Dr Laurie Cowled AM has been a valued supporter of the RFDS for many years, inspired by her late husband, a recreational pilot with a dream of becoming a doctor.
Driven by her passion for education, Laurie has generously funded the Laurie Cowled Leadership Program for the past five years.
This two-day course develops leadership skills aligned with RFDS values and provides participants with practical tools they can apply immediately to create a positive impact across the organisation.
The program brings together leaders from across the RFDS to build self-awareness, strengthen communication, and foster stronger team and community relationships. To date, nearly 100 leaders have taken part, with more to follow in the next year.
“It has given me the tools, confidence and perspective to grow, helping me strengthen my communication and decision-making skills and increasing my ability to support my team. As a new leader at RFDS, attending this program has been invaluable in assisting me on this journey.”
JAMIE-LEE MCCALL NURSE MANAGER – AEROMEDICAL
2024/25
The RFDS continues to provide vital emergency medical and primary health care services to regional, rural and remote communities across Queensland. Year in numbers
MORE THAN
200 2,100 1,300
occasions of care across Queensland each day
immunisations administered
12,300
consultations conducted by RFDS mental health clinicians and headspace Cairns
medical chests in rural and remote locations
Your support: connecting communities across Queensland
As part of our Towards 100 Strategy, the Growth in Community pillar reflects our commitment to strengthening our presence and support at the heart of the communities we serve.
Our Fundraising and Foundation Growth Strategy enables us to connect with more people and create new opportunities for community-led impact. At the centre of this work are the individuals, families, fundraisers, partners, and communities who share our vision and make this progress possible.
Your generosity takes flight: Giving Day success!
On 2 April 2025, our inaugural Giving Day, Take to the Skies, soared beyond expectations, raising over $360,000 in just 24 hours. Thanks to our major Matching Partners, Hancock Prospecting, McCullough Robertson and Brisbane Airport Corporation, and our Flying High partners, each donation was doubled, amplifying its impact.
Bundaberg pulls together
Bundaberg hosted our first RFDS Plane Pull on 17 November 2024, challenging 10 teams to pull an aircraft 24 metres across the tarmac as fast as possible. The fastest team completed the challenge in just 13 seconds. The event raised over $20,000 and boosted local awareness of the Flying Doctor’s essential role.
Gaming for good
Change the Game brings a fresh approach to fundraising, engaging a new audience through livestream gaming. Twenty-two streamers and content creators raised over $10,000, proving the potential of gaming-based fundraising to attract new supporters and help keep the Flying Doctor flying.
Thank-a-thon
Our first ‘Thank-a-thon’ was launched in April 2025 to thank our supporters across Queensland. Over two weeks, we made over 55,000 touchpoints with our donors.
We sent 31,340 postcards and 2,000 hand-stamped greeting cards, followed by 25,913 emails featuring a video from our fundraising team and frontline crews. The video was viewed 2,063 times and prompted more than 60 personal replies from supporters.
Our Fundraising & Philanthropy team personally completed more than 500 thank-you calls, while our telephone partner, Cornucopia PO, generously donated 1,000 additional calls to support the campaign.
OUR SUPPORTERS IN A SNAPSHOT
6 RFDS Auxiliaries
24,554 Support Crew
20 Corporate Partners
12,251 Donors
4,591 Fundraisers and community groups 5,101 Oceans to Outback Queensland Participants
This year, we welcomed 6,941 new monthly Support Crew members and 4,627 new donors. This support from our community is crucial to the long-term impact of the RFDS.
Our supporters: Bringing world-class care to every corner of Queensland
When Dr Neridah Rooseboom first visited the Flying Doctor’s Brisbane Base, she knew instantly this was somewhere special.
“I expected to see lots of secretaries, people on phones doing paperwork,” she recalls.
“But it wasn’t like that at all. It was fantastic, the right people doing what really needs to be done.”
A retired psychiatrist who spent 14 years as Head of Psychiatry at Nambour Hospital, Neridah understands the challenges of delivering healthcare across vast distances. Living on a farm near Benalla gave her firsthand experience of what rural families face.
“People in remote areas do a fantastic job, often with very little help,” she says. “In the city, you just go down the road to see a doctor. Out in the country, they have to drive hours, and yet they still get on with things.”
It’s this deep respect for rural resilience that drives Neridah’s remarkable support of the RFDS. Her commitment extends beyond regular giving to include a significant gift in her Will.
“I think good medical care should be available to everybody, and the Flying Doctor helps massively with that,” she explains.
