Our work

This initiative will provide $600 million over 10 years from 2024–25 for research infrastructure that will be used to conduct world-class health and medical research.

The National Dementia Action Plan 2024–2034 (the Action Plan) is Australia’s national dementia policy framework. It aims to improve the lives and care of people living with dementia, their carers and families over the next 10 years.

The NDSP is an Australian Government initiative to fund information, education programs, services and resources.

The National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) helps people with diabetes to understand and manage their life with diabetes. It also provides timely, reliable and affordable access to diabetes support services and products.

The National Eating Disorders Collaboration is working to develop a nationally consistent, evidence-based approach to preventing and managing eating disorders in Australia.

The NEBDS helps eligible people with epidermolysis bullosa access dressings, bandages and ancillary products at a reduced cost. It also ensures a consistent level of care across Australia. The scheme is currently administered by Independence Australia on behalf of the Australian Government.

This program helps with the cost of an external breast prostheses after breast cancer surgery. Eligible women can receive a reimbursement of up to $400 for new or replacement external breast prostheses.

The National Health and Climate Strategy outlines priorities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Australian health system. It also addresses the impacts of climate change on health and wellbeing in Australia.

We are developing a National Health and Medical Research Strategy to provide national direction, build on Australia’s strengths in the health and medical research sector, fill any gaps, and continue to attract researchers and investors to Australia.

The National Immunisation Program provides free vaccines to eligible people to help reduce diseases that can be prevented by vaccination.

The National Incident Centre (NIC) coordinates national responses to health emergencies, significant events and emerging threats, where there is an impact on human health or health systems.

This pilot program aimed to encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to do the bowel screening test. It provided resources for families and communities, and primary health care professionals participating in the pilot program.

The National Lung Cancer Screening Program (NLCSP) is a screening program using low-dose computed tomography (low-dose CT) scans to look for lung cancer in high-risk people without any symptoms. It aims to find lung cancer early and save lives. Screening for eligible people is available now.

The National Maternity Workforce Strategy 2026–2036 aims to strengthen Australia’s maternity workforce by focusing on recruitment, retention, and culturally safe services nationwide.

The National Medical Stockpile is a strategic reserve of drugs, vaccines, antidotes and personal protective equipment for use in national health emergencies. We purchase and stockpile these items so Australia is more self-sufficient during an emergency and able to meet high levels of demand.

We have developed this 10-year strategy to guide long-term medical workforce planning across Australia. It will improve access to health care by supporting the right people to have the right skills, where we need them most.

We developed the National Mental Health Workforce Strategy to give a high-level vision and roadmap to build a sustainable mental health workforce.

The National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) coordinates data on over 70 diseases that present a risk to public health in Australia. This helps us identify trends in diseases, assess the impact of disease control programs and develop policies to reduce the impact of these diseases.

The National Nursing Workforce Strategy will establish priorities to guide the nursing workforce now and into the future. It will help address workforce challenges, foster collaboration and drive action among stakeholders in shaping the future of workforce planning, investment and reform.

The National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry stores data on occupational respiratory diseases in Australia. It will help to reduce, eliminate, and improve our understanding of preventable occupational respiratory diseases.

The Real Time Prescription Monitoring (RTPM) is a nationally implemented system, designed to monitor the prescribing and dispensing of controlled medicines with the aim of reducing their misuse in Australia.

State and territory governments established the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS) for health practitioners in 2010 by introducing consistent legislation in all jurisdictions. While NRAS is not an Australian Government scheme, it affects the health workforce across the country.

The number of cases of infectious syphilis in Australia has been rising. We are responding on a national level, working with affected state and territory governments, to control outbreaks and reduce the incidence of syphilis.

The National Return and Disposal of Unwanted Medicines Program (NatRUM) is a service funded by the Australian Government that supports the safe disposal of expired and unwanted medicines.

The Australian Government has released the National Roadmap for Improving the Health of People with Intellectual Disability to address serious health inequities faced by people with intellectual disability. Read about the roadmap and plan to improve the health of people with intellectual disability.