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

  • Stocktake on Residential Aged Care Accommodation Design

    The Department of Health and Aged Care is seeking information from aged care providers on the design of residential aged care accommodation. The Stocktake on the Design of Residential Aged Care Accommodation (‘stocktake’) will help the department to understand what residential...

    Closes 3 October 2023

  • Access to scientific journal articles

    One of the top 3 regulatory science priorities identified at our office planning day was to “retain and resource access to the full range of scientific literature”. With this priority in mind, the following short survey is designed to gain a better understanding of how the office accesses, uses and...

    Closes 6 October 2023

  • Prostheses List Reforms – PwC Report on Reforms to the Prostheses List Part B – May 2023

    We are seeking feedback from stakeholders on the PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PwC) report and recommendations on the proposed reforms to Part B of the Prescribed List of Benefits for Medical Devices and Human Tissue Products* (the PL), and the proposed restructure of Part B. The report...

    Closes 6 October 2023

  • Feedback on the draft National Microbial Genomics Framework 2024-2025

    Microbial genomics is the application of genome sequencing technologies to characterise and analyse pathogens for the purposes of informing clinical and public health investigation and response to communicable disease outbreaks. The implementation of this technology is rapidly transforming the...

    Closes 10 October 2023

  • Unleashing the potential of our workforce - Scope of Practice Review

    In February 2023, the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce Report outlined priority recommendations to improve primary care. One of these was that the Australian Government work together with states and territories to explore the barriers and incentives for all health practitioners to work to...

    Closes 16 October 2023

See All Open Consultations

Closed Consultations

See All Closed Consultations

We Asked, You Said, We Did

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

Increasing access to health and aged care: a strategic plan for the nurse practitioner workforce (the Plan)

We asked

The Department of Health and Aged Care (Department) asked for your views and input on the draft aim, outcomes and actions in the consultation draft Nurse Practitioner Workforce Plan (the Plan). The draft Plan was released for stakeholder feedback from 19 December 2022 to 10 February 2023.

Targeted meetings were also held during this time to seek feedback from stakeholder organisations. Yarning circles and a consumer focus group were also held to test the actions within the draft Plan to ensure they are realistic, implementable and well received by both First Nations peoples and consumers.

Feedback received during the consultation process is being used to refine and inform the final Plan.

You said

In total, 215 submissions were received, comprising of 172 online survey responses, 25 written submissions via email, 15 targeted stakeholder meetings, 1 consumer focus group and 2 yarning circles.

The mix of responses from consumers, nurse practitioners, health professionals and organisations provided a comprehensive understanding of how the aim, outcomes and actions of the Plan were received. Feedback on improving the draft Plan was constructive with suggestions to refine language and review the action’s timeline. Whilst many responses were focused on the barriers to nurse practitioners providing care, the Department received useful suggestions for refining the draft Plan.

We did

The Department undertook analysis of the online submissions (including survey and written responses) using the Citizen Space application in February 2023. The data from online and written submissions was further analysed simultaneously with stakeholder feedback from meetings, yarning circles and focus groups. This involved coding the qualitative responses for feedback on key themes and creation of analysis notes to further refine the consultation draft. 

Stakeholder feedback captured is being used to refine the Plan and ensure the actions address key nurse practitioner workforce challenges. Suggestions proposed during this round of consultation will be considered by the Nurse Practitioner Steering Committee and used to develop a final version of the Plan for approval by Government. 

Intellectual Disability Health Core Capabilities - Consultation Survey

We asked

The department asked for feedback about the core capabilities to support the Intellectual Disability Health Capability Framework (framework) in an open consultation from 22 November 2022 – 27 January 2023.  The proposed framework for consultation included the following capabilities:

  • Intellectual Disability Awareness
  • Communication
  • Quality Evidence- Based Clinical Care
  • Coordination and Collaboration
  • Decision-Making and Consent
  • Responsible, Safe and Ethical Practice.

We asked whether people thought the framework and the core capabilities address the key areas for health students’ knowledge and practice. We also asked people to comment on the content and detail covered by each of the six capabilities.

