The Royal Flying Doctor Service SA/NT (RFDS) has welcomed Westpac as its new Banking Partner in supporting the delivery of critical healthcare services to regional and remote communities across South Australia and the Northern Territory.
The partnership brings together two organisations with long and proud histories of serving Australians beyond our major cities.
It coincides with the RFDS’s largest aircraft replacement program in more than decade, where it will invest more than $60 million in five new ‘flying intensive care units’.
Westpac will contribute directly to RFDS capital-raising effort to finance these aircraft, as well support RFDS corporate and community fundraising initiatives to raise funds in the community.
Westpac Chief Executive Business & Wealth Paul Fowler said both organisations understand the challenges faced by isolated and remote communities.
“The Royal Flying Doctor Service is one of the most trusted and respected organisations in the country, particularly in regional and remote Australia,” Mr Fowler said.
“Both our organisations were built to serve regional communities, and that shared purpose makes this partnership especially meaningful.”
RFDS Chair Peter de Cure AM said the partnership recognises the importance of long-term, world-class health care for regional, rural and remote communities.
“The RFDS was founded on the belief that where you live shouldn’t determine the quality of health care you receive,” Mr de Cure said.
“Partnering with Westpac, an organisation that understands the challenges and opportunities of regional, rural and remote Australia, helps us continue delivering on that mission.”
Through the partnership, Westpac will become the official Banking Partner of the RFDS in South Australia and the Northern Territory. The collaboration will also see local Westpac teams actively support RFDS fundraising events and campaigns, including the annual Wings for Life Gala Ball and Double Up for the Doc Day which raise vital funds for the services that communities rely on every day.
In recognition of the partnership, two medically-equipped RFDS aircraft, including one of its new Pilatus PC-12 PRO, will bear the Westpac brand on its fuselage.
Learn more about the Flying Doctor.
