HCF AND THEROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE

As Australia’s largest not-for-profit health fund, we’re committed to improving health outcomes for our members and communities and helping make quality healthcare more accessible for all Australians.

To help deliver on our social mission of building healthier communities, we’ve renewed our major partnership with the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) SA/NT for a further 3 years.

A collaboration between two trusted, long-established Australian health organisations, the partnership supports improved access to healthcare for people living in regional, rural and remote communities across South Australia and the Northern Territory.

We believe where you live shouldn’t determine the quality of healthcare you receive. That’s why we’re working alongside the Flying Doctor, as well as governments, healthcare providers and community partners, to help address the health inequities experienced by Australians living in remote and regional areas.

Through our renewed 3-year partnership, we’re supporting the purchase and maintenance of RFDS SA/NT aircraft, technology and the life-saving equipment needed to deliver emergency aeromedical services, primary healthcare and other essential health services across central Australia.

Every day, the HCF-supported RFDS aircraft November helps bring healthcare closer to people living in rural and remote communities across South Australia and Northern Territory. It’s one of the many ways our partnership is helping the RFDS deliver critical care and support to a patient every 10 minutes.

Since 1939, RFDS SA/NT has been a lifeline for South Australians and Territorians, delivering world-class emergency aeromedical and primary health care to around 50,000 people every year – one patient every 10 minutes. From life-saving evacuations to fly-in clinics and digital health solutions, the organisation brings essential care to the most isolated corners of the country.

RFDS SA/NT operates four aeromedical bases in Adelaide, Port Augusta, Alice Springs and Darwin, four remote community healthcare facilities in Andamooka, Marla, Marree and Innamincka, and a virtual emergency centre in William Creek in outback South Australia, as well as Patient Transfer Facilities in Mount Gambier, Renmark and Tennant Creek.

Every year, the Flying Doctor delivers the finest care to someone living, working or travelling in rural and remote South Australia and the Northern Territory through a combination of:

• 11,500+ patients transported by aeromedical aircraft 
• 9,000+ face-to-face primary health consultations 
• 4,400+ digital health consultations 
• 1,600+ oral health consultations 
• 800+ face-to-face mental health consultations 
• 1,900+ patients transported by road ambulance^*.

Every donation helps the Flying Doctor bring essential healthcare closer to people living in rural and remote South Australia and the Northern Territory. Together, we can support life-saving flights, vital medical equipment and healthcare services that can make a real difference to communities across the region.

HCF's approach to sustainability is grounded in our purpose of improving the health and wellbeing of our members and communities for the long term. As a member-owned organisation, we create sustainable value by improving access to affordable healthcare, supporting healthier communities through targeted social impact partnerships, and reducing our environmental footprint.

Recognising that a healthy environment underpins healthy communities, we’re focused on managing climate-related risks, supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy, and taking action to help create a healthier future for the people and communities we serve.

^* Figures accurate for FY25-26.