You said

Ninety-three submissions to the open consultation were received from a range of stakeholders including individuals, health services, peak bodies, education providers, and groups representing and serving those with intellectual disabilities. A breakdown of responses is as follows:

  • 22 responses from individuals/consumers
  • 37 responses from organisations
  • 34 responses from section/teams within an organisation

The results showed that overall, 77% of respondents agreed that the capability areas capture the key capabilities. The level of agreement by specific capability area ranged from 63% (Intellectual Disability Awareness) to 74% (Responsible, Safe and Ethical Practice). Submissions also proposed changes to terminology, and identified gaps in capabilities, areas where more emphasis was required, and clarification was needed. Feedback also identified potential learning outcomes and implementation ideas for the framework.

We did

Feedback has been recorded and will be used to futher develop the framework. All submissions have been reviewed and amendments have been made to capabilities as appropriate. The following significant changes were made: 

The addition of two new capabilities 

  • Appropriate assessment (Quality Evidence-Informed Health Care). Employ appropriate assessment procedures and tools to inform diagnosis of health conditions, with an awareness that modified diagnostic criteria and reasonable adjustments may be required for assessment of people with intellectual disability. 
  • Safe and quality practices (Responsible, Safe and Ethical Practice). Provide a safe health care environment for people with intellectual disability and apply knowledge of the risks that may be associated with accessing health care to inform safe service provision.  

Key wording changes 

  • ‘Adapt communication’ will replace ‘person’s preferred language and communication style and adapted communication’ to clarify the description and emphasise adaptation of communication. 
  • ‘Communicate to reassure’ will replace ‘communicate about safety’ to clarify the intent of the description, which is focused on communicating to provide a sense of control and comfort. 
  • ‘Evidence-informed practice’ will replace ‘evidence-based practice’ to recognise other types of evidence, including lived experience.  
  • ‘Partnership’ rather than ‘inclusion’ in care will be used to describe respectful involvement where both parties are equal participants in care with a minimised power differential. 
  • ‘Where at all possible, non-restrictive techniques’ will replace ‘least restrictive’ to highlight that any restrictive practice is a last resort.​ 
  • ‘Responsible prescribing’ will replace ‘over prescribing’ to include inappropriate prescribing, lack of prescribing, or prescribing older drugs when newer ones should be used.​ 
  • ‘Collaborate with other professionals’ will replace ‘intra- and interdisciplinary collaboration’ to simplify the capability and be inclusive of community and other service networks and providers. 
  • ‘Continuity in care during transitions’ will replace ‘transitions in care’ to include continuity in care and emphasise the importance of effective handovers and collaboration between health professionals. 

Following the open consultation process, a modified Delphi method will be conducted with key stakeholders to reach consensus on the core capabilities. A futher public consultation will be undertaken in September 2023 to seek feedback on the draft framework document.

We appreciate all the interest and expertise shared throughout the consultation phase and thank all stakeholders who prepared a submission.

Review of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program - Questions and Feedback

We asked

The department asked for your views and input on the Review of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (the Review). The Review was released for written stakeholder feedback from 6 April 2022 to 17 June 2022.

You said

18 submissions were received from a range of stakeholders including peak health bodies, advocacy organisations, First Nations health care services and state government organisations. The submissions were broadly supportive of the Review findings.

We did

Where appropriate, feedback provided on the Review has been considered to inform Program activities and enhancements.

A summary of the Review’s Findings and Program Reform Actions is provided in the below table.

Review Finding

Program Reform Actions

1

Consider feasibility of lowering screening entry age to 40 or 45 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, coupled with scale up of the Alternative Pathway pilot for this group.
  • A review of the Clinical Practice Guidelines for the prevention, early detection and management of colorectal cancer (Colorectal Clinical Practice Guidelines) is considering the clinical evidence for lowering the screening age for colorectal cancer. Implications for the Program will be considered by Government.
  • The Alternative Access to Kits Model commenced in October 2022 allowing all participating health care providers to issue screening kits directly to First Nations Peoples, consistent with the original pilot.

2

Review timing intervals for reminders with clinical input.
  • Currently under consideration by the Program

3

Consideration should be given to alternate forms of communication which do not require simultaneous availability of the participant follow-up function (PFUF) officer and recipient (e.g., email/SMS).
  • Currently under consideration by the Program

4

Support the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) with its implementation of the Colonoscopy Clinical Care Standard (CCCS) and monitor colonoscopy performance against colonoscopy quality standards.
  • Currently under consideration by the Program

5

Work with states and territories to pilot projects that reshape the PFUF role in line with innovative colonoscopy access models.
  • As part of a broader program of continuous improvement, the potential for enhancements to the Participant Follow Up Function role is under consideration by the Program.

