Partnerships and alliances
Northern Queensland Primary Health Network works in partnership with organisations across the health, research, and innovation sectors to strengthen primary health care and improve health outcomes for communities across northern Queensland.
Through these partnerships and alliances, we support collaboration, shared learning, and system‑wide approaches to address complex health challenges, drive innovation, and deliver more connected, effective care.
Some of these organisations are highlighted below.
Better Health North Queensland
Better Health North Queensland (NQ) is a collaboration between:
- Northern Queensland Primary Health Network
- Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service
- Mackay Hospital and Health Service
- North West Hospital and Health Service
- Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service
- Townsville Hospital and Health Service
Member organisations have committed to working together to achieve the vision of ‘Equity in access to health services and health outcomes for all North Queenslanders’ through advocacy and collaboration on initiatives that deliver regionwide benefits.
Better Health NQ leadership and governance is through the bi-monthly Better Health NQ Chief Executive Meeting, supported by the Better Health NQ Program Office, ensuring effective decision-making and the delivery of outcomes.
The Better Health NQ Intelligence Unit supports needs assessment and planning processes within member organisations and provides data evidence to inform priority areas of focus and monitor the impact of initiatives.
Better Health NQ priority areas
Better Health NQ priority areas have been identified for the region based on the health needs assessment undertaken across North Queensland, system challenges, and allocated funding. They are:
- Maternal and Child health
- Mental Health, AOD and Suicide Prevention
- First Nations Health
- Blood Borne Viruses and STIs
- Chronic conditions
Vision
Equity in access to health services and health outcomes for all North Queenslanders.
Purpose
Advocate collectively for the unique health and service needs for North Queensland, and together with the system manager and the Commonwealth Government, collaborate on initiatives that deliver region-wide benefits.
Role
Data and intelligence: A central unit for the region to identify and inform focus areas.
Advocacy: Progress advocacy informed by the intelligence unit.
Project delivery: A small, focused delivery function for funded projects.
For further information please contact the Better Health NQ Program Office at betterhealthnq@health.qld.gov.au
Far North Queensland Regional Health Partners
The Far North Queensland Regional Health Partners is a regional partnership commitment to improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Far North Queensland. It is a collaboration between:
- Northern Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Alliance
- Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service
- Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service
- Northern Queensland Primary Health Network
- CheckUP
- The Royal Flying Doctor Service
Partner organisations have committed to working together to accelerate the pace of health system reform that is required to close the health gap by 2031, with shared accountability and practical, collaborative action.
Vision
That First Nations people experience the same health outcomes as other Australians.
That that the Far North Queensland health system is accessible, culturally safe, and leverages the strengths and capacity of partner organisations.
Far North Queensland Regional Health Partners strategic priorities:
- Improved access
- Integrated and coordinated care
- Strategic partnerships
- Health system enablers
Strategic priorities:
- Improved access
- Integrated and coordinated care
- Strategic partnerships
- Health system enablers
Northern Australian Regional Digital Health Collaborative
The Northern Australian Regional Digital Health Collaborative (NARDHC) is a cross-sector partnership working to strengthen health systems across Northern Australia through digitally enabled models of care. It is supported by the Australian Government Department of Education through the Strategic University Reform Fund.
Convened by James Cook University, the collaborative brings together expertise from health services, research, industry, and government to support the development and implementation of digital health solutions for rural, regional, and remote communities. Key partners include:
- Northern Queensland Primary Health Network
- Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre
- CSIRO
- Optus
- Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia.
NARDHC focuses on building the partnerships, infrastructure, and capability needed to translate digital innovation into real-world improvements in healthcare access, service integration, and population health outcomes.
Key areas of focus include:
- Research–industry collaboration: Connecting researchers, health services, and industry to co-design and test digital health innovations.
- Digital health infrastructure: Strengthening regional digital health capability by linking stakeholders, data systems, and community priorities.
- Innovation funding: Supporting seed funding and co-investment opportunities for collaborative projects in data analytics, digital technology, and health system innovation.
- Adoption of digital health: Promoting the implementation and scaling of digital solutions that improve access to care in rural and remote communities.
- Workforce capability: Supporting skills development and training to address digital capability gaps within the health workforce.
- Sustainable partnerships: Strengthening industry engagement and investment to support long-term regional innovation.
Through these activities, NARDHC aims to accelerate the responsible adoption of digital health technologies that enhance prevention, early intervention, and access to high-quality healthcare across northern Australia.
Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre
Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre (TAAHC) is an NHMRC-accredited Research Translation Centre and operates as a place-based collaboration across the five Hospital and Health Services of Cairns and Hinterland, Mackay, North West, Torres and Cape, and Townsville, together with Northern Queensland Primary Health Network, the Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council, and James Cook University, including the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine.
This partnership represents an integrated health, research, and training ecosystem with a shared mandate to improve health outcomes, strengthen workforce capability and deliver sustainable models of care across regional, rural and remote communities. TAAHC aligns research and innovation to industry-defined priorities, ensuring translation and impact are embedded from the outset.
A central focus is embedding quality improvement, research, and research translation as a connected pipeline, moving from problem identification through to implementation, scale, and adoption.
Investment decisions are guided by translation readiness, scalability, and measurable benefit.
TAAHC is building system-wide capacity and capability through embedded Research Translation Fellows within partner organisations, supporting implementation, and accelerating uptake of evidence into practice. This is complemented by targeted workforce development, including training and mentorship for clinicians and researchers in regional, rural, and remote settings.
The annual workplan also prioritises project development and investment readiness, including seed funding aligned to strategic priorities and increased co-investment. Consistent evaluation is supported through application of the FAIT framework to measure clinical, system, workforce, and economic outcomes.
TAAHC’s role is to align partners around shared regional challenges and coordinate research and innovation to deliver sustained improvements in health outcomes, workforce sustainability, and system performance.