Purpose and Scope
The Public Health Laboratory Network (PHLN) Expert Reference Panel (ERP) on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) will survey public health laboratories, public health units and other laboratories or teams involved in the testing and reporting of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE). This information will be used for a data-informed analysis, to understand how CPE is detected by testing, reported and actioned in Australia.
Key aims
...More
Purpose and Scope
The Public Health Laboratory Network (PHLN) Expert Reference Panel (ERP) on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) will survey public health laboratories, public health units and other laboratories or teams involved in the testing and reporting of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE). This information will be used for a data-informed analysis, to understand how CPE is detected by testing, reported and actioned in Australia.
Key aims
The...More
PBS Post-market Review Framework
The Department of Health and Aged Care is inviting stakeholders to provide feedback on a revised draft of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) Post-market Review (PMR) Framework.
Stakeholders will have the opportunity to engage and provide feedback on the revised draft of the 2022 PMR Framework. The diverse perspectives, experience and knowledge of all stakeholders is highly valued and will contribute to the...More
PHLN’s recently revised laboratory case definition for HIV has stimulated a review of laboratory algorithms for the confirmation HIV in many primary and reference laboratories around Australia. This presents an opportunity for optimization and standardization of HIV confirmatory testing approaches in Australia.
The aim of this survey is to better understand:
Current confirmatory testing algorithms used in HIV reference laboratories around Australia.
Planned...More
The National Preventive Health Strategy 2021-2030 outlines Australia’s overarching, long-term approach to prevention. The aim of the National Preventive Health Strategy is to create a sustainable prevention system for all Australians, with a particular focus on the wider determinants of health, reducing health inequity and addressing the increasing burden of disease. This will help all Australians live in good health and wellbeing for as long as possible.
The...More
The EFC Program provides funding for chemotherapy and other medicines used for the treatment of cancer that are administered through infusion or injection at public or private hospitals. Not all cancer medicines are provided through the EFC Program; some may be subsidised through other sections of the broader Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
The Australian Government is undertaking a review of the EFC Program to examine current EFC arrangements and the associated...More
The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) is a list of health professional services (items) that the Australian Government subsidises. MBS items provide patient benefits for a wide range of health services including consultations, diagnostic tests, therapy, and operations.
In 2021, the Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS) Continuous Review was established to ensure the MBS continues to support high-quality care, remains flexible, and stays up to date. The MBS Continuous Review involves...More
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) is consulting with stakeholders on proposed changes to the recommended use of Zoster vaccines for inclusion in the Australian Immunisation Handbook, with an intention to submit the recommendation to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for its approval under section 14A of the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992.
The draft recommendations and the rationale for the changes are outlined in...More
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) is consulting with stakeholders on proposed changes to recommended use of meningococcal B vaccines in people at increased risk of meningococcal B disease for inclusion in the Australian Immunisation Handbook, with an intention to submit the recommendation to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for its approval under section 14A of the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992.
The draft...More
This survey seeks to understand how Shigella is being tested for in Australian public health laboratories, and how antibiotic susceptibility testing for multi-drug resistant Shigella is being reported from reference laboratories to public health authorities.
The following questions will be used to analyse the testing and reporting processes for MDR Shigella of each jurisdiction. The information provided as part of this survey will be identifiable at the jurisdictional level and...More
This survey seeks to understand how Shigella is being tested for in Australia, and how antibiotic susceptibility testing data for multi-drug resistant (MDR) Shigella is being reported to and used by public health authorities.
The following questions will be used to analyse the testing and reporting processes for MDR Shigella in each jurisdiction. The information provided as part of this survey will be identifiable at the jurisdictional level and will be used by the Public Health...More
The Department of Health invites submissions in relation to a proposal to introduce a cost recovered pathway for applications received from commercial entities seeking reimbursement decisions from the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC).
This proposal is to introduce a cost recovered pathway for the following application types received, from commercial entities:
codependent technologies (medical services and health technologies that...More
The Australian Government is seeking to align regulation across the aged care, disability support and veterans’ care sectors. The 2021-22 Budget included a range of measures that form a short to longer term program of reform.
The Department of Health, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (NDIS Commission), the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC), the Department of Social Services (DSS) and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) are working together to deliver on...More
This survey provides Public Health Laboratory Network (PHLN) members with an opportunity to provide feedback on their experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this survey will be discussed at the PHLN meeting of 22 November 2021, and will be used to inform the development of the National Public Health Laboratory Strategy.
