Calls to improve care for people with chronic pain and to expand access to voluntary assisted dying are among the topics covered this week, as well as recommendations for action from a National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Registered Training Organisation (RTO) Summit.
The column also puts a focus on the next National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement, and pays tribute to a number of retiring leaders, including Natalie Siegel-Brown. Many believe that in her role as Inspector-General of Aged Care “she has done an outstanding job in holding the Government to account, and are hoping her replacement is as bold and clear-sighted”, writes our columnist.
Among the statistics on marriages and divorces are a few gems for trivia buffs.
The quotables?
In other words, the frailest and sickest group of older people are receiving fewer specialist services than people living independently in the community.”
And…
Albanese needs to get out of the Marrickville bubble and visit the Yuin country on the south coast of NSW, where I spend much of my time. It is almost impossible for newcomers to the area to find a GP, appointments with GPs have a lead time of at least a week, and local specialist services are virtually non-existent.”
Charles Maskell-Knight writes:
National Pain Week apparently ran from 26-31 July, which by my reckoning is a day short of a week – a change from some “weeks” which run for eight days. Anyway, it was long enough for a number of organisations to issue related statements.
Chronic Pain Australia (CPA) released its 2026 National Pain Report: Pain Lives Here, “calling attention to what it describes as Australia’s National Pain Gap – the disconnect between the widespread impact of chronic pain and the lack of recognition, measurement and action within Australia’s health system”.
CPA called on “Governments to recognise chronic pain within Australia’s national health data, as the first step towards closing the National Pain Gap”.
“Better data means better planning, better investment, and a health system that no longer overlooks millions of Australians living with pain every day,” they said.
The Australian Pain Society (APS) said it supported CPA in “calling for every Australian living with persistent pain to have equitable access to evidence-informed, multidisciplinary pain care, regardless of where they live or what they can afford”.
APS President Bernadette Smith said “Australia needs nationally consistent pain data, including patient-reported outcomes and clinical registries, to evaluate pain care, improve quality and safety of care and ensure better outcomes for people living with pain”.
MS Australia said National Pain Week was an opportunity to recognise the pain burden carried by as many as nine in ten people living with multiple sclerosis (MS).
It said there are “not enough treatments designed specifically for the underlying mechanisms that cause pain in this disease”.
“That is why investment in pain research is so important,” MS Australia said. “A better understanding of how MS damages the nervous system to trigger chronic pain will lead to more targeted therapies, more personalised treatment approaches and, ultimately, more effective medications with fewer side effects.”
The Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) encouraged Australians living with persistent pain to work closely with their GP to find the right treatment plan, saying holistic care and early support was needed to prevent medicine-related harm.
The RACGP said it worked with Monash University researchers to help develop Australia’s first national deprescribing roadmap, SUPPORT-Meds, “aimed at reducing harmful and unnecessary medicine use and supporting safer prescribing practices”.
The College also “called on governments to strengthen access to evidence-based addiction treatment, including support for more GPs to provide Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Dependence (MATOD) in their communities”.
It reiterated this call in a statement directed at the next Victorian Government later in the week.
Pharmacy Guild National President Professor Trent Twomey said “community pharmacists are the most accessible primary healthcare provider, and they are ready to do more to support those living with chronic pain”.
Twomey went on “empowering pharmacists to deliver more services means patients can receive advice, medication reviews, support with treatment plans, and referrals when and where they need it. Helping them stay well and avoid unnecessary hospital visits”.
Voluntary assisted dying (VAD)
In last week’s column I reported on the decision by Labor’s national conference to amend the party platform to commit to “removing barriers that exist in federal law to the provision of end-of-life care (including via telehealth) as part of lawful access to VAD in the states and territories, while maintaining appropriate clinical safeguards”.
Croakey colleague Jason Staines has written a follow-up article on the conference, dealing with the VAD issue in depth, including commentary from the Australian Medical Association (AMA), Go Gentle Australia, and Dying With Dignity.
