The theme for the 2025 PASA Health & Aged Care Procurement Conference is “Efficiency, Collaboration & Transparency in Healthcare.” This theme highlights the critical role of procurement in addressing the challenges of an aging population, rising compliance demands and financial pressures within the health and aged care sectors.
From tackling workforce pressures to integrating ESG, the conference brought real-world experience and data-driven strategies to the fore. What stood out? Procurement is no longer about pushing paper or driving price alone. It’s about enabling smarter, fairer, and more resilient health systems - through policy change, environmental leadership, integrated technology, and genuine cross-sector collaboration.
Decentralising Procurement for Cultural Impact
Adam Blackheart | Metropolitan Cemeteries Board (WA)
At a glance, the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board may seem like an unusual pioneer of procurement reform. But as Adam Blackheart showed, necessity truly drives innovation. With just three procurement staff overseeing a $40 million spend and 65% of work outsourced, MCB faced systemic risk, limited bandwidth, and high expectations.
Rather than doubling down on controls, they flipped the script - rewriting their procurement policy down to a single page and handing ownership of procurement lifecycles back to operational teams. Procurement, then, became a strategic enabler - not an admin gatekeeper.
Key Takeaways:
- Elevated the role of procurement through simplification and empowerment
- Drove organisation-wide change with minimal resourcing
- Reinforced that culture, not just process, is key to procurement maturity
Adam concluded with a key quote "Money is of no value; it cannot spend itself. All depends on the skill of the spender." – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Procurement’s Role in a Climate-Resilient Health System
Dr Alice McGushin | Australian Centre for Disease Control
Healthcare is both a frontline responder to climate change and a contributor to it. Dr Alice McGushin presented the National Health and Climate Strategy, which calls on the sector to reduce emissions while strengthening climate resilience.
With healthcare emissions making up 7% of Australia’s total and a significant portion coming from supply chains, procurement has a vital role. From phasing out harmful gases like desflurane and nitrous oxide to redesigning procurement standards, the sector must act now.
Key Takeaways:
- National guidelines will link local procurement with international benchmarks such as NHS
- Scope 3 emissions are now a top priority, requiring buyer accountability
- Procurement professionals are invited to co-design and test policies in pilot programs
Better Together in Sustainability
Ann Carmody | Kimberly-Clark Professional
Kimberly-Clark has a long-standing presence in hygiene and care products - but as Ann Carmody shared, the business is redefining its legacy through environmental action. Their “Better” framework emphasises collaboration, continuous improvement and measurable ESG outcomes.
Procurement teams were encouraged to look beyond contracts and pricing - to foster strategic supplier partnerships that deliver shared sustainability goals.
Key Takeaways:
- ESG initiatives must be embedded in supplier engagement and product selection
- Sustainable products now come with lifecycle data, certifications, and cost savings
- Buyers are uniquely positioned to translate corporate ESG policies into action
Aged Care Must Be Viable and Investable
Siobhain Simpson | StewartBrown
Siobhain Simpson gave a hard-hitting financial overview of the aged care sector, drawing on StewartBrown’s latest benchmark data. As demand soars, so too do labour, compliance and infrastructure costs - placing providers under pressure.
Upcoming reforms, including the Support at Home (SaH) model and accommodation caps, will shift funding structures and margins. But sustainability isn’t just about survival, it’s about generating returns that attract and retain capital.
Key Takeaways:
- Financial performance hinges on occupancy, efficient operations and pricing discipline
- Reforms will reduce management fee reliance, forcing a shift to service-led revenue
- Long-term sector viability requires stronger capital investment frameworks
Collaboration Is the Future of Health Procurement
Rowena McCarthy presented a powerful case for coordination across jurisdictions, emphasising the role of the Australasian Procurement and Construction Council (APCC) and its Health Procurement Roundtable.
Through structured Working Groups, governments are co-designing policies, standardising specs and validating new ESG criteria, paving the way for scalable innovation and trust.
Key Takeaways:
- Collaboration hubs help de-risk decision-making and increase procurement maturity
- Joint ESG strategies are enabling a shift toward circular, ethical procurement models
- Knowledge sharing is essential to accelerate sector-wide uplift
From Transactional to Strategic Influence
Steven Jennings | Metro South Health (QLD)
Steven Jennings shared how Metro South Health, one of Queensland’s largest health districts, transformed procurement into an integrated, data-led function. With $900M in non-labour spend, aligning procurement with clinical, finance and operational strategies was critical.
Their efforts now span contract optimisation, digital workflows and collaboration with neighbouring SEQ districts to unlock value across shared priorities.
Key Takeaways:
- A strong commercial operating model is essential for scaling healthcare outcomes
- Technology and visual data tools are driving waste reduction and workforce enablement
- Procurement must sit within decision-making—not on the periphery
Reinvention Is Non-Negotiable
Ilandi Croucamp & Marty Jovic | PwC Australia
Ilandi and Marty added a strategic lens to the event: health systems must reinvent to stay relevant. Drawing on PwC’s 28th Global CEO Survey, they noted that 33% of CEOs in the health sector believe their organisation won’t survive the next decade without radical change.
For procurement, this means embracing agility, digital tools, and value-based metrics.
Key Takeaways:
- AI and digitisation must be implemented transparently and responsibly
- Procurement is central to value creation, risk reduction, and ESG performance
- Leaders must challenge legacy models and champion cross-functional innovation
OneAdvanced: Supporting Smarter Procurement in Healthcare
At OneAdvanced, we believe in empowering procurement leaders with the technology, visibility, and collaboration tools they need to build a smarter health ecosystem.
From supplier oversight to contract intelligence, our health sector solutions are designed to align with reform, ESG expectations, and the operational demands of the modern care environment.
Explore our Health & Aged Care solutions
As the conference made clear, the future of procurement in health and aged care will be shaped by those who can balance commercial discipline with social responsibility. Whether through digital transformation, ESG-driven sourcing, or deeper sector collaboration, procurement leaders have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lead meaningful change.
And that change starts now.