Key legal updates for community health leaders

In 2025, the Victorian community health sector is navigating a complex landscape.

In February 2025, Russell Kennedy held an exclusive lunch event in collaboration with the Victorian Healthcare Association (VHA) for community health leaders. The purpose of this event was to provide them with key legal updates, to help navigate their organisations confidently in this new year.

With our expertise in Aged Care, Governance, Privacy Law and Workplace Relations, we had Principals Jonathan Teh, Victor Harcourt, Gina Tresidder, Libby Pallot and Consultant Michael Gorton AM facilitating these important conversations. 

Here are the summary of the essential legal insights community health leaders should be aware of:

Privacy & Data Breach

Community health organisations are being impacted from recent privacy and data breach law reforms in Australia. These changes, aimed at enhancing data protection, will require organisations to make adjustments in data management and cybersecurity practices.

Some actions community health organisations may need to take are:

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Read our latest Privacy alert written by Principal Gina Tresidder

Governance Update

There are significant governance updates in 2025, which aligns with evolving health policies. Key developments include:

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Read more here

Aged Care 

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Read our latest Aged Care alert written by Principals Victor Harcourt and Anita Courtney 

Workplace Relations - Wage Theft Law

The introduction of wage theft laws has implications for community health leaders and organisations. These laws criminalise the intentional underpayment of wages and other employee entitlements, introducing stringent penalties for non-compliance.

Here are some implications for community health organisation, and some actions leaders in the space may want to consider:

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Read our latest Workplace Relations alert written by Principal Libby Pallot

How we can help

Russell Kennedy work closely with community health clients as they face governance, risk, employment, contractual, insurance and management issues. We partner with community health clients, taking the time to understand long term objectives, operational requirements, and operating issues.

If you have questions or require further assistance, please contact Principal Jonathan Teh or a member of our Health team.

If you would like to stay up-to-date with Russell Kennedy’s Alerts and Insights from our Health team, you can subscribe to our mailing list here.