The health system in remote Australia are broken. Long-term and persistent workforce shortages, non-viable services, and fragmentation of care have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote health services’ struggles to keep clinics open are evident, with many clinics forced to close or offer reduced services. Nowhere and at no time is the need for access to an effective comprehensive Primary Health Care (PHC) system more urgent than in remote Australia right now. Residents of remote areas of Australia, characterised by the poorest health status and greatest health needs, many with multiple complex chronic diseases, are bearing the brunt of the current primary health care system crisis and marked decline in access to primary health care. Health care providers and authorities are struggling with excessive levels of staff burnout and turnover, inequitable funding and escalating service costs, and structural barriers resulting from a fragmented health care system.

The new CRE for Strengthening Health Systems in Remote Australia (CRESTRA), led by Menzies School of Health Research, seeks to address the current crisis through leveraging strong partnerships built over many years with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory, NT Health, Health Communities Foundation Australia and NT Primary Health Network/NT Rural Workforce Agency.