In April 2026, Tasmanian Health Minister Bridget Archer and Medical Director Dr Johannes Schonborn announced that the Deloraine and Westbury Medical Centres would be the first sites for the TassieDoc initiative.
The expansion is designed to provide an additional 20,000 bulk-billed GP appointments per year for the Meander Valley region.
Key details of the announcement include:
Infrastructure Upgrades: The project will add two new consulting rooms at Deloraine and one additional consulting space at Westbury.
Workforce Increase: The expansion includes funding to hire three more GPs across the two sites to support the increased capacity.
Community Impact: The initiative aims to provide more affordable, free healthcare “closer to home,” reducing the need for residents to travel to Launceston for GP services.
Funding Model: While TassieDoc was initially discussed as a plan for state-run clinics, this first rollout utilizes a grant-based model to support existing private practices.
The selection of these sites followed an Expression of Interest (EOI) process that assessed factors such as clinical capability and demonstrated community need.