General News
12 June, 2025
Department investigates claims against local health service
As seen in The Gilgandra Weekly on June 11, 2025.
The Department of Health is investigating claims made in the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) on May 24, 2025, that the local company that runs the Gilgandra Local Aboriginal Medical Service (GLAMS), Coonamble Aboriginal Health Service (CAHS), has misused company funds to pay for various overseas trips for board members, and reported a significant increase in vehicle expenses, while its services in Dubbo, Gilgandra, and Coonamble struggle to keep up with local health demands.
The SMH article, and various media reports since, have outlined the concerns of former staff members, who claim the overseas trip spending was unnecessary. CAHS has maintained that the increases in spending align with the growth in the organisation which receives federal and state funding, as well as non-government funds.
The allegations have caused local concern, with the mayors of the three local government areas, in contact with the health department and other local representatives, calling for them to intervene and investigate the claims to provide transparency to the community.
The department is now formally reviewing the claims and met with the health service’s chair Brendon Harris and CEO Phil Naden on May 29, along with other health and grant funding representatives to seek clarity from the organisation.
In a statement provided to The Gilgandra Weekly, a spokesperson for CAHS acknowledged that a formal departmental review is in progress, and said the service is “fully committed to transparency and accountability and will continue to cooperate with the review in an open and constructive manner”.
