Health Policy

A major study published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Women’s Health synthesised data from 43 studies to examine paracetamol use during pregnancy. It included 17 pooled analyses and used d...

ACRRM will start 370 GP registrars this training year, above its 320 funded places. It marks the third straight year of overfill for the college. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing is neg...

South Australia is shaping its policy debate ahead of the state election with a focus on general practitioner workforce and after hours care. The Liberal Party has pledged to remove payroll tax for GP...

Darwin Private Hospital has closed its maternity services, seven months after the decision was announced. The Northern Territory is now left with no private obstetricians. At the time two private obst...

The United States has issued its 2025–2030 dietary guidelines, released by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The headline message is to eat real food. Key shifts include more protein at every mea...

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing will end the Pay Doctor Via Claimant system by July 2028 and replace it with a simplified electronic funds transfer process for Medicare rebates. Under...

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing will issue the first instalment of the Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program by the end of January. Practices and GPs who have signed up and bulk bill...

The Commonwealth Fund released the 2025 Causes and Impacts of Burnout Among Primary Care Physicians in 10 Countries. It surveyed around 11 000 general practitioners across Australia, Canada, France, G...

Parliamentary committees released their final report backing the Thriving Kids program, a $2 billion initiative set to start on 1 July 2026. The plan moves eligible children from the National Disabili...

The Department of Health and Disability Ageing has opened a public consultation on a modernised gap billing system for Australian GPs. From July 1, 2028, providers would submit electronic Medicare cla...

The Queensland Medical community is debating how opioid dependence treatment should be accessed. A consultation paper from AMA Queensland proposes starting opioid dependence treatment in emergency dep...

New Zealand’s Pae Ora reforms began in 2022, reshaping the health system by replacing 20 district health boards with Health New Zealand and creating a Māori Health Authority to embed Treaty-based gove...

Victoria has expanded its Community Pharmacist Program, now marketed as Chemist Care Now, to broaden what pharmacists can provide without a prescription. The changes add two additional hormonal contra...

The Productivity Commission has released the final version of Delivering quality care more efficiently. It calls for stronger formal coordination between hospitals and Primary Health Networks. It want...

Heatwaves, fires and floods are raising health risks in rural, remote and First Nations communities. The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine says extreme weather has boosted demand for loc...

The Thriving Kids initiative has been reinforced by the release of the House of Representatives Standing Committee report into No child left behind. The inquiry was led by paediatrician Dr Mike Freela...

South Australia will vote on March 21, with all 47 lower house seats decided in single member districts and 11 of 22 upper house seats chosen under proportional representation with preferences. In 202...

Health Minister Mark Butler has confirmed that the number of bulk billing GP clinics in Australia is rising quickly. A recent report from Cleanbill shows that over 1200 practices have switched to full...

A new report from the Department of Health highlights that smaller GP practices, especially those with fewer doctors, limited staff, or in lower socio-economic or rural areas, face more barriers to ac...