Advanced Pharmacy Australia (AdPha) also backed the renewed push to remove telehealth barriers to VAD.
The ABC reported that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in favour of voluntary euthanasia but said he was “yet to be convinced” allowing people to consult with doctors via phone or video about the process was “the right move”.
Albanese needs to get out of the Marrickville bubble and visit the Yuin country on the south coast of NSW, where I spend much of my time. It is almost impossible for newcomers to the area to find a GP, appointments with GPs have a lead time of at least a week, and local specialist services are virtually non-existent.
A requirement for a face-to-face visit as part of VAD processes would place huge obstacles in the path of terminally-ill people contemplating VAD – and is completely unnecessary given the safeguards that exist under state law.
Palliative Care Australia (PCA) took the opportunity of the renewed debate about telehealth and VAD to “reaffirm the important role telemedicine already plays in supporting equitable access to high-quality palliative care”.
PCA Chair Dr Peter Allcroft said “telemedicine does not replace local, face-to-face care”.
“It strengthens that care by bringing specialist expertise into the person’s home and community, supporting local teams and reducing some of the barriers created by distance.”
Ministers and government
Health Minister Mark Butler appeared on the Sunrise television program to discuss the proposed reduction of the private health insurance rebate for older Australians.
He argued that the change will mean “two households next to each other, for example, on $50,000, one of them over 65, the other household in their 40s or in their 50s with kids, they’ll now both receive the same subsidy from government or from taxpayers to pay for their private health insurance”.
“About a quarter of their private health bill will be paid for by taxpayers. I think that’s a pretty equitable place to be. Two households next to each other getting the same subsidy based on their income rather than a different subsidy based on age,” the Minister said.
Asked about concerns raised by state health ministers about the impact on public hospitals, Butler said: “I’m a little surprised, frankly, that the state governments have swallowed the rather self-serving modelling that the insurance industry itself is putting out there”.
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (DHDA) announced on the news page of its website it was building a national database on residential aged care bed capacity, home locations and conditions “to inform policy and funding decisions by Government, address care shortages, reduce hospital stays, and support Australia’s ageing population”.
To assist in this endeavour, it was inviting aged care providers to complete a census.
I suppose the “news” part of this story is that DHDA does not already have a national database on bed capacity, home locations and conditions.
In more newsy news, DHDA announced the release of the first annual report for the National Carer Strategy 2024-2034.
This “highlighted implemented actions such as the additional 10,000 phone counselling sessions available to carers each year”, and “shows progress has been made over the last 12 months to improve access to mental health support, respite arrangements, and peer support, and identify appropriate and culturally safe free online training courses to better support carers in their role”.
DHDA also marked DonateLife Week by encouraging people to register as an organ and tissue donor.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) released Bringing focus: a monitoring framework for sexual and reproductive health and How to tell the story: a strategy for monitoring sexual and reproductive health data.
The first release “provides a conceptual structure to monitor, understand and respond to sexual and reproductive health, with a focus on improving health and care outcomes, informing evidence-based policy and service provision, and supporting equity, access and quality”.
The second “presents a practical approach to strengthening sexual and reproductive health data… identifying priority data gaps and actions to improve monitoring across five initial topics: menstrual disorders, symptoms and related conditions; contraception; pregnancy loss before 20 weeks’ gestation; termination of pregnancy; and perimenopause and menopause”.
The AIHW also released Pregnancy loss in Australia: a data scoping study, reporting that “survey estimates suggest between 30 percent and 37 percent of Australians who have ever been pregnant have experienced at least one miscarriage or pregnancy loss before 20 weeks’ gestation”.
However, the wide range in the estimates reflects “inconsistent definitions and reporting parameters, as well as the absence of national pregnancy loss registers.
Interpretation and comparison of data from different sources are hampered by differences in:
- the types of pregnancy loss included
- the gestational age range included
- whether the pregnancy was clinically confirmed or based on self-report
- whether estimates of pregnancy loss are presented as a proportion of pregnancies, as a proportion of people who have ever been pregnant, or as a population rate.