With her background in both medicine and aviation— her late husband Ian was a commercial pilot—Neridah appreciates the unique combination that makes the RFDS possible. “It’s such a concise operation, with people really doing their jobs: the pilots, nurses, doctors, everyone.”
What stands out most to Neridah is how the Service continues to evolve. “The way it’s expanding and becoming involved in more complex areas of medicine, attracting capable people—it’s fantastic,” she says.
Through her generosity, Neridah is ensuring the Flying Doctor can continue delivering the finest care to the furthest corner for generations to come.
Bringing the Flying Doctor to you
Community connection is at the heart of everything we do. For almost a century, we’ve grown and adapted our services to meet the needs of communities across regional, rural and remote Queensland.
Inspiring the next generation
In 2024/25, the RFDS reached almost 80,000 Queenslanders through more than 130 community events and school visits, strengthening awareness of our services and deepening our connection with communities.
A standout feature of these efforts is the RFDS Schools Program, supported by Isuzu UTE Australia. Throughout the year, Community Engagement Coordinators John and Kym Warner hitch ‘the sim’—a full-size replica of a King Air B200 aircraft—to an Isuzu D-MAX and tow it to the furthest corners of Queensland.
The aeromedical simulator offers an immersive experience that brings the work of the Flying Doctor to life, raising awareness of our services, supporting health literacy and inspiring future health professionals.
By engaging students, families and communities in a hands-on educational setting, we’re strengthening our connections across Queensland and opening doors for the next generation.
A continued commitment to reconciliation
The RFDS remains deeply committed to working alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on our reconciliation journey. We continue to collaborate closely with communities, fostering meaningful relationships and deepening our understanding of First Nations cultures, histories and perspectives.
In 2024/25, our Indigenous Engagement Strategy was endorsed to strengthen our reconciliation efforts and align with our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). This strategy provides a clear framework to guide our actions, build strong partnerships and embed meaningful engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across the organisation.
During NAIDOC Week, we proudly shared stories that highlighted the role the RFDS plays in strengthening communities, not only through healthcare, but by fostering wellbeing and supporting future generations. With strong representation on our Board and ongoing engagement with like-minded organisations, we are embedding reconciliation into many aspects of our work.
We are currently renewing our RAP with Reconciliation Australia, ensuring our future actions remain inclusive and shaped through genuine partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Picnic perfect
To increase awareness of the RFDS within Queensland communities, we launched the RFDS Picnic with the Planes event series in the 2024/25 financial year, hosting four successful events across our regional bases in Roma, Bundaberg, Townsville and Rockhampton.
With its relaxed atmosphere, affordable ticketing and family-friendly programming, Picnic with the Planes has quickly become an enjoyable event that brings communities together.
People of all ages and backgrounds can connect with the RFDS, learn about our services and celebrate the unique role we play in regional healthcare.
We look forward to growing this initiative each year by keeping each event fresh and exciting, while strengthening the connection between the community and the RFDS.
Thank you to our Roma presenting partner, Senex; and our Bundaberg, Townsville and Rockhampton presenting partner, Textron Aviation and all of our sponsors who made these events possible.
Your impact: Expanding our reach, strengthening our care
Through key strategic initiatives, we are enhancing our service delivery so that Queenslanders have access to essential healthcare, no matter where they live, work or travel.
Supporting a team of nurse practitioners
In May 2023, we established a two-year aeromedical nurse practitioner trial to expand our service delivery and enhance operations.
This innovative model enables us to respond to aeromedical retrieval requests with a nurse practitioner and flight nurse on board. The nurse practitioner provides advanced clinical support when the full scope of a medical officer is not required, allowing our doctors to respond to the most critical cases.
The trial has progressed, with three RFDS nurse practitioners now continuing the model. In addition, two flight nurses are on track to complete their Master of Nursing Practitioner studies at The University of Queensland in 2026.
Enhancing our Operations Control Centre
The Operations Control Centre (OCC) is the nerve centre of our aeromedical operations. Here, we coordinate aircraft movements, clinical logistics and crew communications, ensuring safe, high-quality service delivery around the clock.
This year, our Digital & Technology team successfully delivered a platform upgrade to enhance our systems and capability.
This upgrade helps our teams work more efficiently. It captures data better, reduces errors, and saves time on data entry.
As part of the upgrade, a new radio has also enhanced real-time communication with flight crews, allowing them to connect during flight, provide updates and request clinical support on the ramp.
These advancements demonstrate our commitment to supporting safe, high-quality, and efficient service delivery 24/7.
