H5 bird flu has now been detected in Hobsons Bay (Thursday 1 October 2026). Please be vigilant and if you see sick or dead birds or wildlife, follow the guidelines of the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.
Bird flu guidelines.
Published on 23 September 2026
When families in Hobsons Bay need help, their postcode shouldn’t decide whether they get it. Right now, it does.
I’ve sat on long wait lists trying to get public health support for my own child. Without private health insurance, crucial services can take years. The alternative - paying thousands out-of-pocket - is simply not an option for many families.
It’s not just specialists. Basic assessments, allied health, paediatric appointments, and early intervention programs are increasingly hard to access. Families wait months for appointments that should be available within weeks. When the basics are stretched, everything downstream suffers.
Across Melbourne’s west, disability assistance, family violence services, mental health support, and alcohol and drug treatment are stretched thin or located outside our city. Frontline workers tell the same story: families do everything right, yet the system makes them wait.
Those delays matter. Early intervention can change a life, keep a family safe, or prevent a crisis becoming catastrophic. When support comes too late, problems grow bigger, costs rise higher, and pressure lands on schools, hospitals, and already overloaded services.
This is why we’re pushing hard for change. Families shouldn’t have to fight this hard for basic support.
Council has made fair access to health and community services one of our top priorities. We’re advocating for stronger investment in Melbourne’s west, properly funded services, and a system that doesn’t punish people for living outside the inner suburbs.
Hobsons Bay City Council is seeking targeted investment in health and community services to ensure all residents can access the support they need, close to home.
Advocacy means naming the gaps clearly, demanding better, and refusing to accept a status quo that leaves families behind. We’re working with service providers and community organisations to ensure the voices of western suburbs families are heard. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but it won’t happen at all unless we keep the pressure on - consistently, publicly, and unapologetically.
Everyone deserves a fair chance to be healthy, supported, and connected. That starts with fixing the gaps that hold families back, and continuing to advocate until the system delivers what our community needs.