About chronic wounds
Chronic wounds are wounds that have not progressed through normal healing stages in 30 days. They heal slower and often only heal partially and may recur.
About the CWCS
The CWCS will help eligible patients manage their chronic wounds. It will cover the full cost of products they need to heal, such as bandages, dressings and adhesives.
We will consult with wound care experts to develop the full list of products the scheme will cover.
Why it is important
Chronic wounds impact a person’s quality of life and require long-term care. This has a significant burden on our healthcare system.
Currently, most patients must pay the full cost of wound consumable products. These costs can put significant financial pressure on people. This can lead to patients delaying care.
The CWCS will ensure patients can get the wound care they need when they need it.
How it will work
A patient with a chronic wound will go to an eligible health professional. The health professional will assess the wound and order the required wound care products for their patient through an online portal.
The health professional will be able to choose from various wound care products listed on the online portal. We are developing the list of eligible products.
The wound care products will be delivered to a patient’s home or health professional's office, at no cost for the patient.
Eligibility
Eligible participants
The CWCS will support people with diabetes with a chronic wound who either:
- are aged over 65 years
- are a First Nations person aged 50 years or over.
Patients are not eligible if they receive wound care through:
- public and private hospitals – including post-operative and outpatient care
- public or community health services run by or on behalf of state and territory governments
- the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
- the Department of Veterans' Affairs rehabilitation and treatment programs, including Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS) dressings
- Australian Government-funded residential aged care homes.
Eligible health professionals
Health professionals will be eligible if they are:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners
- medical practitioners in a primary care setting, including general practitioners
- nurses (registered and nurse practitioner)
- podiatrists.
Eligible health professionals will need to complete the specified training to use the online portal.
Health professional training
Monash University are developing a training and education program for health professionals to support best-practice chronic wound management. This will include specialised training in wound management using the online portal.
The training will be available from March 2025, ahead of CWCS starting. Health professionals will need to complete this training to place orders.
We will provide a link to the training once available.
Supporting activities
Extra activities complement the scheme to improve wound healing outcomes in the community.
Advanced training scholarships
We fund the Australian College of Nurses to provide a scholarship for nurses and Aboriginal health workers to complete formal training in wound care.
The grant will provide:
- at least 120 scholarships each year for advanced training short courses for nurses
- 5 scholarships for graduate certificates in wound care
- one scholarship for a Masters of Wound Care course.
Read more information about the scholarships and training.
Public awareness campaign
We fund Wounds Australia to deliver a national education and awareness campaign on chronic wound prevention and treatment. The campaign will aim to improve public awareness and patient knowledge of how to care for wounds to give them the best chance to heal.
Read more about Wounds Australia activities and events.
Get involved
We will publish any approaches to market to provide and distribute products under the scheme on AusTender. This includes having products listed on the CWCS Product Schedule.
You can register to receive notifications of business opportunities.
Who we work with
The CWCS Expert Advisory Group advises us on wound care products and implementation of the CWCS.
It is made up of representatives from the medical, clinical nursing and allied health professions.
Contact
