It’s time to have more social workers in general practice — and fund them properly

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Housing insecurity, family violence, financial stress, social isolation, difficulties accessing the NDIS — these critical social determinants of health don’t fit neatly into a 15-minute consult. As healthcare consultants we regularly hear GP and nurse frustration at not having the resources and skills to help in these areas.

This is exactly where social workers shine.

The evidence is promising

  • ACT pilot: Four practices embedded social workers for 18+ months. Over 500 patients supported in a year, with improved care experiences, better GP capacity, and stronger continuity. The big barrier? No dedicated, sustainable funding.
  • North Queensland (NQPHN & JCU): Six clinics integrating social workers are seeing similar early benefits — better support for complex needs and reduced pressure on clinicians.
  • Literature: Consistently shows better outcomes and stronger team-based care when social work is funded.

My take: We need to resource social care inside general practice — much like many Aboriginal Health Services and Community Health Services have been doing for years.  Co-located social workers help practices close the loop from assessment to action to follow-up.

The national Scope of Practice Review calls for removing such barriers so all health professionals can work to full scope. Social work should be part of that conversation.

The funding gap: Current MBS options are far too limited. Blended payments — like those enabled under MyMedicare — could finally make this sustainable, rewarding practices for outcomes and continuity, not just throughput.

What’s next:

  1. Scale the pilots via PHNs to enhance proof of concept.
  2. Switch on blended payments tied to MyMedicare registration and outcomes (please!).  The Commonwealth has already built the Organisational Payment Capability to support blended models under MyMedicare. That’s the mechanism to bundle incentives and (eventually) team-based payments so practices can employ the right mix of roles, including social workers, and be rewarded for outcomes and continuity. Health, Disability and Ageing
  3. Measure impact to sustain — patient-reported outcomes, avoided hospital use, and provider satisfaction.  Use the Quintuple Aim as a guide.  The ACT pilot recommends economic analysis — let’s do it. Capital Health Network

The Commonwealth Fund has made clear that Australia’s big achilles heel is poor service integration.  If we want better clinical results, we must solve the social side of the ledger. Social workers in general practice are a practical, patient-friendly, and — with the right funding — sustainable solution.

Curious how your practice or PHN could make this work? Let’s discuss models, funding options and evaluation strategies.

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