Consultation Paper for the National Preventive Health Strategy

Overview

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 developed, which draws on evidence from a range of sources. The Consultation Paper sets out what the Strategy will aim to achieve and conceptually how this might be done.

Feedback received on the Consultation Paper will be used to inform the development of the Strategy.

The Strategy will provide the overarching, long-term approach to prevention in Australia by building systemic change to ensure the best outcomes for all Australians. The Strategy will identify areas of focus for the next 10 years and outlines evidence-based approaches to underpin future priorities. 

The Strategy will aim to help Australians improve their health at all stages of life, through early intervention, better information, and targeting risk factors and the broader causes of health and wellbeing.

The Strategy will recognise that health is not just the presence or absence of disease or injury – more holistically, it is a state of wellbeing. The Strategy will not be disease specific in its approach but rather, it will focus on system wide, evidence-based approaches to reducing poor health.

The Strategy will be developed to fully align with the commitments made under the new National Agreement on Closing the Gap and align with other key Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy initiatives, including the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan, and the commitment to develop a National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce Plan. This includes considering how mainstream services and organisations can improve accountability and better respond to the preventive health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Further engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people will be undertaken and feedback is encouraged through this consultation process.  

PLEASE NOTE: The Consultation Paper can be found at the bottom of the page under the 'Related' heading. Please ensure you have read the paper in full before you provide feedback.

Ensuring the Strategy will be expert-informed

An Expert Steering Committee has been established to oversee the development of the Strategy. To date, a range of consultation has taken place including eight topic-specific consultation workshops and a national consumer survey ‘Living Well for Longer’. The Australian Government has partnered with the Sax Institute in developing the Consultation Paper.

For further information: https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/national-preventive-health-strategy.

Why your views matter

The purpose of this consultation is to seek stakeholder and community feedback on the Consultation Paper. The diverse perspectives, experiences and knowledge of all stakeholders and interested members of the community are valued and respected and will contribute to the final Strategy.

What happens next

The feedback received as part of this consultation process will contribute to the development of the National Preventive Health Strategy The Strategy will be developed in consultation with the Expert Steering Committee and a Draft Strategy will be released for public consultation late 2020. The Strategy will be finalised by March 2021.