Primary Health Networks (PHNs) were established by the Department of Health and Aged Care on 1 July 2015 as a delivery model for primary health care. PHNs have two key objectives:

1. improving the efficiency and effectiveness of health services for people, particularly those at risk of poor health outcomes; and
2. improving the coordination of health services and increasing access and quality support for people.

PHNs are non-government organisations funded through Australian Government grants. PHNs work across seven priority health areas comprising mental health, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, population health, the health workforce, digital health, aged care, and alcohol and other drug services.

This audit aims to provide assurance to the Parliament that Health is appropriately monitoring compliance and performance of individual PHNs, as well as the overall performance of the PHN delivery model.

Key findings:

• The Department of Health and Aged Care has been partly effective in its performance management of Primary Health Networks.
• Health has established largely fit-for-purpose compliance and assurance arrangements for PHNs and the PHN delivery model, although these arrangements were first established in 2021, almost six years after the implementation of the PHN delivery model.
• Health has not demonstrated that the PHN delivery model is achieving its objectives. Health had no evaluation plans for the PHN delivery model after 2018. Health has not conducted a comprehensive delivery model evaluation.