Feedback provided as part of this survey will only be used for the purpose of PHLN discussions and will not be communicated further without expressed...More
Future focused primary health care: Australia’s Primary Health Care 10 Year Plan 2022-2032
Consultation Draft - Survey
The Consultation Draft of the Primary Health Care 10 Year Plan (the plan) draws on input from consultations with individuals and organisations across the country from late 2019 to mid-2021. The plan represents a high level response to the recommendations of the Primary Health Reform Steering Group (Steering Group) which has been...More
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) is consulting with stakeholders on proposed changes to recommended use of BCG vaccines to prevent tuberculosis for inclusion in the Australian Immunisation Handbook, with an intention to submit the recommendation to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for its approval under section 14A of the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992.
The draft recommendations and the rationale for the...More
The Australian Medical Research and Innovation Strategy (Strategy) is determined by the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board (AMRAB). The current Strategy covers the period 2016-2021, with the next Strategy (2021-2026) to be registered before 8 November 2021. The Medical Research Future Fund Act 2015 (MRFF Act) requires AMRAB to undertake a consultation process before determining a Strategy.
The Australian Medical Research and Innovation Priorities ...More
The Efficient Funding of Chemotherapy (EFC) Program provides funding for chemotherapy medicines used for the treatment of cancer that are administered through infusion or injection at public or private hospitals. Not all chemotherapy medicines are provided through the EFC Program, but may be subsidised through the broader Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
In the 2020-21 Budget, the Government announced a review of the current EFC Program. The review will look at the impact...More
Preventive health is a key pillar of Australia’s Long Term National Health Plan with mental health.
In June 2019, the Minister for Health, the Hon Greg Hunt MP announced that the Australian Government would develop a 10-year National Preventive Health Strategy (the Strategy). In April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minister agreed to delay the public consultation process and extend the timeframe of the Strategy until 2021.
An Expert Steering...More
Reform of the food regulatory system
In March 2020, the Australian New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation (the Forum) endorsed an implementation plan for an ambitious reform agenda for the food regulatory system aimed at ensuring the system remains strong, robust and agile into the future. The reform agenda is being progressed through a number of interconnected projects.
This consultation is part of the first stage of the Review of the Intergovernmental Food Regulation...More
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) is consulting with stakeholders on proposed changes to rabies vaccination recommendations for inclusion in the Australian Immunisation Handbook, with an intention to submit the recommendation to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for its approval under section 14A of the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992.
The draft recommendations and the rationale for the changes are outlined in the...More
We know the importance of investing in Australia’s young people, and believe in their power to create positive change.
For us to achieve meaningful change now and into the future, we must involve young people in the decisions that affect them.
To inform the development of the National Youth Policy Framework, we have created a national survey for young people aged 18 and over.
The survey gives young Australians a chance to tell us their views on what is important to them. It...More
Consistent with the Medical Research Future Fund Act 2015 (the Act), the independent Australian Medical Research Advisory Board (AMRAB) is conducting a consultation to develop the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Australian Medical Research and Innovation Priorities 2020-22 (the Priorities) . The 2020-22 Priorities must be tabled in the Australian Parliament by 6 November 2020 .
The Priorities are considered by the Minister for Health before...More
Informing the National Preventive Health Strategy
Preventive health is a key pillar of Australia’s Long Term National Health Plan.
As announced by the Minister for Health, the Hon Greg Hunt MP in June 2019 , the Australian Government is developing a 10-year National Preventive Health Strategy (the Strategy).
Due to the emergence of COVID-19, the development of the Strategy was paused. The Strategy will now be developed by March 2021 .
A Consultation Paper has been...More
The National Injury Prevention Strategy 2020-2030 (the Strategy) aims to create a national focus on injuries and their prevention. The Strategy will take a broad approach to injury and aims to address both intentional and unintentional injuries across all ages and population groups. The Strategy is currently being developed and recognises that:
Injuries are the leading cause of death of all people aged 1-44 years;
Intentional and unintentional injuries are...More
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) is consulting with stakeholders on proposed changes to the pneumococcal vaccination recommendations for inclusion in the Australian Immunisation Handbook, with an intention to submit the recommendation to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for its approval under section 14A of the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992.
The draft recommendations and the rationale for the changes are...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
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
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) is consulting with stakeholders on proposed changes to the maternal pertussis vaccination recommendations for inclusion in the Australian Immunisation Handbook, with an intention to submit the recommendation to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for its approval under section 14A of the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992.
The draft recommendations and the rationale for the changes are...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