Country Hearing Care receives state award for hearing and brain health roadshow

The Rural Victorian Workforce Agency (RWAV) has granted a 2026 Victorian Rural Health Award to Country Hearing Care.

One of the largest independent audiology providers in Australia, Country Hearing Care received the Outstanding Contribution to Rural Outreach Provision Award.

The award recognises a health professional, team or organisation that has made significant contributions in providing outreach services to rural and regional communities.

The 13 award winners were announced in an online virtual event on 25 June 2026.

Country Hearing Care is an independent audiology provider with more than 25 clinicians, operating in 10 rural sites across three states – Victoria, NSW and South Australia.

Some of the team during the roadshow, from left, a Dementia Australia employee, Gavin Clarke (CHC audiometry screener, Mildura), Vicki Walker (Njernda Aboriginal Corporation), Maddison Kennedy (CHC clinical services manager), Bertilla Campbell (Mallee Division of General Practice nurse), and Malcolm Comfort (CHC managing director). Image: Country Hearing Care.

Brain health roadshow

Audiologist, and clinical services manager, Maddison Kennedy said the hearing and brain health roadshow took months of planning. In partnership with Dementia Australia, Country Hearing Care took its hearing bus across Victoria to deliver education on dementia and modifiable risk factors to First Nations communities throughout the region.

“We donated our time, services and staff to work with Dementia Australia to run a one week ‘roadshow’ with local First Nations communities along the Murray River,” she told HPA.

“We conducted hundreds of hearing screenings and ran five education sessions, focusing on hearing health and brain health.

“To acknowledge the value of this collaboration, we were awarded the RWAV’s ‘Outstanding Contribution to Rural Outreach Provision Award’.”

The award accolade from the RWAV featuring CHC Mildura’s audiometry screener Gavin Clark and audiologist Fiona DeBoo. Image: RWAV.

The week-long initiative visited Mildura, Robinvale, Swan Hill, Kerang and Echuca.

“We spent time with communities supported by incredible organisations including Mallee District Aboriginal Services – MDAS, Murray Valley Aboriginal Co-Op, and Njernda Aboriginal Corporation.

“It was an incredibly rewarding and humbling experience. We’re grateful to everyone who contributed to making the roadshow such a success and we look forward to growing this initiative in the future,” Kennedy said.

It also runs 42 visiting hearing clinics in regional towns and aged care facilities across Victoria and in Broken Hill.