Health services welcome Health Minister’s formal approval of Bayside Health voluntary merger

29 August 2025
Female nurse smiling at camera by patient bedside

We welcome the Victorian Minister for Health’s formal approval of the proposed voluntary merger to create Bayside Health — a unified health service that will bring Alfred Health, Bass Coast Health, Gippsland Southern Health Service, Kooweerup Regional Health Service and Peninsula Health together.

This milestone marks an important step forward in our shared commitment to improving health outcomes for the 1.2 million people across our communities.

With the Minister’s approval of the voluntary merger, recruitment for the incoming board has also commenced. This board will then appoint Bayside Health’s first Chief Executive.

When Bayside Health officially begins on 1 January 2026, it will serve a broad region spanning Melbourne’s southern suburbs and the Bayside area, through the Mornington Peninsula, and extending to Koo Wee Rup, Phillip Island, Bass Coast, and Gippsland.

Our five existing health services are already collaborating to better connect care, enhance patient experience, and identify opportunities to deliver more services closer to home.

Importantly, all staff from each health service will transition to Bayside Health on 1 January 2026. Our hospitals and healthcare sites will continue to operate under their existing names, with the same staff delivering the same trusted care for their communities.

We are building a stronger, more connected health system together.

logos for Alfred Health, Bass Coast Health, Gippsland Southern Health Service, Kooweerup Regional Health Service and Peninsula Health

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