hospitalisations run 57 percent above the Victorian average, costing an estimated $6.3 million annually in excess system burden. Critical workforce shortages across GPs, nursing, and allied health mean reliance on locums and agency staff adds a further $1.2 million per year in inefficiency costs.
When factoring in lost productivity, delayed aged care, mental health impacts, and reduced community participation, the total annual cost of fragmented health access in Murrindindi was estimated at $25 to $30 million in avoidable impact.
Without coordinated action, these pressures were projected to worsen, with modelling estimating 10 to 11 preventable deaths each year.
Our approach
NMC was engaged through Victoria’s Forestry Transition Program to develop a comprehensive health network and workforce plan for the region. The project was delivered on the ground in Murrindindi over six months, progressing through three structured phases: discovery and current state analysis, options development and validation, and integrated model design.
Our methodology was deliberately place-based. Rather than a desktop strategy, the NMC team was embedded in the community, conducting face-to-face engagement across the Shire.
The scale of the engagement and analysis included:
- Over 100 data sources analysed and more than 10 modelling scenarios developed
- More than 200 community members, clinicians, and service leaders engaged
- Four co-design workshops, 100+ stakeholder interviews, and 130+ survey responses
- Benchmarking against comparable rural health networks across Australia
- Alignment with the Victorian Health and Wellbeing Plan 2023 to 2027 and Local Health Service Network planning
This work culminated in 12 co-designed priority areas spanning workforce development, mental health and AOD integration, chronic disease management, care navigation, transport and access, digital enablement, and preventive health.
What we delivered
The project produced two companion documents designed to work together:
The Murrindindi Health Network Plan provides the strategic framework, evidence base, and governance design for the next decade. It sets the vision, priorities, and decision-making structures that guide the network.
The Executive Summary provides a concise overview of the plan’s key findings, priorities, and proposed actions.
In addition, NMC delivered:
- A comprehensive current and future state analysis drawing on population, demand, and workforce modelling to 2036
- Four strategic options for network partners to select or combine, covering community-centred, workforce-first, network entity, and digitally enabled integration approaches
- Two detailed business cases: a regional training hub and a funded Health Network Advisor role
- An implementation framework with a 90-day action plan, quarterly milestones, RACI matrices, and a governance structure
- A financial sustainability model showing how targeted interventions could deliver $12 to $13 million in annual avoidable cost savings
What made this project different
The strength of this project was not just the analysis or the plan itself. It was the local leadership.
Every partner organisation came to the table with genuine commitment to working differently, together. From small rural hospitals to aged care facilities to community health organisations, each brought their perspective, their data, and their willingness to collaborate on shared solutions.
The plan was shaped by the community it serves. GPs, aged care managers, allied health workers, carers, students, and residents all contributed to the priorities and design. Their insights were not just heard but built into the model.
As Portfolio Councillor for Economic Development, Local Jobs and Skills, Councillor Sandice McAulay noted, the plan represents a significant step forward in improving access to care for local residents, and it brings partners together with a clear, coordinated approach to improving services and outcomes over the next decade.
Already in action
The plan is not sitting on a shelf. Murrindindi Shire Council is already using it to support advocacy efforts, including submissions to the Federal Government on aged care reform and calls for improved mental health services in the region following the January 2026 bushfires.
This is exactly what place-based planning should do: create a living, actionable framework that partners can use immediately to drive change.
The vision
At the heart of the Murrindindi Health Network Plan is a simple, powerful vision:
People in Murrindindi can live well, locally, with simple, connected care and learning opportunities that are easy to find, easy to access, and delivered as close to home as possible.
NMC is proud to have supported Murrindindi Shire Council and all network partners in bringing this vision to life. We look forward to seeing the impact of this work unfold over the years ahead.
Learn more:
- Murrindindi Health Network Plan (Full Document)
- Executive Summary
- Council Meeting Record, 25 March 2026
- Inside Local Government: Murrindindi Council Endorses 10-Year Health Plan
Ninety Mile Consulting specialises in healthcare, aged care, and local government strategy. We partner with regional organisations to deliver data-driven, community-informed solutions that create measurable impact. To learn more about our work, visit ninetymileconsulting.com.
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