Peak health body Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association enters liquidation
Australia’s peak body for the public hospital sector has plunged into liquidation amid legal woes, owing creditors - including staff - hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Australia’s peak body for public and not-for-profit hospitals and healthcare providers has collapsed into liquidation owing creditors including staff hundreds of thousands of dollars.
It comes as the liquidators of the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA) revealed the company was facing multiple legal proceedings, including a $200,000 discrimination claim from a former staff member and two others worth $1.5m over alleged damages and contract breaches.
Established in 1946, the industry-based association was involved in policy advocacy, health system reform, research through the Deeble Institute for Health Policy, and consulting, and published the peer-reviewed Australian Health Review.
Its members included state and territory health departments, public hospitals, community health services, primary health networks, aged care providers, universities, academics and individual health professionals.
Insolvency experts Barry Kogan and Shane O’Keeffe of McGrathNicol were first appointed as voluntary administrators on September 29, with creditors voting to place the company into liquidation on Tuesday after no rescue deal was put forward by the company.
Due to the financial and operational position of AHHA, the liquidators said they were unable to trade the not-for-profit business during the administration, and instead undertook an orderly wind-down of operations.
Several expressions of interest have been received for the acquisition of the company’s intellectual property, including the website, registered business names, trademarks, as well as the rights, title and interest in AHHA’s journals, publications and agreements with third parties.
The closure of the AHHA has been described as a “devastating loss” for Australia’s health system.
“For eight decades it championed the same values we stand for – universal, high quality care,” Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (ASMOF) NSW president Dr Nicholas Spooner said.
“ASMOF will continue that fight through our campaign for fair pay, safe hours and properly staffed hospitals so that we can provide the quality healthcare our community needs and deserves.”
Employees were listed as being owed a total of $155,902 from the collapse, including $24,667 in unpaid wages, $26,721 in superannuation, $28,428 in annual leave and $12,546 in long service leave.
Documents lodged with the corporate regulator by the directors disclose additional unsecured creditors totalling $139,198 – made up of trade creditors and money owed to HESTA Partnership in relation to a sponsorship arrangement.
They said there were additional matters that may represent further unsecured creditor claims, including $38,817 owed to the tax office on returns not yet due at the time, and $200,000 in income received in advance from a client for work not yet completed.
The liquidators also detailed legal cases on foot against the business, including a $211,421 claim from an ex-employee relating to damages due to alleged discrimination.
“We note that proceedings were commenced in the Federal Court on 2 April 2025 and the directors’ views are that this claim is invalid and accordingly, it has not been accrued for in AHHA’s records,” they said.
They said there were two additional claims totalling $1.5m from parties who “appear to be claiming alleged damages and breach of contract claims”.
“We have sighted correspondence from AHHA disputing these claims and note that these parties have not been recorded in AHHA’s financial statements for this reason,” they said.
AHHA operated from its owned premises in the Deakin West health precinct in the ACT and employed seven staff before its collapse.
Its current directors are listed as Susan McKee, Jillian Skinner, Anna King, Michael Brydon, Anthony Schembri, Michael Bosel, Tina Janamian and Annette Crothers.
The liquidators said the association’s income – mainly from membership fees, grants, consultancies, sponsorships, and customer contracts – had declined in recent years, with revenue falling by 26 per cent and 9 per cent in FY24 and FY25 respectively.
Company records show that the business recorded a loss of $239,000 in FY24, $146,000 in FY25 and $355,000 year-to-date FY26.
AHHA’s largest expense was salaries and employee entitlement related expenses, the liquidators revealed, which had continued to increase despite revenue materially reducing.
They said the directors attributed the failure to general economic circumstances facing the healthcare industry, decreases in healthcare discretionary spending, declining membership numbers, reduced trading income, inadequate cash flow and legal claims against AHHA.
It is not yet known what dividend will be paid to unsecured creditors, but the liquidators estimated that employee entitlements would be paid in full, subject to the amount realised from the sale of the company’s assets.
In a liquidation, most employees can claim a significant portion of their entitlements through the government-funded compensation scheme, Fair Entitlements Guarantee.
News Corp has contacted the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association for comment.
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Originally published as Peak health body Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association enters liquidation
