Communicable diseases in Australia
Find out about diseases of concern in Australia, and frameworks and laws around managing diseases.
What we do
Discover our role in preventing, monitoring and managing communicable diseases in Australia.
Programs and initiatives
We fund programs and initiatives to reduce the impact of communicable diseases on Australia.
Who we work with
Several key committees and networks help us with our work on communicable diseases.
Latest news
Latest news
Protecting Older Australians – COVID-19 Update 14 February 2023
In this issue: Message from the Ministers to Aged Care Providers, ATAGI advice on 2023 COVID-19 vaccine booster, Webinar – aged care COVID-19 update and more.
Nationally notifiable diseases
Health authorities report over 70 communicable diseases to us so we can track what is happening nationwide and respond to any outbreaks.
Our National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System tracks these diseases.
Communicable Diseases Intelligence journal
This scientific journal publishes information about communicable diseases in Australia:
- how often and where diseases occur
- how many cases we have
- methods to prevent diseases
- methods to control outbreaks.
Series of National Guidelines (SoNGs)
These guidelines give nationally consistent advice to public health units about how to respond to notifiable diseases.
The Communicable Diseases Network Australia produces these SoNGs.
Case definitions
We support networks to develop case definitions for health professionals to use when diagnosing notifiable diseases. See our collections of:
- surveillance case definition documents, from the Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA)
- laboratory case definition documents, from the Public Health Laboratory Network (PHLN).
Latest resources
Latest resources
Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) – Sport information kit
This kit includes information from the Department of Health and Aged Care and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for stakeholders about the current Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) outbreak that you can disseminate through members, networks and channels.
Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) – Schools and camps information kit
This kit includes information from the Department of Health and Aged Care and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for stakeholders about the current Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) outbreak that you can disseminate through members, networks and channels.
Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) – Easter information kit
This kit includes information from the Department of Health and Aged Care and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for stakeholders about the current Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) outbreak that you can disseminate through members, networks and channels.
COVID-19 National Health Plan – prescriptions via telehealth – a guide for prescribers
Electronic prescribing has been fast-tracked as part of the National Health Plan for coronavirus (COVID-19). This guide for prescribers outlines the temporary arrangements available now that will help patients receive medicines via telehealth services.