A tale of two cities: academic service, research, teaching and community practice partnerships delivering for disadvantaged Australian communities.

An innovative team approach and integration of care across sectors, including general practices, community health services, allied health professionals and hospitals, can deliver high-quality comprehensive care in disadvantaged areas while providing teaching and research opportunities and community service. Academic general practice departments are committed to supporting and evaluating such models. A governance infrastructure that encourages strong partnerships across health care sectors is essential. With broad health partnership support, bulk-billing is viable in an Australian general practice team model providing health care to the disadvantaged.