When disaster strikes, you help us respond
When disaster strikes, the RFDS is there, working alongside local communities to keep Queenslanders safe.
Record-breaking floods across western Queensland forced families from Thargomindah, Adavale and Jundah to evacuate to Charleville and Longreach. The devastation was immense. More than 140,000 head of livestock were lost and thousands of homes and businesses were flooded.
With power lines down, phone networks disrupted and healthcare harder to reach, the RFDS became a lifeline.
Working with Queensland Health, we located vulnerable patients to make sure their care continued. Our teams provided health checks at airports, hospitals and evacuation centres. We also cared for expectant mothers and delivered essential supplies to isolated families cut off by floodwaters.
Our mental health clinicians travelled to Longreach to offer psychological first aid and free consultations to evacuated families trying to process what they’d lost.
Queenslanders are resilient, but the toll of repeated severe weather events runs deep.
Stranded communities rely on the RFDS Medical Chest
Outback residents impacted by the flooding in western Queensland relied on locally registered RFDS medical chests for essential medications and medical supplies.
RFDS Medical Chest Service Manager, Elizabeth Doran, said the chests were a lifeline to communities isolated from their homes, primary health care clinics and pharmacies.
“We provided clinical advice to residents on using medical chest contents so patients could continue their care when they’d run out of medicines,” Elizabeth said. “We restocked centrally located chests where possible as a contingency, ensuring patients received the medical care they needed.
“Proactively managing access to specialised treatments is key to how medical chests support remote Queenslanders during disasters.”
Through it all, the RFDS remains present, helping communities recover, reconnect and rebuild.
Your support: RFDS helps ensure a safe arrival
New mum Elle-Jay and her husband Mack were relieved to hear from the RFDS when their cattle station near Thargomindah was flooded in, just weeks before their due date.
Elle-Jay was 37 weeks pregnant and had been receiving regular antenatal care from RFDS Nurse Manager, Jo Mahony, at the Thargomindah Community Clinic.
Working with the Bulloo Shire Council, we evacuated vulnerable patients from Thargomindah to Charleville so they could access essential medical services.
“Without swift intervention, people like Elle-Jay would have been at serious risk,” Bulloo Shire Council Mayor John Ferguson said.
The soon-to-be parents had everything sorted, but nothing could have prepared them for this.
“The Bulloo Shire Council called and said they had a plane evacuating anyone for medical purposes,” ElleJay said. “Then the RFDS called me straight after and said it was a good idea for me to get on that flight.”
While it was difficult to leave Mack behind, Elle-Jay said it was a relief to know she could access medical support if she went into early labour. When Elle-Jay arrived in Charleville, Jo organised an essential check-up and iron infusion.
“Without the RFDS, I would have had to drive 10 hours to Toowoomba for all of my antenatal check-ups,” she said.
On 30 April 2025, Elle-Jay and Mack welcomed their healthy baby boy, Lachlan, to the world and returned home just in time for Mother’s Day.
“I was a little bit worried about raising a family on the station, but the RFDS has always been there for us and is always ready to help. They give us the confidence to live out here.”
ELLE-JAY RFDS PATIENT
Baby Lachlan was born safely on 30 April 2025.
Your investment: Our fleet for the future
As we continue to evolve, so does our fleet, ensuring we meet the needs of the communities we serve.
The RFDS currently operates a mixed fleet of Beechcraft King Air B200, B350 and B360 aircraft. While the B360 aircraft are ideal for longer distances, their weight limits access to shorter, more remote airstrips. We need a lighter alternative.
In the past financial year our 10-year Fleet Strategy was reviewed, and the King Air 260C has been identified as the best replacement for our aging B200 aircraft. It meets our operational needs while maintaining access to remote communities.
Registration Description
As a result, our planned seventh Beechcraft King Air B360 has been switched to two new 260C aircraft arriving in 2027. Over the next five years, we will acquire more 260C aircraft to replace the B200s as they retire.
By committing to the 260C, the RFDS can streamline aircraft maintenance, standardise pilot training, and optimise parts management.
