The Department of Health and an Expert Advisory Committee are currently developing Clinical Practice Guidelines on Antenatal Care (the Guidelines) on behalf of all Australian Governments. Oversight of this project is provided by the Maternity Services Inter-Jurisdictional Committee (MSIJC) and Community Care and Population Health Principal Committee (CCPHPC).
The Guidelines are designed to support Australian maternity services to provide high quality, evidence-based antenatal care to...More
THE 2014 NATIONAL REVIEW OF MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMMES AND SERVICES
The Australian Government has asked the National Mental Health Commission to review how effectively Australia responds to the needs of people living with mental health problems and those who support them. The Review will examine existing mental health services and programmes across the government, private and non-government sectors. You can find the Terms of Reference here.
This call for submissions will inform our...More
The new Australian National Diabetes Strategy seeks to prioritise Australia's response to diabetes, and to identify approaches to reduce the impact of diabetes in the community.
Developing a new Australian National Diabetes Strategy provides a valuable opportunity to evaluate current approaches to diabetes services and care; consider the role of governments at all levels, as well as other stakeholders; evaluate whether current efforts and investments align with identified needs; maximise...More
The Australian Government is proposing changes to the personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR) system, including renaming it the My Health Record system, and the Healthcare Identifiers Service, in response to reviews of each system undertaken in 2013.
The Electronic Health Records and Healthcare Identifiers: Legislation Discussion Paper outlines proposed changes to the legislative frameworks of the PCEHR system and Healthcare Identifiers Service that would support the...More
The Australian Government recognises the important role that the pharmacy profession can play in primary care and in improving patient health outcomes.
Primary health care plays an important role in broader population health. Primary health care providers, whether general practitioners, allied health professionals, Aboriginal health workers, nurses, pharmacists or other providers all play an important role in health promotion, prevention of chronic disease, risk assessment and early...More
This phase of the consultation process is now closed.
The Australian Medical Research Advisory Board held its first meeting at Parliament House on 4 May 2016. Under the Medical Research Future Fund Act 2015, the Advisory Board is tasked with determining the Australian Medical Research and Innovation Strategy (Strategy) and related Priorities. The Strategy is determined every five years and the Priorities every two years.
Members of the Advisory Board want to work with the community to...More
The Australian Government is committed to the quality of care of older people and considers the health, safety and welfare of aged care recipients a high priority. As part of reforms to the aged care system, the government is developing an end-to-end, market-based system with the sector, where competition and ultimately the consumer, drives quality. This includes a Single Aged Care Quality Framework with:
a single set of aged care standards for all aged care services
a...More
The Australian Government is committed to the quality of care of older people and considers the health, safety and welfare of aged care recipients a high priority. As part of reforms to the aged care system, the government is developing an end-to-end, market-based system with the sector, where competition and ultimately the consumer, drives quality. This includes a Single Aged Care Quality Framework with:
a single set of aged care standards for all aged care services
a...More
The Department of Health is inviting submissions from organisations and individuals on the social and cultural determinants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
Health outcomes for individuals are the result of a complex interaction between biological factors and the social and cultural circumstances which shape people's lives. These operate as both barriers and enablers to health and social and emotional wellbeing.
Between one-third and one-half of the health gap between...More
Introduction
The Health Star Rating (HSR) Advisory Committee (HSRAC), responsible for overseeing the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the HSR system, is reappraising the form of the food (‘as prepared’) rules in The Guide for Industry to the HSR Calculator . On 28 April 2017 the Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation (Forum) noted suggestions from stakeholders to improve the HSR system, including the ‘as prepared’ rules, and asked the HSRAC...More
Submit your response to the Interim Report
The Panel for the Review of Pharmacy Remuneration and Regulation welcomes feedback on the reform options presented in its Interim Report.
The issues contained in the Interim Report are complex, with the potential to impact significantly on community pharmacy. For this reason, the Panel invites you to provide any feedback on the proposed options and new information that may warrant consideration as the Panel deliberates on its Final Report....More
The Interim Report presents the findings and options for reform arising from the Review of Pharmacy Remuneration and Regulation. The issues in this report are complex, with the potential to impact significantly on community pharmacy. For this reason, the Review Panel invites you to provide any feedback on the proposed options and new information that may warrant consideration as the Panel develops its Final Report.
It is necessary that evidence is provided to support all considerations and...More
The Australian Government has commissioned an independent review of Commonwealth aged care quality regulatory processes (the Review). The Review was announced in response to the Oakden Report (attached below) which detailed failures in the quality of care delivered at the Oakden Older Persons Mental Health Service in South Australia (Oakden).
The Review is being led by Ms Kate Carnell AO in conjunction with Professor Ron Paterson ONZM. Ms Carnell is a veteran public administrator and...More
Introduction
The Health Star Rating (HSR) Advisory Committee (HSRAC), responsible for overseeing the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the HSR system, is undertaking a five year review of the HSR system. The HSR system is a front-of-pack labelling (FoPL) scheme intended to assist consumers in making healthier diet choices. The findings of the review will be provided to the Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation (Forum) in mid‑2019.
In parallel...More
Purpose
We are seeking information on domestic and international initiatives that align with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (the 2030 Agenda) and contribute to the health and wellbeing of our population, to inform the health related aspects of Australia’s Voluntary National Review (VNR) in 2018.
