Consultation Hub

Welcome to the Consultation Hub. This site will help you find, share and participate in consultations that interest you. Below you will find links to the consultations we are currently running.

Alternatively you may search for consultations by keyword, interest or status.  Once finalised, decisions will be published under Closed Consultations.

Open Consultations

  • Medicare Safety Net Reform

    Medicare Safety Nets serve an important role in protecting health care consumers from the impact of high out-of-pocket costs. The safety nets do not apply to services that are not listed on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) or to MBS services that are delivered in hospital. ...

    Closes 22 November 2024

  • OGTR Online Services Portal Survey

    The OGTR is implementing the Online Services Portal (the Portal) to improve application and reporting processes. Feedback on your experience with the Portal will assist with improving the service. This survey only takes about 5-10 minutes to complete. Note: All responses are...

    Closes 30 November 2024

  • Proposed minor and technical amendments to the Gene Technology Regulations 2001

    The Gene Technology Regulator (the Regulator) is consulting to seek the views of anyone likely to be affected by the proposed minor and technical amendments to the Gene Technology Regulations 2001 (the Regulations) described in the following pages . Feedback is specifically sought on whether the...

    Closes 8 December 2024

  • Get involved - Review draft national standards for counsellors and psychotherapists

    You are invited to participate in consultation to test the draft national standards for counsellors and psychotherapists. Allen + Clarke has been engaged by the Department of Health and Aged Care (the Department) to undertake background research and engage with key stakeholders to develop...

    Closes 13 December 2024

  • Star Ratings for residential aged care – design changes

    Star Ratings for residential aged care is getting a refresh. We want your feedback on how ratings are calculated and other proposed improvements. Star Ratings can help older people and their families compare the quality of aged care homes and make more informed choices. We are changing...

    Closes 13 December 2024

Closed Consultations

We Asked, You Said, We Did

Here are some of the issues we have consulted on and their outcomes. See all outcomes

We asked

We sought your feedback via the Consultation Hub followed by a stakeholder workshop about the proposed new format for Prescribed List billing codes.

Our initial proposal was a 5-digit ANNNN format.

You said

You raised concerns that the ANNNN format did not allow for sponsor-specific prefixes.

You raised concerns about system changes and implementation timeframes.

You suggested alternative formats:

  • a 6-digit format
  • using the same format as Part B billing codes (AAANN)
  • remapping billing codes
  • reusing previously deleted billing codes
  • using AANAN format

Other parameters or matters we all identified:

  • preference to retain a sponsor-specific prefix
  • the format must clearly distinguish between PL and MBS and ARTG codes
  • the format must clearly distinguish between medical devices (Part A, C and D) and human tissue products (Part B)
  • remapping would require substantial resources
  • reusing billing codes would risk losing or mixing historical data between devices and/or sponsors

We did

We reviewed all suggestions, feedback and parameters and decided on the following format:

AXNNN, with AX remaining as a sponsor-specific prefix.

This format addresses all risks and parameters.

There are over 80 previously deleted billing codes that have used this AXNNN format. We will ensure that these billing codes are not reused or reallocated by the Health Products Portal (our online application system for the PL) in the future.

***YOU CAN FIND A TEST XML FILE AND THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN IN THE 'RELATED' SECTION BELOW***

We asked

Between June and July 2024, we sought your views on national standards for counsellors and psychotherapists. This included feedback on the experience, capabilities, and behaviours expected in these professions.

You said

We received feedback from counsellors, psychotherapists, peak bodies, service providers, consumers, carers, and other interested parties.

From over 30 interviews and 315 written submissions, we heard:

  • Broad support for mandatory national standards to ensure high-quality services.
  • General support for including education and training, supervision, and CPD in the national standards.
  • Strong interest in providing feedback on the draft national standards, once available.

We did

We developed draft national standards based on your feedback and research.

A second round of consultation is now open to gather your views on the draft standards.

You can find a copy of the draft standards and information on how to get involved in consultation here.

We asked

We asked for views on after hours primary care policies and programs, including the need for primary care after hours services, the current state of after hours service provision and successful models of primary care after hours service provision. While the consultation was open to the public, we sought input in particular from primary care providers.

The Discussion Paper Allen + Clarke Consulting – After Hours Review evaluation report | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care provides further details on the consultation.

You said

The online survey received a total of 457 responses, including:
• 253 from practice owners/managers and primary health practitioners
• 51 from Primary Health Networks
• 58 from peak bodies, colleges, or other organisations
• 95 from others, primarily members of the public.

42 written submissions were also received from organisations and individuals.
As part of the review, focus groups and interviews were also held with more than 34 key stakeholder organisations, and workshops with 61 healthcare consumers. We thank all stakeholders and consumers who provided input into the Review for contributing their time and insights.

We did

We reviewed all submissions, alongside other consultation feedback and data. The Findings Report of the evaluation to support the review of primary care after hours programs and policy provides an analysis of all stakeholder input. The Findings Report will be made available on the Department of Health and Aged Care’s webpage A better after-hours system – Review of After-hours Primary Care Programs and Policy | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care

The Department will continue to address key concerns and issues while we consider options for improving the after hours primary care system. We will continue to keep stakeholders informed of the reform process and will provide opportunities for engagement wherever practical.