The AIHW also released an article focussing on public hospital maternity care, including data on services from 2025, and patient-level data from Victoria, Queensland and WA for 2023.
The AIHW released a number of aged care reports, including data on timeliness of access to aged care services in Australia and an article on who is accessing the Commonwealth Home Support Program.
The data in both is somewhat dated, relating respectively to everyone who had their first comprehensive aged care eligibility assessment in the 2021–22 financial year, followed up to 30 June 2024, and initial CHSP utilisation in 2023-24.
It also released data on interfaces between the aged care and health systems, which found almost all people using residential aged care (96.7 percent) and home care (97.8 percent) received a GP service in 2023-24, compared with 79.3 percent of older people not receiving aged care.
The data also showed only 41.2 percent of people using residential aged care received at least one specialist service, compared with 68.3 percent of people receiving home care services, and 51.4 percent of older people not receiving aged care.
In other words, the frailest and sickest group of older people are receiving fewer specialist services than people living independently in the community.
The AIHW also released Residential Aged Care Quality Indicators for the March quarter.
Trend analysis of 11 indicators over the last five years shows statistically significant improvement in many areas, but a worsening performance in the proportion of residents attending emergency departments.
There has been no change in the proportion of residents subject to restrictive practices.
And while the use of antipsychotic medicines has fallen significantly, most of that reduction took place in 2021-23, since when the rate of residents receiving the drugs has been constant – and arguably far too high – at between 17 and 18 percent.
The AIHW released an updated report on Dementia in Australia, including:
- estimated dementia prevalence in 2025 for the total population and younger onset dementia, including projections for 2026 to 2066
- dementia deaths in 2024
- behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) among people who completed a comprehensive aged care needs assessment in 2023–24
- healthcare and aged care spending for dementia in 2023–24.
Finally, the AIHW released updated NSW data under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released data on deaths due to acute respiratory infections in May (with some incomplete data for June).
In May there were more deaths from COVID-19 (66) than influenza (12) and respiratory syncytial virus (41) combined, the same pattern as the previous few months.
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) released new national guidance for the safe, appropriate and sustainable use of intravenous (IV) fluids.
The ACSQHS said release included:
- Intravenous fluid therapy: Principles for safe, appropriate and sustainable use guidance “providing a summary of the core considerations that should underpin all decisions about IV fluid therapy”
- Safe administration of intravenous fluids: avoiding venous air embolism
- a fact sheet for prescribers to guide decision-making for initiating, reviewing and/or ceasing IV fluids
- a poster for clinicians to support local adoption by health service organisations.
The Office of the Inspector-General of Aged Care released her submission to the Support at Home program Senate inquiry, raising the central concern that “Support at Home has become increasingly focused on managing demand and rationing finite resources rather than functioning as a preventive system designed to help older people maintain their independence and remain at home”.
“While many of the program’s features were introduced with legitimate policy objectives, their combined effect is often to delay, deter or limit timely access to care… [and are] pushing people towards deterioration before support is available.”
The submission “argues for a fundamental recalibration of Support at Home around prevention”, and to this end makes 19 recommendations.
Even if these are adopted by the Senate inquiry, there is no sign that a Government with a relentlessly Panglossian view of Support at Home will accept them.
31 July was the last day of Natalie Siegel-Brown’s tenure as Inspector-General.
Many advocates for people using aged care believe she has done an outstanding job in holding the Government to account, and are hoping her replacement is as bold and clear-sighted.
Consumer and public health groups
The Food for Health Alliance (FHA) released a report assessing Governments’ response to the food labelling reforms recommended in the 2011 review of Australia’s food labelling law and policy (Labelling Logic).
This review which made 40 recommendations aimed at improving health, such as mandatory added sugar and trans-fat labelling on packaged food, and warning labels on alcohol.
The FHA report concludes that 15 years later, only three of the 40 recommendations have been fully implemented.
