{"id":903558,"date":"2026-09-24T09:18:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T09:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/903558\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T09:18:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T09:18:21","slug":"cohealth-salaries-cohealth-spends-1-million-on-wages-and-crisis-communications-despite-financial-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/903558\/","title":{"rendered":"Cohealth salaries: cohealth spends $1 million on wages and crisis communications despite financial stress"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Gemma<\/p>\n

September 24, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n

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An embattled community health organisation is spending more than $1 million on two senior staff salaries and crisis communications \u2013 an amount almost equal to its recent government-funded emergency-bailout package.<\/p>\n

Internal meeting minutes and communications from not-for-profit provider cohealth reveal the high level of spending, which occurred as the federal government pledged $1.5 million in crisis funding last November to help the organisation stay afloat. On Thursday morning, Premier Ben Carroll said he would urgently look into the spending.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe cohealth clinic in Collingwood.Simon Schluter<\/p>\n

The amount includes a $3000-a-day remuneration for its transition chair, who works two days a week, and a $488,000 annual salary for its interim chief executive, as well as $288,000 on external crisis communications over an eight-month period, according to an insider with knowledge of the remuneration packages not authorised to speak publicly.<\/p>\n

Cohealth is a prominent local provider that operates general practitioner, counselling and pharmacy services for low-income residents across Collingwood, Fitzroy and Kensington. But the organisation has been grappling with severe financial and management issues.<\/p>\n

\"PaulPaul Geyer was appointed as transitional board chair of cohealth in August. <\/p>\n

Last October, it announced the axing of free medical services<\/a> and the planned sale of its Collingwood clinic in an attempt to lower costs. But a last-minute funding pledge<\/a> from the Albanese government following extreme <\/a>community backlash<\/a> put a pause to the proposed cuts.<\/p>\n

The transitional chair salary was specified in an internal document written during the appointment process, which laid out a possible weekly remuneration range of between $5000 and $7000 per week for the part-time position.<\/p>\n

The successful applicant, Paul Geyer, was appointed in August. He ultimately accepted a salary of $3000 per day for two days of work \u2013 or $6000 per week \u2013 according to internal communications. Internal communications also confirmed the $488,000 annual total remuneration package for interim chief executive Kate Gillan who was appointed on August 1 for a nine-month contract.<\/p>\n

Carroll told reporters on Thursday that \u201cwhatever position, whether you\u2019re in healthcare, you\u2019ve always got to be mindful of communities\u2019 expectations\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was pleased to be able to step in with ministers and support cohealth in Collingwood that was at risk of closing,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I will follow that up as a matter of urgency.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is not customary for a board chair at a not-for-profit organisation to be paid such a high amount, according to the national regulator of charities and Victorian government guidelines.<\/p>\n

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) website explains that most charities do not provide payment<\/a> to board members, but clarifies the practice is not prohibited, particularly at large organisations where the role is more complex.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

In its most recent AGM minutes from 2024, fellow community health organisation Holstep Health sets its annual board chair sitting fees between $14,626 and $30,978 \u2013 in line with the \u201cmedium-size organisations\u201d band of the Victorian government\u2019s board<\/a> remuneration guidelines.<\/p>\n

In the 2025 annual report of Peninsula Health \u2013 a major public healthcare service that oversees the new Peninsula University Hospital in Frankston \u2013 the highest-paid responsible person received between $430,000 and $439,999, while the next highest received between $80,000 and $89,999.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"An<\/a><\/p>\n

While specific wages aren\u2019t disclosed in public documents due to privacy concerns, in most organisations these remuneration amounts would represent that of the chief executive and the board chair, respectively.<\/p>\n

Geyer referred The Age to cohealth\u2019s statement. Gillan was approached for comment. <\/p>\n

A spokesperson from cohealth said the amount spent on its chief executive, chair and crisis communication costs were inaccurate, but did not respond to follow-up questions as to which figures were inaccurate or what figures would be correct.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reported figures are not accurate, but cohealth was provided with independent advice on the remuneration of executive and board roles, and they are consistent with other independent community health providers and align with the public sector,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

The unnamed internal source said the amount paid to Geyer and Gillan was completely inappropriate for a not-for-profit experiencing financial strain.<\/p>\n

\"AnAn emergency meeting was held at Fitzroy Town Hall last October after the now-cancelled decision to close cohealth\u2019s Collingwood clinic. Eddie Jim<\/p>\n

\u201c They\u2019re extracting money from an organisation whose purpose is to serve the community\u2019s most vulnerable,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n

An independent report<\/a> released by the federal government earlier this year provided a scathing review of the community health service, citing severe financial and management failures.<\/a> A board monitor was appointed<\/a> at the organisation in August for a 12-month term.<\/p>\n

The cohealth spokesperson said the organisation had been working hard alongside state and federal governments, its staff and wider community to rebuild trust following the governance issues raised in the review.<\/p>\n

\u201cSignificant work is already well underway \u2013 including strengthened governance, significant leadership renewal, and additional oversight measures \u2013 to create the foundation for stronger, more sustainable community healthcare services for many years to come,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

Greens MP for Richmond Gabrielle de Vietri said cohealth\u2019s leadership needs to remain accountable to the wider community.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe cohealth clinic in Kensington.Simon Schluter<\/p>\n

\u201cIf public funding intended to save frontline healthcare was instead being swallowed up by executive and board salaries, that would not pass the pub test,\u201d de Vietri said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community needs transparency about appointments, remuneration, government involvement and what is planned for cohealth\u2019s model of care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The state government announced on Monday it would fund the redevelopment of cohealth\u2019s Hoddle Street clinic in Collingwood, as well as building 69 new community housing dwellings on the site.<\/p>\n

The project\u2019s estimated cost will be announced following a Housing Australia Future Fund assessment process. Construction at the site is expected to start late next year, with the development expected to be completed by mid-2029.<\/p>\n

Health Minister Ingrid Stitt said that the government was continuing to work with cohealth to \u201cmonitor performance and support strong governance\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve also saved cohealth\u2019s Collingwood site so it can continue delivering the healthcare and support local residents rely on,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

De Vietri said the funding announcement was a victory for the local community, who have \u201crefused to let Labor abandon cohealth\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the local MP, I\u2019ll keep fighting alongside the community to make sure Labor delivers every cent, protects cohealth\u2019s services and never again leaves its future hanging by a thread,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"GemmaGemma Grant<\/a> is a city reporter at The Age. Contact her securely on Signal @gemmagrant.88Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"September 24, 2026 \u2014 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":903559,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[64,63,137,500],"class_list":["post-903558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-health","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/903559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}