Not-for-profit health insurance: where the money actually goes

Latrobe Health Services is a not-for-profit health insurer with more than 112,000 members across Australia. Established in 1950 in regional Victoria, we’re now a national fund and our profits go back into members and community health and wellbeing programs, not into shareholders' pockets. That means more than 500,000 free health checks through the Shane Warne Legacy. It means free mental health care for regional Victorians who would otherwise wait months. It means health, inclusion and belonging programs for young people through The Huddle alongside North Melbourne Football Club. And it means a The Latrobe Health Services Foundation with a $10 million funding pool for rural and regional Australia. Here’s the proof.

We invest into our members and communities, not shareholders' pockets.

What does not-for-profit health insurance actually mean?

It means nobody takes a cut. Latrobe Health Services is member-owned, so our profits are reinvested in member services and community health and wellbeing programs rather than paid to shareholders.

Our Community Program is focused on health and wellbeing work first. It goes into prevention, access, and the things that keep people well long before a hospital is involved.

How far does Latrobe Health’s community work reach?

Across Australia. Latrobe Health Services is a national fund, and the community work goes where the need is. Free Shane Warne Legacy Health Checks run right across the country. The Huddle programs we fund run in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland. And the Latrobe Health Services Foundation backs health initiatives in regional and rural communities, anywhere in Australia.

What is the Shane Warne Legacy Health Check?

The Shane Warne Legacy Health Check is a free five-minute check on a self-serve SiSU Health station, open to anyone aged 18 and over. It checks blood pressure, heart rate, body composition, diabetes risk and estimated heart age. Your results come through straight away, ready to take to your GP. No appointment, no referral, no cost. You’ll spend longer choosing a coffee.

The self-serve health checks are supported by clinicians who deliver finger-prick blood tests that provide deeper insights into your blood sugar and cholesterol.

Since we supported the launch of the program as Founding Partner in 2023, more than 500,000 free Shane Warne Legacy Health Checks have been delivered across the country.

Find out more about the Shane Warne Legacy Health Check and where to find your nearest health station.

This is preventative health at its simplest. Most of what raises your risk of heart disease or diabetes is invisible until somebody measures it. Five minutes is enough to find out, and to give you a reason to see your GP if something looks off.

What is Latrobe Health’s partnership with The Huddle and North Melbourne Football Club?

The Huddle helps young people learn, grow and belong. It is the community arm of the North Melbourne Football Club, set up in 2010 with the Scanlon Foundation and the Australian Multicultural Foundation. It uses sport as the way in, and works on social inclusion, education and careers for young people in multicultural, migrant and regional communities and their families.

The Huddle is the largest community program in the AFL. Close to 200,000 young people have been through its programs since 2010.

We’re proud to back Huddle Up in Community Hubs, running social sport and active recreation for women from migrant, First Nations and culturally diverse backgrounds across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and into South Australia.

Connection, confidence and regular activity are health outcomes, not soft extras. That is why a health insurer is in this at all. Access to them is not evenly spread, and that gap shows up in the health of whole communities.

Latrobe Health Services is the Official Health Insurance Partner of the North Melbourne Football Club AFL & AFLW teams, an Official Partner of The Huddle, and the club’s Coaches Partner (that’s the bit you’ll spot on a Saturday). We also back the club’s SuperClash, which raises money for the Good Friday Appeal.

Health cover is our day job. Helping people look after their wellbeing beyond game day is the rest of it.

How does Latrobe Health support mental health in regional Victoria?

Latrobe Health Services funds Phoenix Australia to deliver trauma care to people in regional and rural Victoria. Phoenix Australia is the Australian National Centre of Excellence in Posttraumatic Mental Health. It is a non-profit affiliated with the University of Melbourne, and developed the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) treatment guidelines for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Our funding pays for three things:

• Training for GPs across regional Victoria to recognise and diagnose PTSD, so people get referred to the right care. More than 200 GPs have taken part
• Free bulk-billed telehealth assessment and short-term care for regional and rural Victorians, with no gap to pay
• A shorter wait. People wait about five weeks to be seen by the clinic, compared with about six months in the Victorian public system.

If you or someone close to you needs mental health support now, start with your GP or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

What is The Latrobe Health Services Foundation?

The Latrobe Health Services Foundation exists to deliver better health outcomes for Australians in rural and regional areas. As a national health insurer, we understand the challenges for rural and regional Australians can be different to metropolitan counterparts. The Foundation launched in 2025, backed by a $10 million funding pool from Latrobe Health Services, and it funds programs for members and non-members alike.

It works two ways. Strategic partnerships take on work that is too big for a single grant. Small grants back local initiatives that already know what their community needs. Both are judged against four pillars of health.

• Literacy of health care. Understanding health information and services well enough to make informed decisions
• Accessibility of health care. Making sure everyone can reach and use health services when they need them
• Equity of health care. Fair and just health services for everyone, whatever their background or circumstances
• Affordability of health care. Health services that people can actually afford.

Strategic partnerships

The Foundation’s first strategic partnership is with Phoenix Australia, the National Centre of Excellence in Posttraumatic Mental Health. Together we are developing and testing a mobile app built to improve mental health and wellbeing in rural and regional communities, where access to support is often limited.

People from rural and regional communities are helping design it, so it reflects what they need. Phoenix Australia is running a randomised controlled trial over three years to test whether it works.

Small grants

The Latrobe Health Small Grants Program funds community organisations running health initiatives in rural and regional Australia. Rounds open periodically through the year, and groups apply directly (no invitation needed).

Read the Latrobe Health Small Grants Program guidelines and apply, or find out more about The Latrobe Health Services Foundation.

Why does a health insurer do any of this?

Because it’s the right thing to do.

Health doesn’t start in a hospital. It starts at homes and in communities. Latrobe Health Services is not-for-profit and member-owned. There are no shareholders waiting on a return, so the surplus goes into health and community work instead. Being a not-for-profit health insurer means being active in health and community outcomes.