Year of manufacture Date acquired Dedications
VH-FDZ Beechcraft King Air B200 2004 December 2004
VH-VJU Beechcraft King Air B200 2004 December 2004
VH-VQD Beechcraft King Air B200 2004 December 2004
VH-VOQ Beechcraft King Air B200 2007 April 2007
VH-VAQ Beechcraft King Air B200 2007 July 2007
VH-FDT Beechcraft King Air B200 2007 October 2007
VH-FDG Beechcraft King Air B200 2009 July 2009
VH-FDS Beechcraft King Air B200C 2010 September 2010 Drover – named through public vote by Brisbane Airport Corporation
VH-FDM Beechcraft King Air B200C 2010 November 2010
VH-FDI Beechcraft King Air B200C 2010 November 2010
VH-FDL Beechcraft King Air B200 2014 July 2014
VH-FDO Beechcraft King Air B200 2014 July 2014 Cooee – named by Ergon Energy Retail
VH-FDN Beechcraft King Air B350C 2014 March 2015
VH-FDF Beechcraft King Air B350C 2015 August 2015 Roderick J Bowe, John D Bowe and Anne J Carne
VH-FDC Beechcraft King Air B350C 2016 August 2016 Ray Grace
VH-FDD Beechcraft King Air B350C 2017 July 2017 Outback Angel – unveiled by HRH Prince Charles, now King Charles
VH-VJZ Beechcraft King Air B200 2006 January 2019 Geoffrey Carrick
VH-VJX Beechcraft King Air B200 2006 January 2019 Bevan Jibson
VH-VJW Beechcraft King Air B200 2006 February 2019
VH-VJY Beechcraft King Air B200 2006 February 2019
VH-FDW Beechcraft King Air B360C 2021 December 2021 Charles Goode AC
VH-FDA Beechcraft King Air B360C 2022 September 2022 John and Vicki Williams
VH-FDB Beechcraft King Air B360C 2022 December 2022 Hancock Prospecting and Rinehart Medical Foundation
VH-FDR Beechcraft King Air B360C 2021 July 2023 Clive Berghofer
VH-8FQ Beechcraft King Air B360C 2023 October 2023
VH-8FD Beechcraft King Air B360C 2023 March 2024 Cornelia Goode
Your support: Pioneering new ways to care
Transforming the Medical Chest
For more than 80 years, the RFDS Medical Chest has been a lifeline for Australians isolated from pharmacies and medical services. In Queensland, approximately 1,300 medical chests are held at remote locations across the state.
This year, with support from the Kinghorn Foundation, we launched the Medical Chest Augmentation Project – a critical project to enhance this vital service for the 21st century.
The project introduces remote patient monitoring devices, diagnostic equipment and video capability to select medical chests. This allows our telehealth clinicians to get a clearer picture when assessing patients remotely, helping doctors make better decisions about whether a patient can be safely managed at home or needs evacuation. This improves both patient outcomes and how we coordinate our aeromedical resources.
We’re also developing a digital web-based portal for chest holders to replace paper-based processes. The portal will include first aid education resources and enable better engagement with medical chest holders, empowering communities to feel more confident accessing services when needed.
Early findings show the augmentation is making our healthcare delivery more efficient, with communities receiving timely care and feeling more empowered to manage health issues locally.
By enhancing connectivity, capability and confidence across remote Queensland, this project is building long-term resilience and capacity in local communities – fundamentally reshaping how healthcare is accessed and delivered in the bush.
Enhancing connectivity, capability and confidence across remote Queensland.
Building our research capability
As we approach our centenary, we’re investing in research to deliver even better care for the communities who need us most. Our Research Strategy 2023–2028 is about improving health outcomes for regional, rural and remote Queenslanders. Through research, we can provide timely, high-quality, culturally safe care. We’ll use what we learn to strengthen and expand our services, ensuring we continue to deliver the finest care to the furthest corners of Queensland.
At the heart of this work is our newly established RFDS Research Hub, which supports our teams to turn innovative ideas into better patient care. The Hub transforms how we approach research – from individual projects to a strategic approach that empowers our people to create meaningful change.
Over the past year, our growing Research Team has led and collaborated on studies that directly improve clinical care and service delivery. These projects have explored how telehealth and retrieval services save lives in emergencies, how innovations like the Medical Chest can strengthen remote communities, and how technology can help us provide faster, safer care in hard-to-reach places. Each finding adds to the knowledge that drives practical change across our operations.
The Hub is also helping us build a strong foundation for the future, turning research into real-world solutions. This research-focused approach ensures we remain at the forefront of aeromedical and primary healthcare delivery, creating evidence-based solutions that benefit patients, families and communities throughout regional, rural and remote Queensland.
Your investment: Building for the future
Investing in infrastructure
Your support helps us build the future of rural and remote healthcare across Queensland. As a leading healthcare provider, we’re investing in infrastructure that will serve communities for generations to come.
As we approach 100 years of operation, our Infrastructure Strategy ensures we build strong foundations to deliver the finest care to the furthest corner, now and into the future.
