Innovative Models of Care (IMOC) Program Grant Opportunity is now open.
To view the grant opportunity and submit applications visit GrantConnect.
Webinar
We held an information webinar on IMOC Grant Round 5 on Wednesday 15 November, 2023 at 2:30pm. Slides from the webinar are available below.
Innovative Models of Care (IMOC) Round 5 – Webinar presentation slides – 15 November 2023
About the initiative
The IMOC Program objectives are to:
- trial new multidisciplinary primary care models designed to reduce chronic workforce shortages and improve patient access in a range of locations (including remote towns)
- learn from trials that are under way and incorporate learnings into new trials
- evaluate trials to discover which models work, where they work and whether they are financially sustainable.
Communities are rural or remote if they are in categories 3–7 of the Modified Monash Model (MMM).
IMOC aims to attract and keep rural health professionals. It also encourages:
- health professionals working to their full scope of practice
- multidisciplinary team-based models of care
- different employment models for healthcare professionals
- sharing of healthcare resources between small, connected communities.
The program started in 2020–21 with funding to the New South Wales Rural Doctors Network. These funds were for the trial of 5 innovative care models in NSW (Round 1). In 2021–22, funding was awarded to GP Down South to trial a model of care in the Warren Blackwood region of Western Australia (Round 2). In April 2023, Beechworth Health Service and Outback Futures Ltd were funded through Round 3. Round 4 closed for applications on 7 August 2023 and successful organisations will be announced shortly. Further information on the models is below.
IMOC Round 5 is now open on GrantConnect:
|
Grant Round |
Type |
Timing |
Focus (Government direction) |
Eligibility |
|
5 |
Open-competitive |
Currently Open |
Multidisciplinary models of team-based care and health care providers working to their full scope of practice. This grant opportunity supports organisations in rural and remote communities (in Modified Monash (MM) Model 3-7 areas to:
|
All primary care organisations. State and Territory governments can only apply as part of a consortium (not as the lead agency). Full eligibility requirements to be detailed in the Grant Opportunity Guidelines
|
The IMOC Program funds activities such as:
- governance
- community engagement
- program management activities.
| Round | Organisation | Funding | Region | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
NSW Rural Doctors Network Carry out 5 proof-of-concept pilots Learn more: |
$3.6 million over 4 years from 2021 | Canola Fields |
GP-led multidisciplinary team-based care for chronic-disease patients. Learn more about Canola Fields. |
|
4Ts – Tottenham, Tullamore, Trangie and Trundle |
Local health district single employer across sub-region. Learn more about 4Ts. |
|||
| Lachlan – Parkes and Forbes |
Co-design of a shared GP model of care across the region. Learn more about Lachlan. |
|||
| Murrumbidgee area: Snowy Valleys – Tumut, Tumbarumba, Batlow and Adelong |
Co-design of a shared GP model of care across the region. Learn more about Snowy Valleys. |
|||
| Far Western NSW: Wentworth – Wentworth, Dareton, Buronga and Gol Gol |
Sustainable shared GP model of care across the region (ACCHO-led) to address market failure. Learn more about Wentworth. |
|||
| 2 | GP Down South Limited | $1.8 million over 5 years from June 2022 | Warren Blackwood region of Western Australia | Clinical Care Coordination (CCC) team. Provides support for GPs and improves patient access to integrated health care. Learn more about GP down south. |
| 3 | Beechworth Health Service | $1.3 million over 4 years from June 2023 | North-East Victoria | Improve comprehensive care planning for older people across four multi-disciplinary areas of health care: What matters, medications, mobility, and mental health (4Ms). |
| Outback Futures Ltd | $1.5 million over 5 years from June 2023 | 5 regions in remote QLD: Blackall-Tambo, Barcaldine, Longreach, Winton, Cloncurry |
Work-In-Work-Out (WIWO) multi-disciplinary model to improve access to allied health professionals |
|
| 4 | Announcements coming soon. | |||
Why it is important
High-quality health care is essential for all Australians – regardless of location. Rural and remote Australians experience poorer health outcomes than people in cities.
New approaches, such as collaboration between local providers and communities, may improve this.
Sustainable solutions can come from:
- primary health care professionals working together to deliver services to several smaller, connected communities
- making best use of all healthcare providers in a region.
Primary care disciplines may include:
- GPs
- nurses and nurse practitioners
- midwives
- allied health practitioners
- non-dispensing pharmacists
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers
- other health professionals and assistants.
The IMOC Program will benefit healthcare professionals and consumers. It also helps communities create sustainable healthcare for their unique needs.
Goals
The goal is to find out whether the models:
- make rural practice more attractive to health professionals
- lead to better health services and patient outcomes.
The outcomes may lead to ongoing primary care changes, as trials are intended to be financially-sustainable into the future and also potentially applicable to other communities.
Who we work with
We are working with the Office of the National Rural Health Commissioner.
Apply for funding
Register to receive grant opportunity information and updates on GrantConnect.
Status
The Australian Government will announce the successful applicants from Round 4 in due course. The IMOC Round 5 grant opportunity is now open.
Innovative Models of Care (IMOC) Round 4 General Feedback
Fact sheets
Innovative Models of Care (IMOC) Program - Fact sheet
To view the grant opportunity and submit applications visit GrantConnect.
Ministers’ Media releases
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