FHA said this reflects “a broken food regulation system that puts industry interest ahead of Australians’ health”.
FHA Executive Manager Jane Martin said the review of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 (FSANZ Act) “is an important opportunity to fix our broken food system, but current proposals risk making things worse”.
“There are real concerns that proposed reforms will prioritise cutting red tape to make it easier for industry to grow their profits, at the expense of public health,” Martin said.
The AMA warned that food regulation reform can’t wait another 15 years, and called on food ministers to immediately release the findings of the FSANZ Act Review and commit to reforms that put Australians’ health ahead of industry interests.
AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said “Australians have waited 15 years for common‑sense food labelling reforms that would help them make healthier choices, yet most of these recommendations are still sitting on the shelf”.
“The FSANZ Act Review is a once-in-a-generation chance to ensure Australia’s food regulation system supports prevention and protects public health.”
The Heart Foundation released a consensus statement on obesity and cardiovascular disease.
Mental Health Australia (MHA) said “support for children and families, better access to psychosocial supports, and boosting Australia’s mental health workforce must be central priorities in the next National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement”.
MHA released a suite of guidance papers to support governments as they develop the next National Agreement. The guidance draws on consultation with MHA’s 160-member network, and “outlines practical priorities and recommendations to strengthen Australia’s mental health system and improve outcomes for people across the country”.
The guidance comprises:
- A Priorities Statement, setting out clear and practical actions governments can take to improve mental health outcomes through targeted investment in priority reform areas, addressing weaknesses in system foundations and strengthening existing commitments
- A Principles for Psychosocial Supports Outside the NDIS paper, highlighting psychosocial support for people with severe mental health challenges who fall outside the NDIS as the critical missing piece of Australia’s mental health system
- A Workforce Priorities paper, outlining the urgent need to address workforce shortages, recruitment and retention challenges, and long-term workforce planning.
The National Asthma Council released an update on a shortage of salbutamol nebules, saying GSK had advised Ventolin Nebules (salbutamol sulfate) 5 mg/2.5 mL would be out‑of-stock until 17 April, and that 2.5 mg/2.5 mL inhalation solution ampoules are currently in supply shortage with limited availability until 21 December 2026.
National Asthma Council Clinical Executive Lead Associate Professor Debbie Rigby said the shortage “provides an opportunity for health professionals to reinforce the updated National Asthma Council Australian Asthma Handbook guidelines”.
“No adult or adolescent should be using short-acting beta2 agonist treatment and the emphasis is now on embedding anti-inflammatory reliever and maintenance-and-reliever therapy approaches as standard care for adults and adolescents.”
Rigby added “pressurised metered-dose inhalers with a spacer are at least as effective as a nebuliser for the delivery of salbutamol for adults and children, even during symptomatic exacerbations”.
First Nations
NACCHO joined with Hepatitis Australia on World Hepatitis Day “encouraging all communities to ‘Take the Next Step’ by having a yarn with a trusted health worker, asking for a hepatitis B and hepatitis C test, checking their hepatitis B vaccination status or returning for regular liver checks”.
NACCHO Medical Advisor Dr Megan Campbell said “every person should know their hepatitis B status”.
“People who are not immune can be vaccinated, while people living with hepatitis B can be connected to regular liver checks and treatment when needed.
“Hepatitis C is different: it can be easily cured, usually with eight to 12 weeks of tablets.”
Hepatitis Australia CEO Lucy Clyne said “hepatitis can seriously damage your liver, and many people simply don’t know they have it until it’s too late”.
“Getting tested is the only way to know. Early diagnosis and regular care can prevent serious liver disease and save lives.
“Together, we’ve achieved incredible results in reducing the incidence of hepatitis in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
“It’s now time to ‘Take the Next Step’, get tested, and look after your liver.”
NACCHO also held a National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Registered Training Organisation (RTO) Summit, bringing together Aboriginal Community Controlled and First Nations Owned RTOs, the Minister for Skills and Training, Government, regulators, workforce planners, and industry.
