The Royal Flying Doctor Service has established a permanent base in Canberra in an effort to reduce health disparities between those living in cities and remote or rural communities.
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The service's chief executive Martin Laverty said he wanted to build stronger relations with the federal government.
"This is a brand new direction for us," he said.
"We have been providing health services in remote areas for 86 years but this is the first time we have wanted to strengthen our voice in Canberra."
A new office on Brisbane Avenue in Barton, strategically positioned near Parliament House, will be formally opened by Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss and Health Minister Sussan Ley on Thursday night.
"We've come to Canberra because life expectancy for someone who lives in a remote area is two-and-a-half years less than someone living in the city," Mr Laverty said.
"Diabetes is three times more likely than in the city and cardiovascular problems are 20 per cent higher too."
Mr Laverty said many people were aware of the service's iconic fleet of 63 planes, although some people in regional communities did not know it offered mental health and dental services, too.
"Remote residents, on average, see a doctor at half the rate of those in the city where people visit a GP around 10 times a year opposed to five times in the bush," he said.
"Access to doctors for primary health care is one of the key reasons we see a disparity in chronic illnesses between the city and the bush."
The service provides care to about 280,000 Australians each year and travels more than 26.5 million kilometres to do so.
"There is a modest staff setting up an office on Brisbane Avenue which is deliberately close to Parliament House as we want to strengthen our voice," Mr Laverty said.
Shortly after being promoted to Health Minister late last year, Ms Ley announced her intention to give greater attention to the health gap between Australians in rural communities and those in cities.
"I've been a regional MP for 13 years and I've seen that there is a gap between rural and city health, a gap that needs to be closed," she said.
"And we all know the size of the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians ... I'm determined that as minister we will give attention to that gap."
Recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics found the average person living in remote western NSW could expect to live a shorter life than someone in North Korea or Iraq.
Mr Laverty said his organisation could work more closely with the federal government to address the disparity and call on more than 85 years of experience.
"We've landed in Canberra to raise awareness of the disparity in health outcomes between the city and the bush," he said.
- with Gareth Hutchens
