What a SoNG is
The CDNA develops national guidelines for state and territory public health units to use when managing nationally notifiable diseases.
These guidelines are called the Series of National Guidelines (SoNGs).
How SoNGs are developed and reviewed
The CDNA Jurisdictional Executive Group (JEG) decides when a SoNG needs to be developed or updated.
The CDNA JEG might decide to establish a working group to prepare a draft SoNG.
The draft then goes through successive rounds of consultation with the CDNA before the CDNA JEG endorses it.
Working groups
Working groups are formed from multidisciplinary experts, depending on the disease and circumstances. Membership normally includes a:
- CDNA jurisdictional member
- subject matter expert
- public health practitioner from a public health unit
- technical writer.
The CDNA JEG must agree to the membership and appoint a Chair.
Members must declare any conflicts of interest.
Drafting
To develop the draft SoNG, the working group, or technical lead, uses:
- the most up-to-date research and literature
- other sources of information, such as international and state and territory guidelines
- expert input from CDNA members, and, sometimes, external experts.
The working group or technical lead translates this complex scientific information into recommendations.
The language used in SoNGs is inclusive and culturally safe. The CDC works with First Nations representatives to ensure the guidance is culturally appropriate.
Consultation with other groups
The CDC consults with other groups and external experts to make sure relevant expertise and experience inform the content of draft SoNGs.
Consultation can happen at any point in the SoNG process and might occur more than once.
The CDC might consult with:
- work areas within the interim CDC with relevant subject matter expertise
- the Public Health Laboratory Network
- the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Protection AHPC subcommittee
- other expert groups, such as the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.
Timeframes
If the CDNA JEG determines that public health units need new or updated advice urgently, the work will be completed as quickly as possible.
Indicative timeframes
| Urgency level | Development of new SoNG | Review of existing SoNG |
|---|---|---|
| Urgent | 6 months | 3 months |
| Routine | 12 months | 6 months |
Administrative updates
Administrative updates are simple updates, like changes to align with agreed terms or updating links to other documents.
For these updates, the CDNA JEG can endorse the new version without further consultation or approvals.
Publication
Once AHPC has noted the SoNG, we upload it to our website and add it to our collection of CDNA SoNGs.
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