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Acknowledgements and Recognition Statement
Acknowledgement of Country
Eastern Health acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands on which our services operate, the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. We pay respect to Elders past and present and recognise the enduring connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to Country, waters and community.
We recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia, with a distinct cultural, spiritual and historical connection to this land. We acknowledge the strength, resilience and knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities, and the ongoing impacts of colonisation on health and wellbeing.
Our Commitment
Eastern Health is committed to working in genuine partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations. We recognise that self-determination is central to improving health outcomes and that Aboriginal voices, leadership and lived experience must inform how we design, deliver and improve care.
As one of Victoria’s largest health services, we are committed to providing high quality, culturally safe and respectful care for everyone. We continue our work toward Reconciliation and health equity through our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan, our commitment to culturally safe care, and our accountability to improving outcomes with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.
Acknowledgement of diverse backgrounds
Eastern Health is committed to equity, inclusion, and respect. We recognise that people’s experiences are shaped by intersecting identities. We are committed to providing safe and inclusive care for all, ensuring that the needs of all patients, families and carers as well as our staff, students and volunteers are identified and met in an appropriate and respectful manner. Working in partnership with our communities, Eastern Health will ensure it provides a culturally safe environment that recognises, responds to and supports the diverse needs of its consumers and workforce.
Eastern Health strives to be an inclusive healthcare service.
From the Board Chair and Chief Executive
We are pleased to present the Eastern Health Strategic Plan
Eastern Health 2031 – Healthier Together, sets a clear direction for how we respond to the changing needs of the diverse, growing, and ageing communities we serve, while strengthening our role as a trusted partner within Victoria’s health system. The Strategy reflects what we have heard from consumers, carers, community members, staff, and partners. It is grounded in evidence, system priorities, and our responsibility to steward services and resources that our region and state rely on.
Eastern Health 2031 – Healthier Together is anchored in clear strategic intentions. We will focus on home and community-based care, so people experience better and safer outcomes and experiences, with clearer pathways. We will become a more digitally enabled health service, with platforms that enhance information integration, and well-governed adoption of new technologies. We will create the conditions for a workforce that feels safe, valued and empowered, enabling staff to focus on what matters most.
We will also strengthen Eastern Health as a learning organisation where improvement is part of daily practice, encouraging new ideas and different ways of working. Sustainability will be embedded across practices and the use of limited resources.
Eastern Health 2031 – Healthier Together recognises our broader contribution through teaching, research, innovation, and the critical partnerships that support our communities. We will continue to deliver
high-value care and lead where it matters, across the Victorian health system.
Eugene Arocca
Chair, Eastern Health Board
Helen Cooper
Chief Executive
Eastern Health’s role in the health of our community
Eastern Health is one of Victoria’s largest public health services. As a values‑led, integrated health service, we deliver high quality care, support and service to a broad and diverse community.
Our catchment is forecast to increase from 892,213 people (2021) to 1,035,407 people by 2036, with growth predominantly driven by older age groups. Compared to other Victorian metropolitan health services, Eastern Health has the highest proportion of people aged over 65 within our community, resulting in relatively higher health needs with more people living with one or more long‑term health conditions. This population profile will increase demand and require new capabilities in the care of older people, balanced with our enduring commitment to care across all life stages.
Our communities are diverse, with people bringing different cultures, languages, histories and lived experiences. Many experience barriers to good health because of disability, disadvantage or geography. Understanding this diversity shapes how we design care so it is equitable, culturally safe and tailored to meet people where they are.
More than 4,700 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live within our catchment, and we will continue to work in partnership to provide culturally safe care and close the health gap.
Around 65% of our staff live in the communities we serve. Our workforce is part of the community, not separate from it, and this deep connection strengthens trust and shared purpose. It also reinforces an Eastern Health identity grounded in kindness and care – because the people providing our services are often the same people raising families here, supporting neighbours, and living the realities of the community every day.
Eastern Health stewards critical statewide and regional services entrusted to us, alongside local services that keep care closer to home. Our scale and reach across multiple sites and settings means we play an important role in enabling connected pathways, supporting patient flow, and delivering safe, reliable care that our region and the broader Victorian health system rely on.
