Policy and strategies
We develop policies and work with experts, organisations, states and territories and other agencies to protect Australia against disease outbreaks.
We work to reduce the spread of communicable diseases and their impact on society, including their financial costs, including by:
- developing national policies and guidelines, such as
- the National Immunisation Strategy
- national guidelines to help public health units respond to notifiable diseases
- laboratory case definitions for the diagnosis of key diseases in Australia.
- administering the National Immunisation Program
- administering disease surveillance systems and reporting
- guiding a national response to outbreak incidents of national significance
- working with key committees and networks, to reduce incidence of disease and respond to outbreaks
- providing public health information and advice.
Initiatives and programs
We fund many programs related to communicable diseases, which support education, training, testing and health services.
Prevention
Our National Immunisation Program provides free immunisation services for many vaccine-preventable diseases.
Disease surveillance
We conduct national surveillance, epidemiology and reporting activities for nationally notifiable diseases.
We support the Communicable Diseases Network Australia to develop and review national surveillance case definitions to help health professionals decide whether to notify authorities of a case.
The states and territories report notifiable diseases to our National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. This helps us better understand these diseases and the threat they pose to public health. We can then respond to disease outbreaks more effectively.
We also support sentinel, hospital and laboratory surveillance systems, and analyse and report on this information.
Learn more about surveillance and reporting.
Response to disease outbreaks
Australia’s states and territories are responsible for public health action including managing disease outbreaks in their jurisdictions.
We provide national support and coordination, particularly for outbreaks that cross state, territory or international borders.
We might activate the National Incident Centre (NIC) to coordinate a national health emergency response when a disease outbreak has national implications.
This could be because:
- a state or territory government requests Australian Government assistance
- multiple states or territories are affected by the outbreak
- state or territory response resources are overwhelmed
- the public expects national leadership
- the number of people affected – or at risk of becoming affected – is significant for that disease
- an international outbreak poses a potential threat to Australia.
We then coordinate a national response:
- guided by our most relevant national health emergency plan
- supported by the advice of the Australian Health Protection Committee with support from relevant subcommittees and technical advisory committees.
We:
- support the Communicable Diseases Network Australia in investigating and controlling outbreaks, drawing on advice from scientific, technical, and policy committees and experts
- support the Public Health Laboratory Network to provide nationally coordinated advice on all aspects of public health microbiology to inform outbreak response decisions
- establish and maintain an incident-specific action plan while the NIC is activated to support preparedness and response actions for the outbreak
- follow the guidance of other emergency management plans, when required
- coordinate, deploy and communicate capabilities, resources and safety measures including
- human resources (like AUSMAT)
- medical countermeasures (like vaccines)
- approved public health and safety measures.
Learn more about our role in emergency health management.
Awareness and education
We educate people with the facts on
- communicable diseases
- antimicrobial resistance
- immunisation.
Consultation and engagement
We regularly consult the public about health issues. See our consultation hub for consultations related to communicable diseases.
Legislation
We administer parts of the federal Biosecurity Act 2015.
Learn about all legislation we administer.
Regulation and compliance
Some communicable diseases or other substance could be used as biological weapons.
If someone deliberately released harmful agents, they could greatly affect humans, our environment and economy.
That’s why we regulate these substances under the Security Sensitive Biological Agents Regulatory Scheme.
Research
We provide funding for research and emerging issues, including a national research strategy for bloodborne viruses and sexually transmissible infections.
Who we work with
We work with other agencies in Australia and across the world.
This gives us access to experts in the field so we can respond quickly and appropriately to disease outbreaks.
It also helps us have high-quality input into public health decisions, policies and programs.
Committees
Our committees and groups provide a way for people and organisations to help us develop policies and provide advice on communicable diseases.
Some of the main committees are:
- Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA)
- Public Health Laboratory Network (PHLN)
- Blood Borne Viruses and Sexually Transmissible Infections Standing Committee (BBVSS)
- Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI)
- OzFoodNet
- National Respiratory Infections Surveillance Committee
- National Tuberculosis Advisory Committee.
Learn more about committees involved in communicable diseases.
Other groups
To strengthen our approach to disease control, we work closely with multiple surveillance partners.