PRESS RELEASE: VBHC leaders gather in Melbourne to turn value-based care into reality

On the eve of Australia’s Federal Election, hundreds of Australia’s leading health thinkers are meeting in Melbourne this week to explore the opportunities within Australia’s healthcare systems to shift the focus from the volume of services delivered, to the outcomes that matter to people and communities, through a range of transformative programs, policies and consumer experiences.

Opened by the Hon Mary-Anne Thomas, Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Victoria, the 2025 Value-Based Health Care (VBHC) Congress is being hosted by the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association Limited (AHHA Ltd) and runs from Thursday, 1 May to Friday, 2 May at ZINC at Fed Square.

Focused on the adoption of VBHC in Australia, the Congress will explore both the practical opportunities and the challenges involved in embedding VBHC principles to improve patient outcomes and ensure the long-term sustainability of the health system.

Program highlights include:

Keynote Associate Professor Hairil Abdullah: A leading voice in Singapore’s VBHC reforms, A/Prof Abdullah will share lessons from SingHealth’s outcome-driven models and how AI can support value across large health systems.

Aligning incentives through funding and pricing: Experts from across the public and private health sectors will explore how payment models can shift care to value, including strategies to reduce out-of-pocket costs and better integrate health, disability and aged care.

Resilience of the care pathway: Discussion will focus on challenges and enablers for systems to stay focused on outcomes in the face of increasing workforce pressures, climate change, and technological threats.

The pain of change—well-managed disinvestment: A frank look at how to responsibly phase out low-value care and reinvest in high-value models that improve patient outcomes and sustainability.

Connecting beyond healthcare—avoiding the medicalisation of health: Health leaders and community experts will explore the growing understanding that is more than just infrastructure, but rather the culture of the people and communities that it serves and the importance of working across sectors like housing, employment and education to realise this.

The 2025 VBHC Congress is being held in partnership with the University of Melbourne and supported by Philips Healthcare.