NACCHO CEO Dr Dawn Casey PSM said Australia’s care workforce “could not be built through workforce targets alone”.
She said the care economy needs more than training places, and that “it needs trainers, assessors and RTOs that can turn local knowledge into recognised qualifications and secure careers”.
“Every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trainer we qualify is a workforce multiplier,” Casey said.
“They can train cohort after cohort across health, aged care, disability, early childhood and community services. The qualification belongs to one person, but the capability stays with the community.”
NACCHO called for:
- a multi-year sector-strengthening plan developed and governed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander RTOs
- sustained investment in trainer and assessor pathways, core RTO capability, and regional, remote and island delivery
- equal shared decision-making through the nationally networked VET policy partnership
- industry commitments to paid placements, culturally safe supervision and secure employment.
Trade unions
The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) said “every new graduate nurse must be guaranteed access to structured transition support [to practice], with up to 30 percent of early career nurses abandoning practice within years of starting while Australia stares down a projected shortfall of almost 80,000 nurses by 2035”.
ACN released a position paper on Transition to Practice Programs, and called on the Governments to:
Invest in access, guaranteeing every new graduate nurse is supported through their transition to practice, via an organisation-led program or funded scholarships for ACN’s Transition to Practice Program
Develop a National Nursing Transition to Practice Program Framework, defining the core elements every program should deliver including local orientation, preceptorship and mentorship, clinical supervision, gradual competency building, Cultural Safety, long-lasting rotations, psychological support, and clear career pathways
Invest in research, funding studies on transitions of practice, and transition program design, outcomes and impact on retention, so policy and resources go where they work.
The Australian College of Mental Health Nurses (ACMHN) warmly welcomed the announcement that NSW Health will establish the position of Chief Mental Health Nursing Officer.
This was described as “a significant and timely investment in the mental health nursing profession and in the quality, safety, and accessibility of mental health care across NSW”.
ACMHN President Professor Rhonda Wilson called for every jurisdiction including the Commonwealth to establish a similar position.
ACMHN also called for formal recognition of mental health nursing as an endorsed area of practice on the national register of health practitioners. This would “make this specialist workforce visible, support accurate workforce planning, provide greater clarity for the public and employers, and formally recognise the advanced capabilities of qualified mental health nurses”.
The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine welcomed the opening of applications for the Australian Government’s $1.36 billion Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training Program, which will support universities to encourage and prepare health students to pursue careers in regional, rural, remote, and First Nations communities.
ACRRM President Dr Rod Martin said the College “welcomed the stronger focus on workforce outcomes, local needs and giving universities greater flexibility to develop innovative approaches that work for their communities”.
The Australian Dental Association (ADA) said “new national research released for Dental Health Week (3–8 August 2026) reveals a concerning combination of untreated dental problems, social media-driven cosmetic treatments, and preventable sports injuries among 18-25-year-olds”.
The ADA’s 2025 Consumer Survey of more than 25,000 Australians found “young Australians are delaying or avoiding dental care due to cost pressures, busy lifestyles, and reduced access to support, potentially setting them up for long-term oral health problems”.
The ADA encouraged young Australians to prioritise preventive dental care, including regular dental check-ups.
Good luck with that!
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) paid tribute to the work of ACTU leaders Sally McManus and Michele O’Neil.
ANMF Federal Secretary Annie Butler said: “As a predominantly-female union, the ANMF commends Sally and Michele for achieving so many significant IR legislative changes which have addressed legacy gender inequity in Australian workplaces.
“Notably, they helped win historic increases in award and minimum wages, which have benefitted low-paid care workers across the country.
“We pay tribute to their extraordinary courage and commitment. Their generous and inclusive leadership has built enormous unity and created the platform for strong growth across the movement.”
AMA Vice-President Professor Julian Rait OAM wrote an article for AMA Insider addressing “the familiar accusation [that] Australia’s non-GP specialists are paid too much”.