What information are we looking for?
We are interested in case studies or planned initiatives that align with the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and...More
In 2016, the Australian Government announced it would establish Specialist Dementia Care Units (SDCUs) to support people who experience very severe behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). The Government committed to establish at least one SDCU in each of the 31 Primary Health Network regions.
A detailed consultation paper has been prepared to seek stakeholder views on the policy design and implementation of SDCUs. The proposed arrangements in this paper have not been...More
Online Consultation on the
Development of the National Action Plan for Endometriosis
NOTE: the DRAFT National Action Plan for Endometriosis is attached below the survey link.
Endometriosis is a common, yet commonly under-recognised chronic disease. It is estimated that more than 700,000 Australian women and girls are living with endometriosis; however, delays in diagnosis and a lack of definitive research on the domestic burden of the disease suggest the number could be...More
In 2018, the Department engaged Siggins Miller Consultants Pty Ltd (Siggins Miller) to facilitate a range of consultation activities to inform the initial drafting of the next National Tobacco Strategy (NTS).
These included:
Targeted strategy development workshops and roundtable discussions;
Engagement with the Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS) Advisory Group and the National Best Practice Unit TIS Advisory Unit to discuss the issues and...More
Consistent with the Medical Research Future Fund Act 2015 (the Act), the independent Australian Medical Research Advisory Board (AMRAB) is conducting a national consultation to inform the development of the second set of Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Australian Medical Research and Innovation Priorities (Priorities) 2018-2020. The timeframe is chosen to ensure the second set of Priorities takes effect from the day the inaugural MRFF Priorities expire, 8 November 2018.
MRFF...More
Australian males generally enjoy better health and a longer life expectancy than males in most other countries in the world. Yet, on average, Australian males have a shorter life expectancy than Australian females, and some population groups of males, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males, have significantly shorter life expectancy than others.
On 13 June 2018, the Minister for Health, the Hon Greg Hunt MP announced the commencement of a process to establish a...More
On 2 March 2018, Minister Hunt announced at the National Women’s Health Summit in Sydney, the commencement of a process to establish a national women’s health strategy for 2020 to 2030. The Strategy will take into account changes in the policy environment, identification of gaps and emerging issues so that health system resources at the national and jurisdictional levels are directed at efficiently addressing the health issues that affect women and girls.
The Strategy will...More
This consultation is seeking feedback as part of a review of selected topics under the Pregnancy Care Guidelines.
The topics included in this consultation are:
Cervical length measurement to predict preterm birth
Syphilis
Chlamydia
Cytomegalovirus
Prolonged pregnancy
Pregnancy Care Guidelines
The Pregnancy Care Guidelines are designed to support Australian maternity services to provide high-quality,...More
The Department of Health (the Department) invites submissions to inform the Review of the Quality Use of Medicines Program's delivery by NPS MedicineWise (the Review).
The Review is being conducted by Emeritus Professor Lloyd Sansom AO.
Context
The Australian Government funds the not-for-profit, NPS MedicineWise, to provide evidence based information, support tools and education services to health professionals and consumers to improve the quality use of medicines and...More
The Department of Health (the Department) has a responsibility to protect the integrity of Australia's health payments system through prevention, identification and treatment of incorrect claiming, inappropriate practice and fraud by health care providers and suppliers.
In the 2017-18 Budget, the Government announced that it would be introducing legislation to improve Medicare compliance. When the announcement was made only 20 per cent of Medicare debts raised were being recovered....More
The five National Blood Borne Viruses (BBV) and Sexually Transmissible Infections (STI) Strategies set the direction for Australia’s continuing response to BBV and STI from 2018 to 2022. Together, the strategies outline a framework for a high quality and coordinated national response to BBV and STI in Australia. These five strategies include:
• Third National Hepatitis B Strategy
• Fifth National Hepatitis C Strategy
• Eighth National HIV Strategy
...More
On 15 August 2018, the Minister for Health, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, announced at the Royal Australasian College of Physicians Forum on Inequities in Child Health in Canberra, the commencement of a process to establish a National Action Plan for the Health of Children and Young People: 2020 to 2030 (the Action Plan).
The Action Plan will:
build on the Council of Australian Governments' Healthy, Safe and Thriving: National Strategic Framework for Child and Youth Health,
...More
Draft National Clinical Quality Registry Strategy
The draft National CQR Strategy aims to drive continuous improvements in the quality and value of health care to achieve better health outcomes for all Australians.
CQRs monitor the quality (appropriateness and effectiveness) of health care by routinely collecting and analysing clinical performance data. A mature CQR can provide clinicians, health service managers, patients and other stakeholders with ongoing, risk adjusted,...More
Four years ago, Australia’s First National Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Strategy 2015-2019 was published. This Strategy, due to expire at the end of 2019, focuses predominantly on antibacterial resistance taking a One Health approach to address AMR across human health, animal health and agriculture. With significant progress and achievements accomplished in this space since this initial publication, it has become clear that we need to reassess and cultivate the objectives of our response...More
The Department of Health (the Department) is undertaking a review of the Practice Incentives Program Indigenous Health Incentive (PIP IHI). This review aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the PIP IHI to support general practices to provide culturally appropriate health care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with chronic disease.
The public consultation process was finalised in July 2019 and included 26 written submissions from peak bodies and other...More