Office of Health Protection (OHP)

Roles and responsibilities of the Office of Health Protection

This page contains information on the roles of the Office of Health Protection and the responsibilities of each Branch and Section.

First Assistant Secretary - Jennifer Bryant

The Office of Health Protection’s mission is to protect the health of the Australian community through prevention, detection and effective response to national health emergencies, communicable disease outbreaks, chemical and biological risks and natural disasters.

The Office of Health Protection’s goal is to ensure coordinated arrangements to respond effectively to national health emergencies. It provides leadership in building capacity of the Australian health system to prevent, prepare for and respond to known and unknown threats including pandemics, chemical, biological or radiological events, mass casualty events and environmental health threats. It undertakes continuous quality improvement of all its activities.

Health Protection Policy Branch

Assistant Secretary - Fay Gardner

The Health Protection Policy Branch is responsible for national leadership and policy on preparedness and communication for an influenza pandemic and providing policy advice and coordination on health protection issues.

The key roles and responsibilities of the Health Protection Policy Branch (HPPB) are:

• lead health preparedness planning for an influenza pandemic, providing the first point of contact for stakeholders on pandemic influenza planning matters;
• developing a body of scientific, technical and clinical expertise on health protection, including pandemic influenza;
• monitoring developments, providing policy advice and administering programs on threats to human health posed by communicable diseases and environmental factors, with a focus on prevention;
• supporting national expert advisory committees relevant to OHP objectives
• liaison with other Australian Government agencies and international fora on international and cross boarder health protection matters;
• policy advice and coordination on health protection matters;
• delivering key projects for the OHP; and
• developing professional working relationships and effective liaison across the OHP and the Department.

Pandemic Preparedness

The Pandemic Preparedness Section is responsible for:Top of page

• national leadership and health policy on preparedness for an influenza pandemic in consultation with jurisdictions and peak bodies, and taking into account developments in international pandemic preparedness;
• supporting the pandemic advisory committees, including the:
  • Chief Medical Officer's Expert Advisory Group on Pandemic Influenza (EAG);
  • Scientific Influenza Advisory Group (SIAG);
  • Chief Medical Officer’s Vaccine Advisory Group (VAG);
  • Inter-jurisdictional Pandemic Planners Working Group (IPPWG); and
  • Australian Health Protection Committee National Immunisation Committee (AHPC/NIC) Pandemic Vaccine Working Group
• the publication and ongoing review of the Australian Health Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza (AHMPPI) and associated documents; and
• coordinating the health sector implementation of the outcomes of Exercise Cumpston '06 and other relevant exercises.

Emerging Issues Analysis

The Emerging Issues Analysis Section is responsible for:

• Analysis, advice and the development of strategic policy positions in relation to emerging health protection issues for Australia,
  • including global and regional issues as they might potentially threaten Australia,
  • encompassing a full range of emerging threats, risk mitigation strategies and new technologies.
• Policy coordination of emerging issues across OHP, and analysis contributions to policy development processes in OHP.
• Development of protocols and standards for analysis within OHP

Health Risk Strategies

The Health Risk Strategies Section is responsible for developing strategic approaches for current health risks in Australia, including assessing the vulnerabilities and approaches that need to be taken. In particular,

• Managing the Torres Strait Health Issues Committee (HIC) established to address cross border health concerns and identify threats and gaps to health system capacity
  • Development of a package of measures to address cross border health concerns
  • Development of the Tuberculosis laboratory and clinical management capacity building project in PNG
• Providing input and advice regarding communicable disease management in the northern border regions of Australia and developing the Northern Borders Health Protecting Strategy
• Development of strategic approaches to issues such single supplier or small volume communicable disease pharmaceutical products

Policy Coordination and Secretariat

The Policy Coordination and Secretariat Section is responsible for policy coordination and overarching Secretariat support to the AHPC and its three subcommittees – the Communicable Diseases Network of Australia (CDNA), the Public Health Laboratory Network (PHLN), and the Environmental Health Committee (enHealth).

