We’ve been putting Australians’ health first for more than 85 years. Here’s the story so far.
The beginning of HCF
- 1932 - The ‘Metropolitan Hospitals Fund’ is established. In our first 2 years, more than 100,000 members join the fund.
- 1937 - Our first service branch opens in Sydney.
- 1941 - We move to Hamilton Street in Sydney. During World War II, an air-raid shelter is built in the basement of HCF House and patrolled day and night by 24 staff volunteers.
HCF extends to all of NSW
- 1942 - We extend to all of NSW and acquire a new name – ‘Hospitals Contribution Fund of NSW’.
- 1953 - We relocate to the Catton Building on Liverpool Street, Sydney.
- 1957 - We celebrate 25 years. Benefit payments for the year total 3.17 million pounds.
- 1960 - We add medical benefits, entering into a joint operation with MBF. This arrangement lasts for the 3 three years.
HCF extends its operations
- 1964 - We install our first computer and electronic data processing becomes an integral part of HCF’s operations.
- 1965 - We expand our operations into Victoria as part of a plan to assist fund contributors throughout Australia. Branch transactions become a larger part of HCF’s business, with 3 out of 5 claims made presented over the counter.
- 1967 - HCF becomes Hospitals Contribution Fund of Australia. Along with an official name change, we now have established branch offices in Melbourne, Brisbane and Hobart.
- 1975 - We introduce our Multicover Plan – the first fund to provide cover for the medical ‘gap’ and for a wide range of other healthcare services like dental, optical and physiotherapy.
50 years of HCF
- 1981 - HCF Life Insurance is born.
- 1982 - We've now been putting Australians’ health first for 50 years.
- 1986 - We become the first major sponsor of a new community rescue helicopter service – HCF Careflight – designed to serve the expanding regions west of Sydney.
- 1987 - We open our HCF Dental Centre at HCF House in Sydney with routine dental requirements leaving members with zero out-of-pocket expenses.
- 1992 -The first HCF Eyecare Centre opens.
75 years of HCF
- 2000 - We establish the HCF Research Foundation to fund research into important projects designed to benefit all Australians – like improving patient safety and enhancing the quality of care.
- 2008 - We merge with Manchester Unity.
- 2009 - We launch My Health Guardian, a health and wellbeing program providing online tools to empower members to make informed choices about preventive health.
- 2011 - We partner with the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, providing Health Check Booths to eligible members at HCF branches.
85 years of HCF
- 2012 - Our More for Eyes, More for Teeth and More for Muscles programs launch to reduce and eliminate out-of-pocket expenses for our members.
- 2015 - We launch HCF Catalyst, a corporate-supported accelerator aimed at startups and scaleups in the health tech space.
- 2017 - We launch our Preparing for Hospital tool – an online bank of easy-to-use resources to help people better understand some of the most common hospital procedures.
- 2017 - We celebrate 85 years of putting members and their health first.