National Allergy Centre of Excellence (NACE) and National Allergy Council collaboration

The NACE and National Allergy Council work together to help fight allergy in Australia. Allergic diseases are of the country’s major public health challenges. The collaboration is supported by funding from the Australian Government.

About the collaboration

Launched in 2022, the NACE and National Allergy Council are collaborating to keep Australia as a leader in evidence-based management of allergic disease. They work together to:

  • accelerate allergy research
  • increase access to quality allergy care, education resources and support.

Hosted at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), the NACE is Australia’s peak allergy research body. It is designed to: 

  • build the tools and resources needed to accelerate allergy research
  • unite hundreds of food, drug, insect and respiratory allergy experts, including both researchers and consumers, to help reduce the impact of allergies and save lives
  • give Australians faster access to the latest evidence for preventing and treating allergies.

The National Allergy Council is a partnership between:

The council works on a range of projects to:

  • carry out the National Allergy Strategy 
  • advocate for and improve the quality of allergy care
  • improve managing allergies in the community
  • provide quality resources for health professionals through ASCIA
  • provide patient support and education through A&AA.

Why it is important

The rate of allergies in Australia is on the rise:

  • More than 5 million people in Australia live with allergic disease. 
  • Up to 1 in 10 babies and 1 in 25 adults have a food allergy.
  • Around 1 in 10 Australians report having a penicillin allergy.
  • 12 Australians die of bee and wasp stings each year.
  • 1 in 4 Australians are affected by allergic rhinitis, commonly known as hay fever.
  • There was a 9-fold increase in anaphylaxis hospital admissions between 1998–99 and 2018–19.

Currently there is no cure for allergies and managing them relies on strictly avoiding allergens. 

In 2019, the government held a bipartisan Parliamentary Inquiry into Allergies and Anaphylaxis. As a result, the Walking the allergy tightrope report made 24 recommendations, including to: 

  • reduce the increasing trend of anaphylaxis rates
  • prevent avoidable deaths due to allergies.

Goals

The NACE national plan of action is delivered under 4 broad pillars along with collaboration and consumer involvement:

  • Allergy research – overseeing the Clinical Trials NetworkAllergy Studies DirectoryAcute Allergy Registry and large-scale studies in routine clinical care. This includes drug, insect, respiratory and food allergy studies, such as the world-first ADAPT OIT Program.
  • Repository and discovery – developing a National Allergy BioRepository researchers can use to analyse large-scale data on patient diagnosis, management and outcomes. The database will help to shape personalised health care.
  • Evidence and translation – creating a living systematic review platform that connects evidence with clinical practice.​​
  • Training and innovation – supporting and mentoring the next generation of allergy experts through postgraduate scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships.
  • Collaboration and consumer involvement – connecting researchers with the allergy community through a Consumer Advisory Group and Consumer Engagement Register. This ensures studies will address the issues that matter most.

The National Allergy Council is carrying out the National Allergy Strategy through a range of projects:

  • Nip allergies in the Bub – encourages preventing food allergies by introducing babies to foods that can commonly cause them, and improving managing eczema.
  • Food Allergy Aware – provides training and online resources to improve allergen management in food services. This includes best practice for cafes, restaurants, hospitals, residential care, schools, camps and children’s education and care.
  • Allergy 250K – provides information and support to the 250,000 Australian teens and young adults living with severe allergies, including annual education camps.
  • Allergy Aware – provides best practice guidelines and resources to improve anaphylaxis prevention and management in schools and early childhood services.
  • Shared Care for Allergy – ensures people can access appropriate allergy care from healthcare professionals at the right time. It focuses on supporting people in rural, regional and remote areas.
  • Drug (medication) allergy – aims to improve managing drug allergies and documentation in electronic health records, including My Health Record.
  • Anaphylaxis reporting system – aims to scope and build a reporting system that collects national anaphylaxis data. This includes real-time reporting of allergic reactions to packaged food and food prepared by service providers.

Who we work with

The NACE and National Allergy Council work closely with:

  • other national allergy organisations
  • universities
  • research institutes
  • clinical practices
  • health professional societies
  • state and federal government organisations.

Some core partners include the Centre for Food Allergy Research, ASCIA, A&AA and MCRI.

Contact

Nutrition policy contact

Contact us to learn more about our work related to food and nutrition.
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