Major activities include:

• Working with program and policy areas across OHP to ensure coordinated policy input to the AHPC and its subcommittees and working groups;
• Identifying the strategic linkages across OHP and the Department and the implications of these for AHPC and its subcommittees;
• Facilitating effective and efficient meeting processes and communication of outcomes;
• Providing ‘broader committee support’ to committee members and internally within OHP. This includes reporting requirements, development and administration of GovDex website, AHMAC support and advice as appropriate.
• Enabling the national coordination of a response in an emergency by AHPC or its subcommittees;
• Undertaking relevant Divisional priorities.

Biosecurity Review Implementation Section

The Biosecurity Review Implementation Section is responsible for:

• Coordinating the Department’s input into the implementation of the (Beale) Review of Quarantine and Biosecurity
• Ensuring the new Biosecurity Bill will meet human health and biosecurity needs
• Securing resources both within and outside the Department to ensure that our human biosecurity obligations are met both now and in the future

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Health Emergency Management Branch

Assistant Secretary - Gary Lum, AM

The Health Emergency Management Branch is responsible for the management and coordination of the National Health Emergency preparedness and response initiatives plus the new work involving the regulation of Security-Sensitive Biological Agents.

Stockpile and Budget Management

The Stockpile and Budget Management Section is responsible for:

• Coordination of the Office of Health Protection’s contribution to the Department of Health and Ageing’s Portfolio Budget Statement and Annual Report;
• Ongoing support and advice in relation to budget processes, for example, new policy proposals, lapsing program reviews, Discretionary Grants applications and Liability Discharge Limit authorisations (Regulation 10 authorisations).
• Providing support and advice to the Office of Health Protection on budget matters;
• Budget coordination including liaison with Portfolio Strategies Division and the Department of Finance and Deregulation (including preparation of briefings);
• Acquisition of new items for National Medical Stockpile (NMS)
• Day to day Management of NMS; and
• Deployment of NMS when required.

Emergency Planning and Response

Health Disaster Coordination and Response

The Emergency Planning and Response Section is responsible for:

• The development and preparedness of the Aileen Plant National Incident Room (NIR) including the out of hours duty officer system and the response surge team;
• Managing activation of the NIR;
• Managing the Department’s participation in and contribution to whole of Government response to health emergencies and the health aspects of other emergencies including contributing to the Australian Health Protection Committee (AHPC), the Australian Emergency Management Committee (AEMC), the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Committee (AGDRC) and other interjurisdictional and interdepartmental bodies as required; and
• Managing health emergency response projects such as development of the home quarantine support systems and guidelines for establishing quarantine facilities in the event of pandemic influenza.

Security

• Health input to counter-terrorism;
• Assistance to the National Counter Terrorism Committee (NCTC), and other related counter-terrorism committees;
• Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) security planning, and development of treatment guidelines;
• Health Critical Infrastructure Protection; and
• The Development of Risk Context Statements based on ASIO Threat Assessments.

Border Health

The Border Health Section is responsible for administration of human health aspects of the Quarantine Act 1908, including:

• Management, coordination and review of human quarantine policy;
• Liaise with, and support of, AQIS in its operational human quarantine roles at the border;
• Liaise with, and support of, the Chief Quarantine Officers in each state/territory;
• Liaise with Australian Government border agencies;
• Assessment of biological import requests for possible impact on human health (referred to DoHA by AQIS);
• Advice to AQIS on Importation of Human Remains; and
• Provision of advice to travellers on Yellow Fever vaccination requirements through the Yellow Fever Hotline.

Laboratory Capacity and Regulation

The Laboratory Capacity and Regulation Section was established to implement the recommendations of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Review of Hazardous Biological Materials. This has resulted in the commencement of the Security Sensitive Biological Agents (SSBA) Regulatory Scheme on 31 January 2009. The regulatory scheme involves:

• a registration scheme addressing physical, personnel and transport security concerns;
• associated legislation and an inspection process;
• an education and awareness-raising campaign covering the proposed security requirements, as well as other existing schemes; and
• review procedures for the new arrangements.