We are part of the East Metro and Murrindindi Local Health Service Network, working with partners to coordinate care closer to home, improve quality and safety, build sustainable workforces, and share capability at scale. We will continue to strengthen partnerships with consumers and carers, community health and primary care providers, local government, and other health services to improve access, equity and care outcomes
Key Metrics About Our Population
- Compared to other Victorian metropolitan health services, Eastern Health currently has the highest proportion of its catchment population over 65 years.
- The Eastern Health catchment population has relatively higher health needs compared to most other metropolitan health services, with a smaller proportion of the population having no pre-existing health conditions.
- We provide care across the largest catchment of any metropolitan health service, which is diverse in age,
gender, socioeconomic status, health burden and access to healthcare services. - The community we care for has better health outcomes for many chronic illnesses, however there are significant areas of disadvantage with higher rates of mental illness, suicide and youth mortality.
Informing our plan
In developing this new Strategy for Eastern Health, we recognise the changing environment we are planning for.
Pressures on access, workforce and resources are increasing, alongside expectations to shift more care to home and community settings, strengthen partnerships across the system, and modernise digital and information foundations. These system changes require Eastern Health to be clear about what we will prioritise, how we will work with partners, and how we will sustain safe, high‑quality care over time.
Our new plan aligns with relevant national and state legislation, frameworks and plans, and will ensure that our efforts continue to support not only what is important to our local community but to meet our broader obligations and stakeholder priorities.
This plan reflects what we have heard from our community, workforce and partners, and is grounded in evidence and system priorities. It has been developed through a structured planning process, including:
- analysis of our external environment and internal risks,
- engagement with staff, consumers, carers, community representatives and system partners,
- site‑based staff consultation and professional council input, and
- Board and Executive workshops to shape and refine key elements of values, focus and outcomes.
Together, these inputs have shaped Eastern Health 2031 – Healthier Together, ensuring the Strategy is credible, aligned to system reform, and positioned to guide Eastern Health into the future.
Key metrics about our organisation
Since the launch of our previous Strategic Plan, Eastern Health’s scale, reach and contribution to the health of our community has grown.
Compared with 2021-22, in 2024-25:
- We delivered 1.57 million episodes of care (up 15%).
- We completed 42,063 theatre cases (up 32%).
- We provided 35,885 interpreter services (up 20%).
- Our workforce reached more than 12,000 staff (up 8%).
- We accommodated more than 4,000 student placements (up 26%).
- We provided 349,909 specialist clinic appointments (up 25%).
- We led or contributed to the publication of more than 500 research articles.
Strategy 2031
Healthier together
- Connected and trusted
- Focused on people
- Enabled by technology
Our focuses
- Home and community care
- Supporting and developing our people
- Learning and research
- Integrating digital and information systems
Our outcomes
- Improved access and equity
- People feel safe, valued and empowered
- Better care and experiences
- Embedded sustainability and improvement
Underpinned by our Values in action
- Respect for all
- Safe and welcoming
- Partnering in care
- Innovate, learn and lead
Values in Action
Our Values in action provide the foundation for how we work; with each other, with our community, and for our community
Respect for all
- We value everyone’s contributions across professions, programs and campuses, creating opportunities for all staff to feel proud of working at Eastern Health.
- We create a respectful and inclusive environment, and address inappropriate behaviours promptly and consistently.
- We listen actively to understand, giving feedback respectfully and addressing concerns directly.
- We seek diverse perspectives to inform our decisions, ensuring our choices reflect the communities we serve and support individualised care.
- We acknowledge unique identities, backgrounds and needs, and treat all people with respect and dignity.
Safe and welcoming
- We show kindness, support and connection, so that everyone feels seen, heard and supported.
- We create a physically, culturally and psychologically safe environment, where everyone feels protected, respected and welcome.
- We speak up for safety, raising concerns, challenging unsafe situations and addressing issues through a just culture that supports learning and accountability.
- We use the right resources, tools and environment to enable staff to work safely, confidently and to their full capability.
- The safety and wellbeing of our staff and patients is our priority, underpinning our decisions and actions.
Partnering in care
- We value the patient voice, respect lived experience and support people to make informed decisions.
- We collaborate by working across professions, departments and teams, with our partners bringing our collective expertise together.
- We design and improve care with consumers, carers and staff by listening, responding and closing the loop.
- We make decisions together, involving people in the conversations and decisions that impact them.
- We work together to work better, delivering connected, compassionate and inclusive care.
Innovate, learn and lead
- We encourage new ideas and different ways of working, and are constantly seeking better ways to deliver care and services.