6

Engage with Primary Health Networks (PHNs) and professional bodies (e.g., The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians) to promote a comprehensive set of educational materials, which describe the NHMRC-approved clinical practice guidelines, the Program’s full alignment with biennial screening recommendations, and recent changes to the Medicare Benefits Schedule item codes for colonoscopy.
  • Education material and delivery for healthcare providers is regularly reviewed, including following completion of the review of the Colorectal Clinical Practice Guidelines.

7

Re-configure Program Delivery Advisory Group (PDAG) to include jurisdictional representatives that are able to provide operational advice on contextual issues related to colonoscopy access.
  • Considered as part of a broader review of governance across all cancer screening programs. No substantive changes to PDAG planned at this point.

8

Promote the Program’s research priorities to external researchers.
  • The Program continues to work in partnership with researchers.
  • Relevant research findings are incorporated into campaigns and used to support updates to public facing program materials.

9

Reset the working relationship with all stakeholders to ensure needs are being met in regard to the purpose of each group and expectations on information sharing.
  • Targeted consultation with peak bodies and consumer advocates continues to focus on proposed programmatic changes, education and campaign materials.

10

Reconvene a working group with the goal of prioritising initiatives to address data gaps and agree on any required changes to the endorsed set of KPIs. This group should be set-up over the medium to long term to manage the stakeholder engagement, effort and time required to implement and oversee initiatives to address data gaps.
  • An approach to continued improvement and capability improvement is shared across all key stakeholders involved in data holding, analysis and reporting.

11

Improve visibility of the target population’s participation in other forms of bowel cancer screening, including via over-the-counter iFOBT kits or kits provided by clinicians. Identifying invitees in the target population deemed to be at higher risk for bowel cancer (who may be undergoing surveillance colonoscopies) would also allow a more accurate measure of the true Program participation rate.
  • The Alternative Access to Kits Model commenced in October 2022 allowing all participating health care providers to issue screening kits directly to patients, including under screeners.
  • Methods for identifying screening occurring outside the Program is currently under consideration.

12

Implement sustained and coordinated media and communications campaigns. Campaigns should be national in nature (across jurisdictional and cancer charities, where possible) to promote a coordinated message that minimises fragmentation and duplication of effort.
  • A national campaign raising awareness across multiple media platforms continues to be delivered. Campaign details are shared with states and territories to enable coordination of efforts.

13

Use the primary care sector as a resource to promote participation through education and opportunistic provision of kits. GPs, practice nurses and pharmacists are well placed to promote and provide counselling regarding Program participation.
  • The Alternative Access to Kits Model commenced in October 2022 allowing all participating health care providers to issue screening kits directly to patients, including under screeners.
  • GP education and awareness content for screening programs were distributed mid-2022.

14

Consider piloting sample drop-off points. Trials of this nature should initially be targeted at people in regional areas due to their unique challenges in complying with the strict return postage requirements.
  • This is being considered in partnership with other Government and non-government heath outreach programs.

15

Scale up the Alternative Pathway pilot, as appropriate in other population groups. This includes other locations targeted at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as well as exploration of how the pilot could be tailored to address access barriers faced by invitees from CALD backgrounds.
  • The Alternative Access to Kits Model commenced in October 2022 allowing all participating health care providers to issue screening kits directly to First Nations Peoples, consistent with the original pilot.

16

Explore utilisation of the NCSR to improve participation. This could include electronic reminders, streamlined processes for completion of personal details, access to in-language communications, as well as personalised invitations based on Program screening history and/or demographic factors. However, given phone/email contact information is unavailable for first-time screeners, mechanisms to collect this information from other government databases, such as MyGov, may be required.
  • Currently under consideration by the Program.

17

Modify kit contents and accessories to mitigate common reasons for non-completion. This may include an action plan for completion contained in the kit instructions (to overcome the procrastination barrier), and/or provision of accessories such as an opaque bag for fridge storage (to overcome perceived hygiene concerns).

  • Refresh of program resources is underway.