What’s happening
Rabobank’s Rabo Community Fund has partnered with Heart of Australia to support specialist healthcare in rural and remote communities.
As part of Rabobank’s 30th anniversary in north Queensland, Heart of Australia’s Heart Truck will visit Charters Towers on Tuesday 12 May 2026.
The walk-in service will offer free basic heart health checks at Charters Towers Showgrounds, 2-8 Show Street.
Checks will run from 11.30 am to 5 pm and will be open to anyone in the Charters Towers community.
Each check takes about 15 minutes. It includes a blood pressure test and a blood test measuring glucose and cholesterol levels.
Rabobank community engagement manager Skye Ward said the partnership reflects the fund’s focus on rural wellbeing.
“The Rabo Community Fund is focused on supporting meaningful grassroots initiatives that help build industry capacity, champion health and wellbeing and strengthen the rural-urban connection,” Ms Ward said.
“And the critical work undertaken by Heart of Australia provides access to specialist services and testing in rural, remote and First Nations communities where access to healthcare is often limited with the tyranny of distance.”
Why it matters?
This visit brings preventative healthcare closer to people who often face long travel times for specialist services.
It also shows how community funding can help improve access to basic health checks in country areas.
Heart of Australia founder and cardiologist Dr Rolf Gomes said the partnership has already made a difference.
“Over the past few years, we’ve been proud to work alongside Rabobank to deliver preventative health services to rural communities where there are greater barriers in place to accessing medical care,” he said.
“Our collaboration is a practical example of what’s possible when organisations work together to make essential health services easier to reach for country Australians.”
Local Impact
For Charters Towers residents, the Heart Truck visit means free and simple health checks without leaving town.
That matters in regional areas, where healthcare access can be limited by distance and travel costs.
The event also links a national partnership to a local service day that people can access without an appointment.
By the Numbers
- Since partnering with Heart of Australia in 2022, the Rabo Community Fund has supported 465 health checks in rural and regional communities.
- Of those checks, 100 were delivered at the Field Days in Mareeba, showing the reach of the program in north Queensland.
- Founded in 2014, Heart of Australia has seen more than 20,000 patients, serves more than 40 communities, and has contributed to saving 900 lives.
- Across its fleet of seven Heart Trucks, the service has saved patients more than 54 million kilometres of travel for specialist appointments.
- Since launching in 2021, the Rabo Community Fund has invested more than $4 million in national and local initiatives.
- Rabobank said its programs have also included succession planning and financial skills workshops for more than 770 farmers.
Zoom In
The Charters Towers checks are designed as a simple first step in heart health screening.
They focus on blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, giving people a quick snapshot of heart health.
The service is being offered through one of Heart of Australia’s custom-built mobile clinics.
These fit-for-purpose Heart Trucks are designed to bring specialist care directly to rural communities.
Zoom Out
The Charters Towers stop sits within a broader push to improve health access across regional Australia.
Rabobank said the Rabo Community Fund supports projects that strengthen communities and help address agribusiness and community challenges.
“As a global cooperative, founded by farmers, Rabobank has a long history of community engagement and now, thanks to our Rabo Community Fund, we can make an even bigger impact in the communities where our clients live,” Ms Ward said.
“From supporting health checks in remote areas to providing agri-educational resources for schools and hosting succession planning and financial skills workshops for over 770 farmers, our impact has been far-reaching,” she said.
What To Look For Next?
Tuesday, 12 May 2026, when the Heart Truck rolls into Charters Towers for the free walk-in checks.
The visit will also show how this partnership continues to bring practical health support into rural north Queensland communities.