- We lead with curiosity, empowering people at every level to question, learn and contribute to be.er ways of working.
- We test new ideas, using evidence, data and insights, rather than assumptions.
- We learn from our experiences, celebrating success, reflecting openly and supporting an environment where trying, learning and improving are valued.
- We use our collective expertise to drive excellence, including opportunities to showcase innovation, capability and leadership.
Our Focuses
Home and community care
We will
Provide more connected care in people’s homes and across our communities, with hospital care available when it is the best option.
Why this matters
The range and diversity of health services should match the breadth and diversity of our community. Patients getting the right type of care for their health and personal needs, ensures our most acute services are always available to those who need it most.
Supporting and developing our people
We will
Create a workplace where our people feel safe, included and supported, enabling individuals and teams to grow and do their best work.
Why this matters
A world-class workforce is critical to retention, culture and our ability to deliver the best care across our community.
Learning and research
We will
Embed interprofessional education and research into our everyday work, with systems to translate new ideas and evidence into the care we deliver.
Why this matters
A health service that learns and shares knowledge, achieves better outcomes, delivers better value and helps shape the future of care for all in our community.
Integrating digital and information systems
We will
Modernise our digital tools and information systems to support safer care, smoother experiences and better decisions.
Why this matters
Reliable, connected systems make healthcare easier, decisionmaking more transparent and open the door to new ways of supporting people.
Our Outcomes
Improved access and equity
What success will look like
- More people access care closer to home.
- Priority populations experience more equitable outcomes.
- Preventable admissions are avoided.
- Timely access to the right care is available.
People feel safe, valued and empowered
What success will look like
- Physical, psychological and cultural safety are embedded in everyday practice.
- Staff and consumers experience a respectful, inclusive and supportive health service.
- Recognition of staff contributions is visible across the organisation.
- Learning, development and leadership opportunities are accessible to our people.
- Staff engagement and retention improve across workforce groups.
Better care and experiences
What success will look like
- People receive high quality care that feels seamless, respectful and supportive.
- Patients, families and carers experience clear information, understand and are involved in planning their own health.
- Feedback reflects trust, confidence and satisfaction.
Embedded sustainability and improvement
What success will look like
- Everyday processes are enabled by digital systems, making the best use of time and effort.
- Improvements are enduring.
- Resources are used wisely, supporting long-term financial and environmental sustainability.
- We manage for today while preparing for the future.
How we will deliver Eastern Health 2031
Our Strategy will be brought to life through how people connect, make decisions and act together every day for our patients, our staff and our community.
It will be sustained through active engagement, shared ownership and visible leadership, so it is not just understood but genuinely lived in practice. Each year, the long‑term intent will be expressed through clear priorities and actions that are taken up by leaders, teams and partners as part of their everyday work, rather than treated as a separate planning exercise.
Eastern Health’s Annual Business Plan and multi-year supporting plans will translate our longer-term intent into clear priorities, actions and delivery pathways. The supporting plans will provide detailed direction for key areas of work, helping to sequence effort, guide decision-making and connect annual priorities with the broader outcomes we are working towards.The Eastern Health Board, supported by the Chief Executive and Executive team, will oversee delivery of the Strategy. We will regularly report progress against our outcomes to our staff, our community and other stakeholders, including how we are meeting our responsibilities as a Victorian public health service through the annual Statement of Priorities, our shared Local Health Service Network Statement of Expectations and other system requirements.
We will reflect on progress collectively and openly, using both formal governance and ongoing dialogue across the organisation, enabling us to respond to emerging community needs and system change. We will report transparently on outcomes and experience, and maintain regular, meaningful communication with consumers, staff and partners so the Strategy remains relevant, trusted and woven into daily conversations and behaviours. This will help us hold ourselves and each other to account through relationships and practice, not just processes, continuing to build trust, drive continuous improvement and evolve this shared commitment over time.
How can you share your feedback
Eastern Health is committed to listening and working in partnership with its community and partners, and we welcome your feedback.
If you have any feedback about the strategic plan, you can share it by sending an email to StrategicPlan@easternhealth.org.au.
If you have feedback about the care you have received from Eastern Health, please speak directly with the staff involved in your care, or by sending an email to feedback@easternhealth.org.au or contacting our Centre for Patient Experience on 1800-EASTERN (1800-327-837).