North Yarra Community Health, (NYCH) was established as a result of the amalgamation of Carlton, Collingwood and Fitzroy Community Health Centres in 1993. Originally established as an Incorporated Association, in 2009 NYCH became a Company Limited by Guarantee.
Prior to this, all three Centres had a distinguished history in the development of community health in Australia.
While community health centres in Victoria largely originate from the late 1970s, the roots of our Collingwood Centre reach back to 1869, when Dr John Singleton opened the Collingwood Free Medical Dispensary in a single story cottage in Wellington Street. In 1977 the newly named Collingwood Community Health Centre moved to its current premises in Hoddle Street.
The Carlton and Fitzroy Centres came into existence as a result of local community action in the 1970s and 1980s. The establishment of the Federal Community Health Program in 1973 and the success of local campaigns resulted in these multi-purpose Community Health Centres providing a range of medical, allied health, social work and community development services to the local communities.
Today NYCH is part of the North and West Region of the Department of Human Services. The area served includes the suburbs of Carlton, North Carlton, Parkville, Collingwood, Abbottsford, Clifton Hill, Fitzroy and North Fitzroy.
North Yarra Community Health operates from these locations: