2025 Primary Health Awards winners driving positive change

Last year’s Primary Health Awards winners are already putting their prize funding to work, supporting innovative projects that are improving access to care, building workforce capability and strengthening community wellbeing across the Central and Eastern Sydney region.

The CESPHN Primary Health Awards celebrate the outstanding contribution of local primary health care professionals and organisations. While the awards recognise excellence, they also provide funding to help winners expand and enhance the initiatives making a difference in their communities.

A year on from the 2025 awards, winners have shared how they are using the funding to further their work and create lasting impact.

Excellence in General Practice: ADHD @ Your GP

The team behind ADHD @ Your GP used the award funding to continue expanding GP-led ADHD care in the community.

Dr Christopher Timms said the funding has supported ongoing efforts to strengthen local access to ADHD assessment and management.

“Dr Rebekah Hoffman and I have been selected as two of the only GP prescribers at Tier 2 in the Sutherland Shire to be trained to initiate medication for ADHD,” Dr Timms said.

“The award also encouraged a number of patients to come forward and seek assessment.”

The initiative is helping improve access to evidence-based ADHD care closer to home, reducing barriers for patients seeking support.

Excellence in Allied Health Practice: MediLearn

MediLearn has directed its award funding towards exploring the use of virtual reality technology for medication competency assessments in the aged care and community care sectors.

The project aims to create immersive, hands-on learning experiences that can be accessed by workers regardless of their location.

According to the organisation, the innovation has the potential to free up valuable time for busy care teams while improving access to practical training for remote and regional workers who may not otherwise have opportunities for face-to-face education.

The work builds on MediLearn’s mission to address medication management skill gaps identified through frontline clinical practice.

Excellence in Community Service Delivery: Waterloo Peer Education Program

The Waterloo Peer Education Program, delivered by Counterpoint Community Services and Sydney Local Health District, is preparing to use its award funding to support community engagement activities linked to the Waterloo Social Housing Tenants Survey.

The survey will explore the potential impacts of the Waterloo renewal project on tenants’ health and wellbeing.

Peer Educators will lead a range of activities designed to engage local residents and encourage participation in the survey, helping ensure community voices are heard and represented throughout the process.

Excellence in Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing Achievement: Tribal Warrior

Tribal Warrior was recognised for its outstanding contribution to Aboriginal health and wellbeing. CESPHN is continuing to work with the organisation to capture and share an update on how the award funding is supporting its important work in the community.

Nominations now closed for the 2026 Primary Health Awards

The achievements of our 2025 winners demonstrate the lasting impact that innovative primary health care initiatives can have when they are recognised and supported.

Nominations are now closed for the 2026 CESPHN Primary Health Awards, which recognise primary health care professionals and organisations that have provided exceptional service or made an outstanding contribution to primary health care in Central and Eastern Sydney during the previous financial year. Four award categories are available: Excellence in General Practice, Excellence in Allied Health Practice, Excellence in Community Service Delivery, and Excellence in Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing Achievement. Nominations closed at midnight on 14 August.

If you know an individual, team or organisation making a difference in the health of our communities, look out for nominaiotns for next year and help shine a spotlight on their achievements. Further information available on the CESPHN website.