Joint Response: Accept in principle
Status: In progress
What has been achieved to date
The Australian Government is working with state and territory governments to review disability health navigation activities and consider the scope for a nationally consistent disability health navigation framework. This project is focused on identifying successful elements, needs, and any existing gaps in existing disability health navigation and coordinating efforts with broader disability navigator reforms.
An intergovernmental scoping group has been established to support this project. The scoping group first met on 7 March 2025 and will continue to meet every 8 weeks. States and territories have provided information on existing disability health navigation services and disability navigation needs through this group.
Further discussions are underway with:
- states and territories that have existing disability health navigation services
- non-government organisations that have related disability navigation programs, and
- other disability stakeholders.
The project is scheduled to be completed by 2026, at which time findings will be presented to Health Ministers.
What the Disability Royal Commission said in the final report
Through the Health Ministers Meeting, the Australian Government and state and territory governments should:
- jointly fund a national workforce of ‘disability health navigators’ to support people with cognitive disability and complex health needs access health services and to embed safe, accessible and inclusive practice in everyday health service provision
- develop a national evaluation framework to assess the impact of disability health navigators and share lessons learned across jurisdictions. Evaluation findings should be published.
Joint Government Response July 2024
The Australian Government and states and territory governments are committed to ensuring people with disability have access to health care services that address their needs and recognise that people with disability may require additional support to navigate the health care system. All governments are committed to ensuring all Australians have access to safe and high-quality healthcare that meets their needs.
This recommendation also requires consideration of any activities that are in-scope of National Health Reform Agreement public hospital services as well as consideration of any activities that align with reforms considered for the 2025-30 National Health Reform Agreement Addendum.
All governments are committed to working together to support the development of a nationally consistent health navigation framework, which will be coordinated and aligned to complement the reshaped disability navigation function of the NDIS and would include scoping of disability health navigation in partnership with state and territory governments.
Scoping of disability health navigation would be required to identify what is currently available, what is working well and what gaps or missing elements in the support system need to be addressed to help people with disability and complex health needs navigate and access all aspects of the health and mental health systems. Scoping would include system navigation services that already exist within state and territory health systems. Stakeholders, including people with disability, would be consulted as part of the scoping of disability health navigation. All governments acknowledge that there are significant workforce challenges across the health care system, therefore the scoping of disability health navigators would also involve consideration of this issue.
More recommendations
View progress on other recommendations made by the Royal Commission.