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Our History

The history of SCWHS stands against a wider backdrop of political and social change which witnessed the emergence of the women’s health sector as a response to attempts to deliver health care to women in a way that reflected their individual and cultural circumstances. The establishment of community based women-specific services needs to be acknowledged as an important outcome of the early women's health movement.

Across Australia, women were increasingly voicing a need for a different kind of health care. The result was the establishment of community based women's health centres, run for women by women. So it was that on International Women's Day in March 1974, the first Australian women's health centre was officially opened in New South Wales.

During this early period, most funding was granted by the Federal Government through the Community Health Program, in the expectation that individual State governments would gradually take up this responsibility. However, many centres still struggled to receive either State or Federal funding.

With a change in Federal Government in 1975, the Community Health Program was discontinued and many centres fell on hard times, with several losing funding altogether. However, women's need for a community based health service did not disappear or diminish. As such, during the ‘lean’ funding years from 1976-1982 many centres were totally dependant on donations, fundraising income and the use of volunteer labour whilst successfully obtained alternative funding.

From 1983 to 1989 the women's health movement gained momentum and saw the establishment of more than 18 centres around the country. Still for some centres funding remained a struggle, especially those which operated in places with a State government resistant to the community health movement.

The women's health movement's work of providing services to women, as well as influencing health policy, culminated in the introduction of the National Women's Health Policy and funding program in 1989. This important policy signified the Commonwealth's encouragement for State governments to support women's health initiatives. It also ensured that women's health issues had an ongoing national focus.

It was during this time that a local woman named Jan Thair and a small group of women founded the Rockingham Women’s Health Centre which is now known as the South Coastal Women’s Health Services (SCWHS).

In the spirit of the women’s health movement during 1991 a working committee was formed and conducted extensive consultation with local women and concluded that a central, community based, Women’s Health and Information Centre was necessary to address the needs specific to women's holistic health care needs.

By June 1992 enough work had been done to put in a funding submission to the National Women’s Health Program (NWHP), for a part-time Co-ordinator and to officially establish the Rockingham Women’s Health and Information Association. This was successful and Sue MacNeilage was appointed to the position in March 1993.

In June 1993 the Association was provided with temporary premises to establish a Health and Information Centre at 7 Harrison Street Rockingham. This was a short term arrangement for the Centre until premises were available in the new Lotteries House Building being built next to the City of Rockingham Council.

The Harrison Street premises was a house and was initially donated at a low rental rate by a local business-woman named Gerda Van Dongan. Her generosity allowed the service to at least become operational until funding for a full service operation was received. So in July 1993 a two-day service commenced with one part-time staff and volunteers.

It wasn’t till November of that same year that a full-time service was approved under the NWHP from the Health Department WA. More staff were employed and a full time service was able to commence on December 13, 1993.

At the time the team consisted of a Co-ordinator employed for 25 hours per week, a Nurse / Health educator employed for 20 hours a week, a Counsellor employed for 20 hours a week, a Receptionist / Typist for 35 hours a week and a Child Care Assistant / Cleaner employed for 35 hours a week.

Such was the success of RWHS that in 2001 a subsidiary organisation was established called the Coastal Family Health Services. This organisation manages the Warnbro Family Centre and its associated programs, and provides complementary services to the South Coastal Women’s Health Services. This expansion meant that RWHS was able to extend the types of programs offered by the association and to make them more inclusive of the needs of the wider community.

In August 2005 RWHC relocated into the LifeLinks Community Centre (LLCC) and was renamed the South Coastal Women’s Health Services (SCWHS). This has allowed the services to locate all its core services together in the same building for the first time in the history of the organisation. It has also allowed SCWHS to build a more comprehensive service through an increase in the number of complementary agencies able to share the facilities of the LLCC.

Over time the focus of SCWHS has grown in size and expanded in different directions. The initial focus on providing responsive and quality clinical reproductive health services to women, including health education programs promoting breast and cervical screening remain a significant role of the SCWHS. However, today they make up just part of the services and supports offered to the community. Presently the service is able to offer a range of physical and emotional health programs, as well as health promotion and violence prevention and intervention services. SCWHS also acts as a satellite office for complementary services and provides a number of short-term programs as funding allows.

As well, SCWHS has the management responsibility for the LLCC building and has signed a 50 year lease with the City of Rockingham who owns the building.

SCWHS is staffed by a team of professionals who deliver and coordinate the core services. By 2007 the service consisted of 10 Fulltime staff, 23 Part time and 5 casual staff. In addition staff are also employed as required to conduct short-term projects. The staff and management are also supported by volunteers, who assist with administrative duties, events/functions, and other tasks.