LHACs: Community voices shaping better healthcare
At a glance
2025 LHAC bi-annual Forum held in September – Theme: Community Centred Care
2 lived experiences shared in Speaking from Experience panel
26 active LHACs across the Murrumbidgee region
More than 180 community volunteers contributing to local health planning and advocacy
Local Health Advisory Committees (LHACs) play a vital role in ensuring healthcare reflects the needs of the communities it serves.
Working with Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network (MPHN) and Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD), 26 active LHAC committees operate across the Murrumbidgee, with more than 180 volunteers identifying local health needs, providing feedback, advocating for improved access to care and promoting health literacy and wellbeing.
In September 2025, LHAC members from across the region gathered at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga for the twice-yearly Forum, centred on Community Centred Care.
The two-day Forum put community experience at the heart of the conversation. Jenny Nixon and Richard Salcole shared their perspectives through the Speaking from Experience lived experience panel, while then MLHD Chief Executive Jill Ludford and then MPHN CEO Stewart Gordon joined discussions about the future of regional healthcare.
Participants explored practical examples of community-centred care, including Living Well, Your Way, the Active and Healthy program and Healthdirect’s Single Front Door approach to improving access to after-hours and urgent care.
Importantly, the Forum created space for LHACs to learn from each other – sharing something working well, something new and a challenge facing their community.
That exchange reflects the value of LHACs themselves. As trusted local voices, volunteers can connect people with health information and services in ways health organisations sometimes cannot.
Together, the Forum reinforced that community-centred care starts with listening to communities and empowering them to help shape the solutions.