Our Way Forward

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Over the coming year, the department will:

• work closely with all levels of government to implement health reforms agreed by the Council of Australian Governments on 2 August 2011 though the National Health Reform Agreement.
• establish a National Health Performance Authority to develop and produce public reports on the performance of public and private hospitals, Medicare Locals and Local Hospital Networks.
• establish a national approach to activity based funding of public hospital services across states, territories and the Commonwealth, with Commonwealth funding for public hospital activity to be based on a national efficient price for each service provided by a public hospital. Establish an Independent Hospital Pricing Authority to determine the efficient price for public hospital services.
• improve outcomes for people with severe and debilitating mental illness, including through the provision of integrated assessment and additional services.
• expand the Access to Allied Psychological Services Program, which will target groups which are currently underserviced or hard to reach, such as people in rural and regional Australia, Indigenous Australians, young people and other disadvantaged groups.
• establish a single mental health on-line portal. This portal will provide easy access to evidence-based psychological therapy to approximately 45,000 people over five years.
• strengthen the focus on the mental health needs of children, families and young people, including expanding the number of headspace centres and the Early Psychosis, Prevention and Intervention Centre model.
• help build strong and resilient kids through activities including a health and wellbeing check for children at three years of age.
• continue to implement primary health care reform, through Medicare Locals, GP Super Clinics and Primary Care Infrastructure Grants.
• improve regional health infrastructure through management of the Health and Hospitals Fund, including conducting a second regional priority funding round.
• finalise the new National Strategic Framework for Rural and Remote Health to provide coherent national guidance on improving outcomes for rural and remote health.
• expand the provision of telehealth services including by implementing arrangements for Medicare rebates and incentives for online consultations for patients in rural, regional and outer metropolitan areas.
• continue to improve access to quality after hours primary care services through Medicare Locals and the after hours GP helpline.
• implement a range of activities aimed at reducing smoking rates to 10% by 2018. These include restrictions on online advertising of tobacco products, updating graphic health warnings on product packaging, undertaking social marketing campaigns and local level programs, and implementing legislation to mandate plain packaging.
• continue the current National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, which will offer bowel cancer screening to all Australians turning 50, 55 and 65 years of age.
• establish a National Advisory Council on Dental Health to provide advice to the Minister for Health and Ageing on options to address identified priority areas for dental health.
• continue work on preventing, detecting and managing chronic disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to help close the gap in life expectancy, through the National Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap in Indigenous Health Outcomes.
• continue the Link Up and Bringing them Home programs, supporting the Stolen Generation, components of which would otherwise have terminated in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
• advise the Government on the Productivity Commission review into aged care and continue to implement aged care reforms under the National Health Reform Agreement, to improve aged care services for older people, as well as ensuring that older people in hospital who no longer require acute care are able to access more appropriate care options.
• manage the transition in most states and territories to the Australian Government of full funding and policy responsibility for Home and Community Care (HACC) services for non-Indigenous people 65 years of age and over, and Indigenous people 50 years of age and over.
• strengthen the Aged Care Complaints Investigation Scheme to ensure recognition of, and response to, consumer concerns. Older people and their families will be provided with access to mediation and conciliation as an additional means of addressing complaints.
• deliver reforms to the pathology sector, including development of a National Pathology Framework covering issues like workforce development and laboratory accreditation.
• implement the Diagnostic Imaging Review Reform Package including expanding patient access to Magnetic Resonance Imaging services, enhancing the Diagnostic Imaging Accreditation Scheme, and a greater focus on clinically appropriate imaging.
• manage reform of Hearing Services program administration including development of new IT systems to automate existing manual systems. Through the new IT systems, clients will be able to lodge applications and receive vouchers electronically, and service providers will be able to electronically exchange information with the department concerning pertinent hearing issues.

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