Women's Health Week: Landmark year expands care for Victorian women and girls

Whether it's a specialist clinic in their local community, a telehealth appointment from home or a mobile health service visiting their town’s doorstep, more Victorian women and girls are accessing healthcare tailored to their needs than ever before.

This Jean Hailes Women's Health Week, Victoria is celebrating significant progress in women's health with more accessible and affordable care. New and expanding services and initiatives are helping thousands of women access care for symptoms and conditions that have historically been overlooked, underdiagnosed or difficult to access care for.

One of the standout successes has been the state's Virtual Women's Health Clinic. Since launching, the service has supported more than 1,000 women and girls through phone and video appointments, helping remove barriers to care such as long wait times or distance from services. With GP and nurse-led telehealth appointments, women can access abortion care, sexual health care, contraception prescriptions and support for conditions including pelvic pain, endometriosis and menopause from the comfort of home – or anywhere. The Virtual Clinic was recently announced as a finalist in the Victorian Public Healthcare Awards for the Excellence in Women’s Healthcare award category for its success in improving access to care, enabling earlier intervention and driving more equitable health outcomes for women across Victoria.

For women who live outside metropolitan Melbourne, services are reaching communities in new ways. This year, Nina, Victoria's Mobile Women's Health Clinic, marked her first year on the road, bringing free healthcare directly to regional and rural communities. Since launching, Nina has visited 34 towns across the state and supported more than 1,150 women and girls with services ranging from cervical and breast screening to contraception and menopause care.

More than 16,000 women have now received care through Victoria's growing network of Women's Health Clinics, which provide free specialist support for conditions including endometriosis, chronic pelvic pain, heavy periods, menopause, perimenopause, prolapse and incontinence. This year will see the last tranche of Women’s Health Clinics open their doors, with all 20 clinics expected to be open by November 2026.

At the same time, Victoria's network of 20 Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Hubs continue to improve access to free and low-cost care. In the past financial year alone, more than 12,500 women received support through the hubs, including more than 3,400 appointments for long-acting reversible contraception and over 1,700 women accessing abortion care.

Improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls remains another critical focus. Over the past year, the Aboriginal Women's Health Clinic celebrated its first year of operation, having supported more than 400 Aboriginal women and girls through its Frankston and Thomastown locations. Fifty scholarships were also awarded to health workers employed by Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs), helping strengthen the Aboriginal women's health workforce for the future.

A stronger focus on early intervention for pelvic pain is helping young Victorians. Last month saw the launch of the Kids and Teens Pelvic Pain Clinical Network, the first statewide service dedicated to supporting the early diagnosis and treatment of pelvic pain and painful periods in children and young people under 18.

Research and innovation continue to drive change. This year, fifteen new research projects commenced through the Women's Health Research Catalyst Grants program, investigating areas including sexual and reproductive health, cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, cancer and neurodegenerative conditions. The projects aim to bridge historical gaps in women's health research and strengthen the evidence base for future care.

Helping women navigate the health system remains a key priority, with Women’s Health Victoria’ 1800 My Options service recently reaching the milestone of 50,000 calls since its inception in 2018. The free and confidential service now receives an average of 730 calls each month, connecting Victorians with information and referrals for contraception, abortion and sexual and reproductive healthcare.

Momentum for reform continued with the release of the Bridging the Gender Pain Gap report in November 2025, informed by the experiences of 13,000 women, girls, gender-diverse people, carers and clinicians who contributed to Victoria's Inquiry into Women's Pain. The report established a roadmap to drive improvements in how women’s pain is understood, diagnosed and treated.

Practical changes are already underway including the recently announced availability of the green whistle (Penthrox) available free of charge for IUD procedures at Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Hubs. The pain relief option gives women greater choice when accessing the long-acting contraception option.

This Women's Health Week, the message is clear: women's health matters.

Across Victoria, more women and girls are accessing the care, information and support they need through a growing range of health services and initiatives, wherever they live and whatever stage of life they're in.

Find out more about how the Women’s Health and Wellbeing Program is bridging the gap in women’s healthcare.