He argues “criticism aimed at specialist fees is aimed at the wrong target”.
“After Medicare began 42 years ago, rebate indexation soon stalled and was even frozen outright for several years after 2013 – through periods when wages and practice costs kept climbing regardless. Specialist fees, by contrast, have risen largely in step with real-world overheads: staff wages, rent, insurance, energy and imported medical equipment,” he said.
The AMA and RACGP wrote a joint letter to Minister Butler, “urging the Government to implement a temporary amendment to a rule limiting the number of telehealth consultations GPs can do in a year, to ensure patients can continue accessing care if fuel shortages significantly disrupt travel and face-to-face consultations”.
The Australian Psychological Society (APS) encouraged Australians to make time for meaningful social connection on International Friendship Day, saying loneliness was emerging as one of the nation’s most significant mental health challenges.
APS CEO Dr Zena Burgess said “preventing mental ill-health isn’t only about expanding clinical services – although that remains critically important”.
“It’s also about creating the conditions where people can build and maintain meaningful relationships. Schools, workplaces, neighbourhoods and community organisations all have a role to play in fostering connection and belonging.”
The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) welcomed Minister Butler’s announcement that follow-up services for the Home Medicines Review and Residential Medication Management Review programs will be able to be delivered via telehealth from 1 November.
PSA National President Professor Mark Naunton “declared it an important step in modernising pharmacist-delivered care and improving patient access to medication safety programs, particularly for those in rural and remote Australia who may have limited access to healthcare”.
The day after Jacinta Allan resigned as Victorian Premier, there was more excitement at Victoria’s Parliament House as GPs from the RACGP “descended on Parliament House to offer policy advice, physical and mental health checks”.
The RACGP policy suggestions are set out here, and include payroll tax exemption, and a halt to further expansion of pharmacist prescribing while training requirements are strengthened and a public review of patient outcomes and adverse events is conducted.
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) NSW Branch welcomed the NSW Government’s new health-led response model for mental health emergencies.
This will establish a statewide Virtual Mental Health Hub within NSW Ambulance and eight Mental Health Acute Assessment Teams operating 12 hours a day, seven days a week in areas of high need.
RANZCP NSW Branch Chair Dr Ian Korbel said “for too long, police have often been called upon to respond to situations that are fundamentally health crises”.
“While police will always have an important role where there are immediate safety risks, people experiencing mental distress should, wherever possible, be met first with clinical expertise and appropriate care.”
Industry groups
Private Healthcare Australia (PHA, the private health insurers lobby group), said: “RedBridge polling of 1,505 Australians found 39 percent of people aged 65 and over with health insurance say the rebate change would make them more likely to drop their cover, causing them to rely on the stressed public hospital system instead”.
Private Healthcare Australia CEO Dr Rachel David said “this suggested the Government’s prediction of 44,000 older people dropping their cover due to the change could be a significant under-estimate”.
“It also does not account for the possibility of mass downgrades in insurance, leaving people uncovered for care such as knee and hip replacements and cataract surgery.”
According to PHA, RedBridge “found strong support for an alternative approach of protecting pensioners and low-income older Australians across all generations with 53 percent preferring an approach that would protect age pensioners and low-income older Australians from the reduction”.
COTA Australia CEO Patricia Sparrow said “a survey of COTA members found that 82 percent opposed the Government’s plans to axe the higher private health insurance rebate for older people, 89 percent are concerned about what the changes will mean, and more than a third are already planning to downgrade or cancel their cover”.
Sparrow went on “the discussion around the rebate change has surfaced a deeper concern about whether private health insurance represents genuine value for money for older Australians”.
“Many older people are facing higher premiums, rising out-of-pocket specialist costs, confusing products and now, proposed changes to the private health insurance rebate that will make cover even harder to afford,” Sparrow said.
“The Government should be looking carefully at the impact these planned changes are likely have on Australia’s health system broadly, and carefully at private health insurance itself and the role it plays in the system.”