In addition to implementing the COAG recommendations, the Laboratory Capacity and Regulation Section’s other functions include providing policy support for the Public Health Laboratory Network (PHLN), managing programs under the 2004–05 Federal Budget initiative Enhancement of public health laboratory capacity, and management of the Funding Agreement with the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL) for the operation of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza.
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Surveillance Branch

Assistant Secretary - Sandra Gebbie (A/g)

The Surveillance Branch conducts national and international communicable disease (including
food-borne disease) surveillance activities in order to monitor and report on trends in the incidence, prevalence and outbreaks of communicable diseases, to provide an early warning to trigger appropriate health protection responses, inform targeted health protection programs and policy development.

Zoonoses, Foodborne and Emerging Infectious Diseases Section

The Zoonoses, Foodborne and Emerging Infectious Diseases Section is responsible for:

• conducting surveillance for foodborne diseases, zoonoses, arboviruses and other vector-borne diseases;
• the management and coordination of OzFoodNet, Australia's enhanced foodborne disease surveillance network;
• liaison with other Commonwealth and State and Territory Government agencies regarding outbreaks of national significance;
• maintaining a watching brief for emerging infectious diseases nationally and internationally and coordinating the department’s response;
• liaison with agricultural agencies on current and emerging zoonotic issues;
• the provision of secretariat support for a range of committees to support surveillance activities;
• policy and project management to support for the Human Pituitary Hormone Program;
• ensuring the availability of antivenoms and supporting venom research; and
• managing the 2009 Communicable Diseases Control Conference.

Vaccine Preventable Diseases Surveillance

The Vaccine Preventable Diseases Surveillance is responsible for:

• monitoring, analysing and reporting on vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs), including influenza, as well as bacterial, bloodborne viruses and sexually transmitted infections;
• providing timely, accurate and relevant surveillance advice to inform policy and response activities, including pandemic planning, immunisation policy and national strategies;
• providing specialist epidemiologist and expert advice to the Department, Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA) and other stakeholders on the impacts that VPDs and other communicable diseases could pose to Australia, including through national and international trend analysis;
• managing and contributing to committees on VPD and other communicable disease issues;
• engaging data providers and stakeholders to enhance the collection and analysis of VPD and other communicable disease surveillance information.

Systems and Coordination

The Systems and Coordination Section liaises with the two other Sections in Surveillance Branch to ensure timely and consistent provision of data for briefs, requests and reports. There are four teams in the SAC Section.

Systems

• The Systems group is the custodian of communicable disease notifications that are collected by state and territories and voluntarily provided to the Commonwealth to provide a national database.
• There are 65 notifiable diseases that are reported to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS).
• The Systems team of data managers, oversight the NNDSS software and hardware and assists Surveillance Branch staff to access the BSS and SSS data and provides data to external parties. In addition, the team provides other IT related services such as upgrading NetEpi, maintaining and providing training in the BSS and NetEpi (an outbreak management system for use during multi-jurisdictional outbreaks)

Biosecurity Surveillance System (BSS)

• The BSS team has oversighted the development of the data warehouse and data acquisition system that are the foundation of the NNDSS database and developed the Health Alert Network for secure alerts and information sharing during emergencies.
• The BSS team has overseen enhancements to existing surveillance systems including upgrading NetEpi and the Syndromic Surveillance System.
• The Syndromic Surveillance System (SSS) project team is overseeing enhancements to the existing SSS and is investigating opportunities to develop new surveillance systems as resources permit.

Domestic Surveillance

• Using data from the NNDSS, the domestic team assists in the production and clearance of the weekly and fortnightly reports and articles for Communicable Diseases Intelligence, a quarterly publication of the Department.
• The domestic team chairs the National Surveillance Committee and oversight the secretariat to that and the Case Definitions Working Group.
• The domestic team also participates and oversights contributions to meetings of the Communicable Diseases Network Australia, and other committees as required, and coordinates the development and updating of Web information and fact sheets on communicable diseases.

International Surveillance

• The international team conducts surveillance of overseas communicable disease outbreaks and other events that may have health implications for Australia and Australians travelling overseas and coordinates the development and updating of daily and fortnightly reports are coordinated with the other sections in Surveillance
• The international team also coordinates and facilitates international issues across the Branch and the Division, and works to maintain and strengthen international surveillance networks