Mount Isa Base
Thanks to an incredible partnership between government, industry and community, the redevelopment of our Mount Isa Base is nearing completion. This transformative project represents a major step forward in delivering improved patient outcomes and streamlined aeromedical services for communities across western Queensland.
Completed in November 2025, this facility will enable the RFDS and LifeFlight Australia to operate side by side, strengthening collaboration and ensuring faster responses to those who need us most.
The new base features four dedicated hangar bays, enhanced maintenance areas and improved patient transfer facilities – all designed to ensure our teams can provide world-class care when every second counts.
The facility will also include a new Visitor Experience Centre, where you can learn about our rich history and the vital impact your support has on remote western Queensland and beyond.
This project has been made possible through remarkable partnerships. Queensland Government contributed $10.9 million, the Australian Government $9.7 million, and Queensland Airports Limited $600,000. The North Australian Pastoral Company and Stanbroke have generously contributed, alongside countless individuals, small businesses and local community fundraisers.
Together, we’re building more than infrastructure, we’re building hope, access and opportunity for every Queenslander who calls the outback home.
Mount Isa Base site works as of May 2025.
Brisbane Aeromedical Hub
In August 2024, we celebrated a significant milestone with a sod turning at the new Brisbane Aeromedical Hub.
With funding from the Queensland Government, this state-of-the-art facility will feature modern hangars, a new patient transfer facility, and office space for operational and support teams that will bring all Brisbane-based staff together under one roof. The project is expected to be completed by early 2027.
Thanks to supporters and partners who have contributed to the to the future fit-out of the new RFDS Brisbane Base and the Operations Control Centre.
Emerald Patient Transfer Facility
Emerald Airport will soon celebrate a major upgrade with a new RFDS Patient Transfer Facility, scheduled for completion in 2026.
Thanks to the Queensland Government, Central Highlands Regional Council, Suncorp Bank and the Rotary Club of Emerald, this facility will strengthen patient transfers across central Queensland, protecting patients and our teams in all weather conditions.
Together, we’re building more than infrastructure, we’re building hope, access and opportunity for every Queenslander who calls the outback home.
Brisbane Aeromedical Hub site works as of June 2025.
Emerald Patient Transfer Facility
RFDS Aeromedical Training Academy
In October 2024, we celebrated the opening of our Aeromedical Training Academy in Bundaberg—a milestone made possible by extraordinary community support.
This $25.4 million facility, located beside our Bundaberg Base, houses the only Beechcraft King Air Pro-Line Fusion Full-Flight Simulator in Australia. Since achieving Civil Aviation Safety Authority certification in October, it’s become a destination for aviation training excellence.
The simulator enhances pilot proficiency across Beechcraft King Air B260, 350, 360 and 360Q aircraft. To date, 38 RFDS pilots have completed more than 240 training sessions, strengthening their skills to keep patients safe.
Beyond internal training, the academy has proven to be a substantial commercial venture, enabling external clients to access world-class simulation technology right here in regional Queensland.
This achievement was supported by $14.9 million from the Australian Government, $3 million from QCoal Foundation, and generous corporate and philanthropic donations. We extend our heartfelt thanks to John Santalucia for his significant support, and to Bundaberg Regional Council for donating the land.
Together, you’re helping us train the finest pilots to deliver the finest care.
“This particular simulator is the only one of its kind in the southern hemisphere; it allows us to configure into four different models of aircraft, giving us greater flexibility in training courses and a bigger commercial market to tap into.”
SHANE LAWREY GENERAL MANAGER – AVIATION TRAINING AND STANDARDS
Celebrating our partners
Thanks to our passionate and committed partners the RFDS (Queensland Section) can provide the finest care to the furthest corner.
Principal Partners
Major Corporate Supporters
Community Partners
Corporate Supporters
Major National Partners
2024/25 Supporters
The RFDS (Queensland Section) would like to thank some of our most significant supporters in 2024/25.
Clive Berghofer AM
Charles Goode AC & Cornelia Goode
John Santalucia
Tim Fairfax AC & Gina Fairfax AC
Major Trust and Foundation Supporters
APS Foundation
Black Dog Ride Australia
Collier Charitable Fund
The E Robert Hayles & Alison L Hayles Charitable Trust
Gambling Community Benefit Fund
Goldburg Family Foundation
James Frizelle Charitable Foundation
National Partners
The John Waller Foundation
The Kinghorn Foundation
Mazda Foundation
RP Medical Fund
Stanwell Community Partnership Fund
St John’s Grace Fund
Thank you to our committed supporters, whose kindness and care continue to fly us forward every day.
