We established the LSDP panel on 1 July 2018.
The panel assesses applications to include new medicines on the LSDP. It assists and advises the CMO, including through reviews of existing medicines. The CMO will make a recommendation to the Minister for Health and Aged Care on a medicine’s suitability for inclusion on the LSDP.
The panel considers:
- the sponsor’s application
- the panel secretariat’s assessment (overview) of the submission
- relevant materials from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) consideration, including
- ratified minutes/advice from PBAC and its sub-committees
- responses from sponsors
- stakeholder comments
- stakeholder input to the panel
- presentations made to the panel at the meeting (if applicable).
See the outcomes of the panel’s considerations of new medicines.
The panel secretariat provides administrative support for the panel.
Terms of reference
The panel advises the CMO on a range of matters on new medicines seeking funding through the LSDP, including:
- assessing how the medicine meets the LSDP criteria
- guidelines for use, including testing requirements
- pricing arrangements
- data collection requirements for future reviews.
In reviewing LSDP medicines, the panel:
- determines the scope of the review
- ensures relevant stakeholder input is included
- reviews historical patient-level data and data available from international registries and published literature
- provides advice to the CMO on changes to medicine funding arrangements.
View more information about the panel’s reviews of existing medicines.
The panel advises on any other matters that may relate to the LSDP, as directed by the Minister or CMO.
Members
| Member | Background and experience |
|---|---|
| Professor Andrew Roberts (Chair) | Professor Roberts is an eminent researcher and clinical haematologist. He practices at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Professor Roberts also served as a member of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) for 11 years. |
| Associate Professor Liliana Bulfone (industry nominee) | Ms Bulfone is the Managing Director of Shoten Pty Ltd and is an Associate Professor at the ANU College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University. She has a background in health technology assessment. |
| Professor John Christodoulou (clinical expert) | Professor Christodoulou is the Co-Lead for brain and mitochondrial research at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. |
| Dr Janice Fletcher (clinical expert) | Dr Fletcher is a recently retired paediatrician, biochemical geneticist and genetic pathologist. She is a member of both the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) and the Therapeutic Goods Administration Advisory Committee on Medicines. She has expertise in metabolic disorders, and was a previous member of the LSDP Disease Advisory Committees for Fabry Disease, Gaucher Disease and Infantile Onset Pompe Disease. |
| Nicole Millis (consumer nominee) | Ms Millis is the Chief Executive Officer at Rare Voices Australia. She has over 10 years’ experience in rare disease consumer advocacy in the context of health technology assessment. |
| Professor Rosalie Viney (health economist) | Professor Viney is a Professor of Health Economics and Director of the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation, University of Technology Sydney. She is a member of the National Health and Medical Research Council Research Committee. |
| Dr Nick Simpson (ex officio) | Dr Simpson is a Medical Officer at the Department of Health and Aged Care. |
Meetings
The panel meets 3 times per year, usually in February, June and October.
Agendas
The panel secretariat publishes meeting agendas on the LSDP website 4 weeks prior to each meeting. The agenda lists all items the panel will consider at the upcoming meeting. This includes new medicines applications and considering the outcomes from LSDP medicine reviews. Deadlines for sponsor and stakeholder input will be published in advance on the LSDP website.
If you require agendas from previous years, please contact us.
2025 meetings
- 6 March 2025
- 25 July 2025
- 31 October 2025
2024 meetings
2023 meetings
Submissions
The panel welcomes input from the public, including patients, carers, family members, treating physicians and advocates on upcoming items. Once the agenda is published, any interested parties can email their input to the panel secretariat. The panel secretariat must receive the input by 2 weeks before the meeting unless otherwise agreed.
The panel secretariat keeps stakeholder input confidential on request. See full details of the consumer submission process in our procedure guidance.
All stakeholder comments received throughout the PBAC process are sent to the panel. Stakeholders do not need to duplicate responses. We give a summary of the stakeholder input to the sponsor, along with the advice from the panel.