Parliamentary committees
The Senate inquiry into rural, regional and remote Medicare access and funding will hold a public hearing in Canberra on 14 August attended by a range of groups including the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine, Rural Doctors Association of Australia, National Rural Health Alliance, AIHW, NACCHO, AMA, and DHDA.
International organisations
The OECD released its updated Health Statistics database, with the latest figures and trends on:
- Health spending
- Obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption
- Long-term care
- Pharmaceuticals
- Health care quality
- Health care outcomes.
Finally
The media team at the ABS do a great job in including interesting or quirky titbits in an otherwise fairly dry stream of public information.
On 28 July, the ABS released Marriages and Divorces 2025 with an accompanying media release on seven interesting stats about Australian marriages and divorces in 2025.
After reciting facts about marriage numbers and rates (down), timing (spring is popular), same-sex marriage (stable), divorce rates (up marginally), marriage duration (also up), it presented a bonus fact: 10 November 2012 (10/11/12) is still the most popular date for marriages in the last 20 years with 3,081 marriages on that one day! Second place – 11 November 2011 (11/11/11) – only had 2,614.
I suppose it’s one way of remembering your wedding anniversary.
Consultations and inquiries
Here is our weekly list of requests by government bodies and parliamentary committees for responses to consultations or submissions to inquiries, arranged in order of submission deadlines. Please let us know if there are any to add for next week’s column.
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
Fee Transparency in Health Care: Informed Financial Consent and Split Billing Practices
5 August
Therapeutic Goods Administration
Changes to the Permissible Indications Determination
12 August
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
Updated pathology Standard
12 August
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
Requirements for Haemopoietic Cellular Therapy
12 August
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
Private Health Reforms – Consultation Paper 1
13 August
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
Consultation on the Medical Research Future Fund Australian Medical Research and Innovation Strategy and Priorities
16 August
Food Standards Australia New Zealand
Common commencement date for labelling changes
18 August
Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority
The development of residential aged care pricing and costing advice to the Government for 2027-28
21 August
Senate Community Affairs Committee
Private Health Insurance Amendment (Modernising the Private Health Insurance Rebate) Bill 2026
21 August
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
Co-design the future of aged care Application Programming Interfaces
29 August
Therapeutic Goods Administration
Improvements to the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code
3 September
Therapeutic Goods Administration
Proposed changes to Required Advisory Statements for Medicine Labels
4 September
Therapeutic Goods Administration
Adoption of International Scientific Guidelines in Australia R01-2026
11 September
Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee
Public consultation on items to be considered by the PBAC in November 2026
16 September
Office of the Gene Technology Regulator
Commercial supply of a genetically modified multivalent vaccine for chickens
25 September
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
Public consultation on items to be considered by the PBAC
16 September
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
Draft National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (third edition)
25 September
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
Requirements in the draft National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards to improve the cultural safety and quality of care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
2 October
Medical Services Advisory Committee
- Surgical Procedures for Gender Affirmation in Adults with Gender Incongruence
- Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel) for the treatment of large B-cell lymphoma
- Implantation of an active middle ear implant (Vibroplasty) for treatment of mixed and conductive hearing loss
- Supervised oral food challenge in patients with suspected food allergy
- Genomic testing for the diagnosis of primary immunodeficiency
- Procedures for the implantation and refill-exchange of the Port Delivery System with ranibizumab to treat neovascular age-related macular degeneration
9 October
House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability
Inquiry into the access to and affordability of medical specialists
16 October
Author details
Charles Maskell-Knight PSM was a senior public servant in the Commonwealth Department of Health for over 25 years before retiring in 2021. He worked as a senior adviser to the Aged Care Royal Commission in 2019-20. He is a member of Croakey Health Media; we thank and acknowledge him for providing this column as a probono service to our readers. Follow on X/Twitter at @CharlesAndrewMK, and on Bluesky at: @charlesmk.bsky.social.
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